MDR251RHR0 Frigidaire Dishwasher - Instructions

I recently bought a vacation home in New Hampshire, and had a very detailed home inspection performed. The dishwasher unit was checked out to be in fine shape. Before moving in, I had all the hardwood floors refinished, including the kitchen, and everything looked great. After moving in and using the dishwasher twice, it developed a major leak coming from the bottom of the unit. "Here goes more money that I don't have, to hire an appliance repairman to fix this leak!" I decided to take the bottom kick panel off the dishwasher to see where the leak was coming from. It was coming from the the connection of the heater element at the bottom of the dishwasher. I found a brass nut had been cracked and wouldn't stay tight any more. I ordered the replacement nut from Partselect, RECEIVED IT THE NEXT DAY!!!!! using regular ground shipping, and installed the new nut using a socket set, and tested the unit. No more leaks!! Partselect saved me at least $150.00 on a service call for a $3.50 part. I'm not the handiest guy around, but even this was easy!
I also scored big points with the wife on my handyman repair! Thanks Partselect!

Greg

turn water off,remove hoses,remove valve,install valve and hoses,turn water on

After getting a totally incorrect length of hose from partselect.com . Went to local hardware store and bought hose for $3.00 vs $20.99 + $10 shipping!
Partselect sent replacement hose of 24 1/4” vs the original hose of 27”. Good luck getting any response from them once they have your money!

DISASSEMBLY
- Switch off circuit breaker for dishwasher.
- Remove lower front covers from washer to observe motor (for later steps) and to clean-up water.
- Remove top and bottom dishracks.
-You may want to take pics of the placement/orientation of components in the following steps as you disassemble them for reference during reassembly.
- Remove spray-arm base from pump housing.
- Remove and discard impeller— put a screwdriver in the impeller grooves to prevent it turning as you loosen the screw.
- Remove impeller, O-ring, and blade. Discard impeller and O-ring, but keep blade (I couldn’t find the O-ring; it had probably disintegrated).
- Remove pump housing, pump plate, and gasket.
- Use two flat-head screwdrivers on opposite sides of the rotor to pry it off the motor shaft. Be cautious not to damage the area around the motor shaft—wood can be used to protect the area and provide better leverage. If the rotor can’t be removed, a chisel or hacksaw can be used to split it before prying it up— be cautious of the motor shaft when splitting the rotor. Discard the rotor.
- Locate the upper seal, note its orientation (cup-side-down), remove it, and discard it (my upper seal was in the recess in the bottom of the rotor).
-Drive the shaft-key (small metal tab) out of the shaft groove using a hammer and flat-head screwdriver and discard it— the new rotor has a molded-in tab that will slide into the groove in place of the shaft-key.
- Remove ceramic ring from motor shaft and discard it (my leak was caused because the ceramic ring was broken in half).
- Use a flat-blade screwdriver to pry loose the lower seal—before removing it from the shaft, note its orientation (wide-side-down). Be caution not to damage the area around the motor shaft—wood may again be used for protection and leverage.

CLEANING/PREP
- Clean shaft with wire brush, white vinegar, and a rag (you may not need the wire brush if the shaft is in good shape, but my motor shaft was heavily corroded/rusted and I needed to smooth it to prevent it damaging the seals). Clean groove in motor shaft with flat-head screwdriver and rag.
- Use a rag and white vinegar to clean motor shaft recess and pump housing seat. The bottom of the motor shaft recess must be clean and smooth for the lower seal to seat properly.
- Clean pump plate, gasket, blade, pump housing, and screws with white vinegar and a plastic-bristled brush.

ASSEMBLY
-Wet new rubber seals, new ceramic ring, and new rotor with water to help them slide into place.
-Refer to pics taken during disassembly as needed for the following steps.
- Place new lower seal (wide-side-down) over motor shaft in bottom of recess.
-Push new upper seal (cup-side-down) into recessed area in the bottom of the new rotor.
-Push new ceramic ring into upper seal (cup-side) in bottom of rotor.
-Align groove on motor shaft with tab in rotor (a mark on the outside of the rotor shows the tab’s location) and seat rotor on the motor shaft by hand. Verify that the motor turns when the rotor is turned by hand. If not, remove the rotor and reposition it so that its tab slides into the groove in the motor shaft.
-Place gasket, pump plate, and pump housing in position. Start pump housing screws, but leave them loose.
- Place blade and new O-ring on rotor.
- Place new impeller on rotor and insert screw. Tighten moderately — overtightening could cause leaks. Hold the impeller by hand to prevent it turning as the screw is tightened— do not use a screwdriver to prevent the impeller turning.
- Finish tightening pump housing screws.
- Seat spray-arm base on pump housing and insert/tighten its mounting screws.
- Switch on circuit breaker for dishwasher.
- Start washer and watch motor to verify that shaft seal is not leaking. Run a full cycle to rinse the new parts and remove debris and vinegar residue. Continue to observe motor shaft area for leaks during cycle.
-Replace lower front covers.

My husband had the water shut off to the dishwasher, he unplugged the electrical connection then disconnected the inlet water pipe with an adjustable wrench. Once that was done he disconnected the water inlet valve from the frame of the dishwasher and installed the new one , he then reconnected the inlet water pipe and the electrical connection , once that was done he opened the water valve feeding the dishwasher and checked for leaks which were none. Took him about 15 minutes to do it . Make sure you have the proper tools and a roll of Teflon tape before you start the job.

I followed the instructions in the video. It was really easy and took less than 15mins. Very happy with the part.

FIrst I had to turn off the water supply, remove the bad part and cap off the copper water line.
I found the correct part on line and ordered it. When the part came, I uncapped the water line, doped the ends and refit the valve. Turned the water on an voila!. I actually did it! I was pretty proud of myself. It only cost me the price of the part and not a plumbers fees as well.

We knew the latch was broken, but operational if you held it just right. I disconnected the water line and electricity to slide the dishwashwer out from the cabinet. Determined that hose had been chewed through by a mouse. Ordered the parts. when they arrived, changed the hose, slid the dishwasher back into place and tested. No leaks. then removed 6 screws to remove the face, 2 more screws and the wires to remove the broken latch, reversed the processed to replace and replaced the old seal. Loaded the dishwasher and it works like new.

just slid the wheel on.

Removed two screws on each side, lower half. Inside, removed six screws. Replaced the assembly and replaced all screws.
Not worth the fifty dollars for the part, just to have a door open at the right time to empty soap. Quite a hefty price to pay considering the price of the machine

removed two screws the disconnected the two hoses (after shutting the water off of course). It was easy.
Unfortunatley the water warped the wood under the vinyl flooring which is new and I really love. I would suggest that a rubber or some type of water proof material be placed under the dishwasher so that if it leaks it won't get at the subflooring. If this had been the case I would have noticed the leak right away.

Just snapped the wheels on and attached the bracket to the existing part.

remove center nut retaining the arm to the unit and replaced the arm.
replaced the nut.
complete.

replacing 2 wheels was a breeze. did not need the screws afterall.

The new roller just snapped in place.