MDBCUBEAWX Maytag Dishwasher - Instructions

Not a bad repair once you diagnose the problem. Took me three tries to figure it out. Just make sure you follow the instructions. I used an allen wrench to hold the motor in place while tightening the part onto the motor shaft, this way I didn't have to remove and flip the dishwasher to do the repair. The good news is the replacement part I needed was metal instead of plastic, thus I should never have this problem again. I don't understand why it was plastic in the first place but all of my appliance problems seem to be made to fail after several years of service.
Repair was

I needed a simple clip for a fold-away dishwasher rack. MAYTAG was NO HELP--except they did supply me the right part number that MAYTAG posted on websites in error. MAYTAG said they could not ship it to me--not a consumer item!! Well, I found the part at PARTSELECT.com, I had it in three days and installed it in about 10 minutes. Our clip has been broken for 2 years and it ended up being a 10 minute fix!! GREAT JOB PARTSELECT.com!!!!

The part broke off a while ago, and I did not want to call a repair person. The machine still ran, so I ran it with the part missing - the glasses were not very clean, but the repair call was expensive...

I figured that I had a snowballs chance of finding the part number on a molded plastic piece with no numbers printed on it. Boy was I wrong. I was able to choose the part off of a schematic of my machine right on the website and it linked me to the right part order form, so I did not even have to go back and find it on a list.

When the part came, all I had to do was unclip the old mount- with my fingers- no tools, and snap in the new part.

A for maytag for making it easy to fix
A+ for PartSelect for making it so darn easy

Removed assembly holding the docking station to insure the passageway was clear. I reversed the flappers and noticed an improvement in cleaning then decided to order a new part. Installation was simple and the repair seems to have worked well.

Removed top tray. Removed old wash arm (rotating) and installed new one using a screw driver.

Manualy un-snapped station docking (w/flapper) and removed. Snapped in new one.

It's great having a firm like PartSelect.com at your disposal. Part identification using your schematics was as simple as ordering the parts. I've told many people about your exceptional customer service and ease of use!

I just pulled out the old baskets and repositioned the new ones from PartSelect.com. No tools were needed!

Removed filter cover and filter and found the plastic chopper sleeve was stripped out. Followed instructions that came with the seal kit to replace it.

Snapped out the old retainer, snapped in the new. Then snapped in the washer arm. Done. Works great.

Removed the bottom tray. Removed the two clips in the top tray guides and removed the top tray. Removed the top spray arm and transfer tube by unclipping it from the top and at the back and then rotated it down and out. Removed the six screws around the upper pump housing and removed it along with the bottom spray arm. Removed the three screws holding the filter protector plate and removed it. Removed the two screws holding the accumulator / flow plate and removed it. Put it back together in reverse order careful to not over tighten the screws.

I first listened carefully and noticed that during cycling, the electric motors could be heard starting, stopping, and apparently running normally during both wash and emptying cycles. However, no water was being pumped around during the wash cycles, while emptying (which uses a different motor) worked normally throughout all cycles. Thus it seemed to me that the electronic programming was working correctly in turning both motors on and off as necessary. So I figured somehow the wash motor impella was not turning and pumping water, despite the fact that the motor was indeed running correctly. So I removed all the plastic housings, the screwed on impella, and the metal chopper at the base of dishwasher. Then I was able to easily pry the old plastic chopper sleeve right off of the electric motor shaft (normally it is screwed on and cannot be pryed off). Since the plastic threads inside the chopper sleeve were completely stripped, the motor shaft would turn but the impella would slip on the shaft and not be driven. The replacement sleeve was much better constructed (metal not plastic). It could be easily screwed on to the motor's driveshaft after lifting the old rubber seal and gently holding the motor shaft with a pliers (carefull to avoid scratching the shaft). I removed the old rubber seal nd replaced it with the new one from the kit, right over the newly installed metal chopper sleeve. Next, I easily centered the metal chopper sleeve and pressed in the new seal after reinstalling the plastic/metal chopper screen, using the temporary jig included in the kit. Then the jig was discarded and the impella simply screwed onto the chopper sleeve (using the appropriately threaded hold-down screw provided in the kit). Finally, the rest of the plastic hardware is screwed in place. Waahhlaa...now impella is motor driven again and blows water hard into the dishwasher during the wash and rinse cycles. Total cost of job to do-it-yourself, $29.50 including shipping (which only took three working days). Estimated job if down by appliance repairman, $140 (assuming the repairman didn't first erroneously blame the problem on faulty electronics then charge you hundreds of $$'s to replace circuits which were not broken to begin with, only to find the dishwasher still not washing/rinsing after his expensive electronic circuit replacements. The actually mechanical fix was cheap and simple. Truthfully, there is no excuse for Jenn Aire to ever use a plastic Chopper Sleeve in their dishwashers to begin with.......carefully planned obsolesence if you ask me. Oh well, it works perfect now. I doubt if even the four marbles my 4 year old had tried earlier to wash in my dishwasher (stripping out the original chopper sleeve) would do any damage to the metal replacement. However, I don't plan on testing my hunch. A simple fix, but a slightly challenging diagnosis which relied on a keen sense of hearing and a quiet workplace. Seems many people in these blogs have had the very same problem with their Jenn Air/Maytag dishwashers, and have made the same diagnosis and the same simple fix. Thank you mucho, PartSelect.

The repair was much simpler than I had anticipated. I just started removing screws, remembering what screws went where, and carefully removed the parts I needed to until I could get to and remove the filter unit. Installing the new unit was a snap, then it was just a matter of putting everything back together.

The original piece is 100% plastic (with metal shields only to prevent burning). The bushing of the arm was badly worn out in one side. The arm was no turning properly or at the end no turning at all. I decide to drill the new part in order to fit a brass bushing inside (1/4" ID, 5/16" OD, about 2" long). I expect it will last considerable longer. I would say this is a typical "defective by design" problem.

Unfortunately, my experience was unlike that of the other people who posted. While everything did go back together it was very difficult to get it all to press down tightly enough to tighten each set of screws. The project took about 2.5 hrs and I still don't think it is exactly right. I'm still going to have a professional out to finish the job. Also, the tool needed to complete the job was nothing fancy, but also not in everyone's home tool kit.

Removed and replaced middle rack. Installed new upgraded roller clip on wheels. Installed new plastic dishrack tine pivots being careful not to break them.

Easy to repair and saved us replacing a dishwasher that was pretty new as it was. The dishes weren't getting clean, checked it out and found out the chopper was broken. Works great now with clean dishes.