KDFE454CSS0 KitchenAid Dishwasher - Instructions

With a little pressure, I was able to push off the broken wheel pieces with my thumbs. I was able to snap on the new wheel pieces really easily.
This job took less than 15 minutes to replace all 4 wheel pieces.

I opened the package took out the replacement part and installed it with no tools. Easy, done in 10 minutes.

This repair is simple. However, what you recieve is a box of loose parts and no instructions. The new parts are not remotely the same design as the original. You have to figure out how to remove the old parts (fairly easy by careful prying) but then sort out what the new parts do and how they fit together. It takes patience and some mechanical knowledge. Once you figure it out, it goes quickly. A fairly simple diagram included with the parts would be definite benefit for most people. It seemed like an odd omission. They also include the shortest star driver (about 1 inch long) I have ever seen for the 4 screws but it is useless since you can't really apply enough torque to the screws to properly set them. Be prepared with a standard length star driver.

Pull the old seal out and push the new seal in. Done. Easy. The only issue is the door is still leaking and I have to replace the seal and the plate that goes across the bottom of the door.

Order both this seal and the seal for the bottom of the door at the same time.

Pulled upper tray out. Removed old adjusters and replaced with new. The pictures in the installation instructions were bad (blurry and hard to distinguish). Had problems with the first side button. Put it in before installing the wheel base on the second side. Went much easier that way. You did need a star tip for the screws.

Disconnected the damaged hose extension from the dishwasher outlet drain hose and the connection to the sink drain. Removed two clamps. One a spring clamp and the other a screw clamps. Connected the new extension hose with a spring clamp to the dishwasher outlet drain hose. Connected the other end to the sink drain with a screw clamp. Checked for leaks. Good to go!

Gently pull the old door seal out of it's track observing the orientation of the seal and the amount of extra seal at the ends of the seal grove/track..
Start installing the seal on one side leaving about the same amount of extra seal as original seal before removal.
Be sure the seals orientation is the same as the seal that was removed.
Carefully pressing the seal into the grove/track designed to hold the seal. Be careful to fully seat the seal into the grove/track.
The corners will be a little tricky, but carefully press and seat the new door seal all the way around. There should be a little extra seal after you get to the end of the grove/track.
Good luck, the new door seal solved my water leak.

First, I bought the door balance link to replace the broken links that connect to the springs.

Because I didn't have enough slack to simply pull out the dishwasher far enough to reach the springs, I had to disconnect the water line and electrical wiring.
The only reason my repair took as long as it did was because there was so little room underneath the dishwasher for disconnecting the water line. I had to buy a shorter adjustable wrench. Also, I had leaks after reconnecting the water line. I had to tighten the compression nut as far as it would go. The nut wrapped around a white substance that had been applied to the threads (I believe this is called pipe tape), which did the trick for sealing the leak.

The repair was a complete success! The parts arrived fast and the information from other customers on the the PartsSelect website was invaluable.

First I got online to troubleshoot issue to save mysel from a service call. One of the first UTube videos, a young man said usually the main issue was the lever. He pushed down on the floater. If it didn't click, than the lever below needed to be replaced. Most important to turn off the circuit breaker before beginning the repair. I got on whirlpool.com, Part Select, ordered the lever, which was under $10. And once delivered, was able to switch out the old lever with the new replacement. Part Quote video took me through the process step by step. The lever package was marked that usually it was only 2% of the time that replacing the lever fixed the issue. Of course, I was thrilled, my dishwasher was up and running again. Thank you.

Removed old housing parts and replaced them with the new parts I ordered. Very easy

My wife hired a local repairman when the right side spring cable broke (I was out of town). He took two hours to fix it (and two appointments). The door would then pop open when running. He came back and replaced the latch. Problems persisted. I then ordered new hinges and replaced both in half hour or so. Would recommend doing all of these repairs yourself. None of these repairs are that hard and definitely not worth paying hundreds to do it. Trickiest part is pulling the dishwasher out from the counter without impacting the electrical or water connections. Disconnecting the power is important on all repairs. When you take the screws out of the door to get to the hinges, make sure you have a helper just to hold the door up while removing the last few screws. The left side hinge was really bent (when the right side spring cable broke) - caused the door to be out of square and thus would not effectively close. This was obvious after a 5 minute search on this this and other repair sites. Process that I used: 1. remove screws from both sides holding dishwasher into counter (may have screws into countertop as well). 2. turn off power, 3. pull out dishwasher far enough to see hinges and springs (careful of connections), 4. remove front door screws, 5. take off front panel, 6. remove spring cables (pull cable taut and remove "hook" from hinge)., 7. unscrew two screws holding hinge to door, 8. bend metal fingers around hinge pin to be able to remove hinge., 9. attach hinge in opposite path. 10. repeat on other side (if necessary), 11. reconnect things in opposite order...test door prior to reattaching door panel. Make sure you level the unit with the adjustable feet. Make sure screws in sides of cabinet aren't too tight as it can take the unit out of square pretty easily...

Took half hour to take off old Adjuster just trying to figure which things pop off putting on new one side 10 minute at the most

The top and bottom parts of the lower wash arm were separating. This caused water to spray out the ends of the wash arm and come out the front of the dishwasher. In addition this water was not spraying upward resulting in dishes not getting cleaned. Took me a while to figure this out but the repair was simple.

Replaced the strainer. This keeps the two sprayers clean/clear so they do not clog up. Dishes are cleaner now. Note : if your sprayers are clogged it is a long process to clear out the sprayers. Dishes will not be clean until your sprayers are all cleared.

PULLED BROKEN CLIP OFF AND SQUEEZED NEW ONE IN. I HAD TO USE PLIERS TO SQUEEZE TOGTHER SINCE i AM 77 YEARS OLD AND HANDS ARE NOT THAT STRONG ANY MORE. I HAD ALSO WATCHED THE INTERNET VIDEO TO MAKE SURE I COULD HANDLE THIS CORRECTLY. 10 MINUTES MAX TO UNLOAD TOP RACK AND PUT TOGETHER.