KDFM404KPS KitchenAid Dishwasher - Instructions

Popped out old wheel housing. Popped in replacement with a little help from a flathead screwdriver. Easy.

After pulling the dishwasher out, I was able to determine the leak was occurring around the plastic nuts on the end of the heating element. I removed the heating element and saw that even though there were washers on the ends that protruded through the backside of the machine, they really weren't sealing the holes the element was sticking through. Looking at YouTube videos on the installation procedure, I noticed the element being installed had a sort of metal grommet permanently affixed to each end and the rubber washers were between the grommet and the dishwasher body. I ordered the new part and saw this to be when I received the new part. This grommet allowed the washer to seal the hole, once the plastic nuts were installed on the backside of the dishwasher. This seems to have stopped the leak. I don't know how the original part ever worked correctly, since the washers freely sat on the element with nothing to force them up against the body of the dishwasher and seal the holes. It may have been leaking long before I discovered the problem.

The valve has a plastic fitting to attach the the water line with a hose fitting. Was not carful enough with the original and damaged it attaching the water line. Ordered a replacement fitting. While it is possible to replace the water inlet valve without pulling the dishwasher out from the cabinet found it was easier to get at with the machine out. The video does and good job of showing the removal and replacing the valve. Easy job, don't be like me and be careful attaching the water line.

Checked drain hose and it was clear without kinks. I shut of the electrical breaker. Verified no power to washer. Removed the lower trim panel. Lowered the adjustable feet to allow me to slide my unit out. Disconnected drain hose from unit. Pulled unit from cabinet. My drain pump is located on the right bottom side when facing the door of the unit. I did not need to lay the unit on its side and have enough power cable to not have to disconnect it while still pulling the unit all the way out of the cabinet. The pump is easily accessed from the right side hidden behind insulation. Disconnected power wire from pump. Pressed down locking latch and turned pump counter clockwise removed then replaced in opposite order. I have run 3 load’s before posting this and as of now my dishwasher is functioning perfectly.

Although the lower rack was a slightly different style than our original, it fit the dishwasher perfectly. We needed to transfer the silverware racks to the new rack and insert one set of removable tines. About 5 minutes and we are very happy with the repair.

Rolled out old, rolled in new.

Removed new from box and installed rollers as instructed that's all there was , very easy.

Removed old rack and and removed old rollers and installed old rollers on new rack as they work better than the new rollers sent with new rack

Relatively simple. Unhook electrical, water supply, and hose from drain air gap. Unscrew two screws that hold in the dishwasher and pull it out slowly making sure you do not damage the insulation.

Have a couple of towels nearby because when you tip the dishwasher on it's side some water will spill out.

Locate the old drain pump, disconnect it. Then pull the lever on the side of the pump and twist it off. Check to see if there are any materials that may be blocking the pump. Also good time to clean out the drain line.

Insert the new pump and put everything back in reverse order.
Make sure the dishwasher is level horizontally and vertically.

I found it best to lay the dishwasher on it's side, this makes it easier to attach a 90 degree hose fitting without cross threading the plastic fitting.

The old tine row came out easily and the new one was easy to pop into place. I was pleased that it was so easy to order a replacement part.

Diagnose using onboard diagnostic function. Note the light code for our dishwasher did not match others online, so check the quick guide that came with your dishwasher.

Undo all clamps to the circulation pump, remove the drain pump from the assembly.

Install drain pump into new assembly, and install all parts into dishwasher. Ensure all cables connected and reinstall dishwasher into cabinet space. Run short test cycle and check for leaks.

Turn off water and disconnect water line.
Pull dishwasher out as far as possible.
loosen both door hinges, with a helper holding the door at an angle.
Disconnect connecting wire between hinges.
Remove and replace left door hinge. Then remove and replace the right hinge.
Reconnect every thing, turn on water.
Hinge is a poor design. Ours had grease on the spring and it had slipped off the connection.

Removed broken tin row. Replaced with new tine row. Tokk less than 1 minute.

Disconnected water, drain and electricity. Pulled machine out and put on its back to access bottom. It's a matter of swapping out the part. You do have to "move" some blocking parts, but no big deal. Only issue is you need to have traditional hose clamps as the 2 OEM clamps are 1 time use and if you do not have the crimper, you need to replace with standard ones. Also, no one tells you that you may need to "reset" the machine when you put the power back on. I had an error /fault code of FA E5 which is a drain issue. Just cut the power for a couple of minutes, open the door, hit CANCEL twice ( you may need to hit HEATED DRY too), put power back on, and the fault code will go away. Not sure if this is what the factory says, but a bit of trial and error solved it.

Never done any repair before on an appliance, but a lot less expensive than repair person who wanted $665 + tax.