36314171792 Kenmore Dishwasher - Instructions

At first, I found a metal band that was rusted and loose, replaced it but still had a leak. I went to the diagnosis section and identified another area of problem, ordered the part and got super quick delivery. With the help my wife I was able to pull apart, repair and get the unit to run and stay dry. Wife is happy because she loves the décor of our old but now dry dishwasher.

The repair went really smoothly, I found a video on youtube for how to remove the dishwasher, and the video on the parts page did a great job covering replacing the motor. The repair went really well. As others have noted, it ran really nosily the 1st time, and a little the 2nd. After that, it ran quieter, and stronger than it has in the 4 years we have owned the house.

Turn off the power at the breaker panel. Turn off the water supply that goes to the dishwasher. Remove the front lower panel to gain access to disconnect the water line and electric. Now remove the two screws that connect the dishwasher to the countertop. You should be free to slide the dishwasher from under the countertop far enough to remove the drain hose. Slide the dishwasher out all the way and lay on the floor door down. Loosen the two clamps that hold the motor up. Remove the motor bracket, (should only be one screw. Disconnect the wires from the motor. Now just pull the motor down and out. Repeat the process to install the new motor. I took several pictures before I started removing anything. The instruction that comes with the kit is very good. Their will be parts in the kit that will not be used. Not to worry!

I had some extra problems with my water supply line since this is an old house, but I won't dwell on that. If you have an older model like mine (probably 80's) the only trick is with the drain solenoid. The kit uses a newer style solenoid that is a little different. Without getting too technical here, let me just say that if the old solenoid has a little metal lever that is actuated when the plunger goes down do not discard it. From what I have read, the dishwasher will shut down with an error code if you don't use this part and you will also have 2 wires that are just hanging there with nothing to plug in to. You will need to use an included metal plate and screws to adapt that part to the new assembly. It takes a little mechanical aptitude, but after you figure it out it works perfectly. I did not see this mentioned in the instructions but the necessary parts were included. Replacing the pump and motor was fairly simple, and all the needed parts were included in the kit. I did remove the unit from under the counter and lay it on it's back for easy access to the pump and motor. It helps to watch some You-tube videos if you are unsure about how to do this, but make sure they are working on the brand you have. All dishwashers are NOT the same.

Dishwasher is 22 years old and I'm 80 years old so it took longer, about 3 hours. After removing, turned upside down and removed old pump-motor assembly and replaced with new following directions [which took a little while to figure out; my assembly was quite a bit different from the replacement pump-motor]. Pleasantly surprised at how quiet the dishwasher now runs. Normally I would replace this old an appliance, but this unit has provision for inserting a wood panel that blends with the cabinets and a new GE dishwasher with this feature costs $1300 MSRP. I'm trying to save money for when I get old so I decided to do the repair myself. For $150 it was a worthwhile investment.

Most difficult part of repair was getting dishwasher out and in under the cabinet. Especially, feeding the copper water line from under the sink and then back while trying to align the connection. Installing the part itself was easy with good instruction for taking it off and reinstalling. However, since the motor had been upgraded, it required new connections. The connections were provided for this, but no instructions for the electrical connections.

Removed the existing inner door by removing screws along the edge of the inside door. Had trouble removing the door latch but after lifting it on one side of the plastic door fitting, it eventually lifted out. I also had some trouble getting the spring loaded soap door back into the replacement inner door. After playing with it for awhile I realized that the soap door should be in the open position when putting the spring latch back on. The soap door won't close until you get the entire inner door mounted and back on. I also want to note the the inside vent in the upper part of the inner door needs to be removed from the old inner door and installed in the new one. I missed that at first and it allowed condensation to get inside the door which caused the dishwashers alarm to go off during the dry cycle. One last note that I initially decided not to replace the existing sound proofing material in the new door based on advice from a website that stated that I wouldn't notice the sound difference. That was definitely untrue. I had to disassemble the door, replace the sound proofing and then it sounded fine. Overall it was a little difficult to figure out but considering how inexpensive the replacement door was compared with a having a service repairman come out, it was worth the trouble.