KDTE254ESS1 KitchenAid Dishwasher - Instructions

Laid on my side amd reach under unit

Following the video was quick and easy. Without the video it would have been slow and painful.

pulled the dishwasher out (took the most time-1 hour) and 30 min. to install new door balance kit and springs. Replace both sides while the unit was out.

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

pushed the new retainers in the holes and we are set to go

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.

The 1st person i had contact with wasn't any help choosing the correct part. Paid about $30.00 for the wrong part. Paid $8.00 more to ship the wrong part back for reimbursement. Meanwhile my son went to a local repair shop and got the right part for less than $40 and the repair shop installed the part on the rack for free
I was not happy with Part Select! Part Select cost me time and money and didnt get the job done

I took the valve off and actually hooked 110 volts to the vale and tried to blow through it and it would not let air pass through it. I replaced the the new valve in about 15 minutes and it works fine

Initial inspection of the issue and research suggested the door latch was malfunctioning / broken. I bought the part and expressed it home. The installation involved removing the door screws on the inside of the door, separating the front and back panels, unplugging the door latch, removing it from its niche and popping in the new one. Reverse the take apart and it was done. Very simple swap. Hardest part was juggling the two halves of the door and preventing the door for trying to close in the process as the bulk of the weight is in the outside half of the door.

The new part did not fix the issue. The door strike was the next part that could be broken / malfunctioning. I ordered that part as well and replaced it. In the process of replacing it I found that the original door strike had been installed upside down. I am guessing it was installed at just the right pitch, or maybe even bent at the manufacturing facility, so that it latched. No idea how it managed two years like that. I installed the new one correctly and the door latches perfectly. Both parts I removed from the unit I will retain if my new parts should fail in the future.

Popping out the old tine rows was very simple and required no tools. The only issue was that the spacing of the replacement tines was different from the original parts and there was not enough space between the tines and the basket to snap the clips back on to hold the tine row. I went to my band saw and cut the extended ends off of the clips and then they snapped into place perfectly. This would have been a 20 minute, no tool job if I didn't have to run to the band saw.

Unplug dishwasher. Remove lower front accessible panel. Disconnect wires to the drain pump. Rotate pump to unlock and remove. Apply plumbers grease to rubber seal and install new pump. Connect wires. Plug in dishwasher and run rinse cycle to check for no water leak. If all okay replace access panel. Done.

Had to remove 2 screws fastening dishwasher to counter. Also removed bottom faceplate to expose the legs and to be able to lower them. Other sites recommended disconnecting the drain and water line but I did not have to do that, I had enough slack in the lines. I got the dishwasher about halfway out of the cabinet and then was able to remove the 4 screws holding the right track. Put the new track in and was good to go. Problem was that the left track broke and fell off a few days later. Still was an easy fix and thanks to PartSelect it was not very expensive.

Total repair time after watching videos was 53 minutes. I estimate I saved between $200 to $300 by doing this myself. If you have any DIY skills, don't hesitate to replace the detergent dispenser yourself.

Upper tray removed and each rack adjuster removed and replaced one after the other. Only tool was screwdriver. Only knowledge was from the online videos. Only took 30 minutes or so. The repair could have been done more quickly if I wasn't fearful that the smaller plastic parts would break when pulled or pried away from the rack adjuster. The only mistake was not making sure the adjuster tabs were fully engaged in back and clicked in the front attachment.

Turned off water supply to the unit. Removed plastic cover at bottom front. I only had to disconnect the copper water line to slide the unit about 1/3 of the way out. I then was able to reach the wires, disconnect them and use a stubby box/open end wrench (5/8? don't remember for sure) to remove the plastic nuts. I then opened the door, removed the bottom basket and slipped the element right out. Installation of new part was reverse.