MDB8551AWS Maytag Dishwasher - Instructions

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.

from inside the door remove torx screws down each side and top , pull panel back , removed 6 screws from back of dispenser ,unplug 1 wire connection ,reverse procedure , real easy repair.

1.Disconnected the electricty 2. pulled the dishwasher from under the cabinet 3. tilted the washer on it's face (water supply was long enough and did not need to disconnected.)4. unscrerwed the 2 plastic nuts that hold the heating eliment in place. 5. tilted the dishwasher back upright and removed the old heating element. 6.put the new part in place had a helper tilt the washer forward while i tightened up the two plastic nuts to hold the part in place.7 reattached the elecrtic conectors to the heating element. 8. pushed the dishwasher back in place. 9 hook the electricity back up. During step 4 i had to remove the electric connectors from the old heating element.

Wanted to change our dishwasher to a stainless steel appearance. When the panel was delivered in 1 day I might add it was flawless. I removed the old panel and the new panel attached to the dishwasher perfectly with the screw holes exactly lining up. The most inexpensive way to turn a kitchen into a stainless steel appliance look.

Switch was not the same switch as what was in the unit, similar but switch was normally closed instead of open, so had to take the switch apart and change sides with the contacts! should be the same, but was not, so in the end worked fine after an adjustment!

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.

Snapped the old part out and snapped the new part in.
It was a piece of cake.

First, I removed the screw, then I took off the old wash arm, then I replaced the wash arm, and replaced the screw. Nothing could be easier!

1) Turned off the power

2) I removed the screws on the plastic door.

3) The latch/handle assembly was right there.

4) I noticed that white and black wires fed each side. I noted which side did the black feed and the white feed.

5) I took a pair of pliers and held the white wire brackets and pulled the metal parts off. This is where the time took.

It took about 2 minutes per side.

6) I then slid the new metal parts in the white brackets.

7) I screwed it back.

8) Turned it back on!

9) Works great

Orderd the part's from your web site (recived my order in a timley fasion thanks) the parts just sliped on and clipped' basket rolls great. Mike Schaffer

FIrst I went to your web site; located the part on the easy to read diagram. Next I ordered the part. When the part came to the house (2-3 days), I opened the box and then the packaging, I screwed the part in and Wala! Boom! Bang! She was fixed!

All kidding aside. The part order was quick to locate, quick to ship and one of the easiest companies to deal with. I will return on my next dyi project.

I thought the door springs were broken so I ordered both springs and cables. After the parts arrived I removed the six screws that hold the dishwasher in place and slid the dishwasher out about five inches. Neither of the springs were broken but one of the cables was broken. I changed both cables, slid the dishwasher back in place and replaced the screws. The whole job took about 20 minutes. It was a very easy job.

Pretty easy job. You need torx tips for your screwdriver. An electric screwdriver got all 8 or 9 screws out of the door panel in about 60 seconds, separated inner door from outer door, pulled out handle assembly & disconnected wires, attached wires to new assembly, screwed it all back together. Be prepared... the handle will break again. It's just a bad design by Maytag. This Maytag model is so bad the company discontinued it. Beware of the control panel getting corroded from steam & failing. If replacing this panel, make sure you seal where the cable goes into the touchpad with some kind of waterproof glue, nail polish remover, or sealing tape so it doesn't happen again.

I unscrewed the inner door panel and the old latch assembly came out. I went to the circuit breaker and cut off power to the DW. Then I unplugged the old latch assembly and plugged the new one in. There were some springy metal pieces that had to be pushed back to get the old plug off and the new one on. After that it was just a matter of aligning the holes of the latch assembly with the holes for the screws and replacing all the screw holding the door panel, and tightening them up.

I was extreemly pleased with the replacement handle unit. The original unit had a plastic pivot points - the replacement part replaced these points with metal rods. The pivot points on the old unit were the points of failure.

The repair should have been done with a "star" head. Not having this, I was able to use a hex wrench instead.

The repair time was less than 10 minutes, most of that time removing and replacing the star head screws. If you have removed the old part, you have essentially completed the repair.

The biggest problem was identifying the proper handle unit. There are two very similar. Measure the distance between the mount holes in the unit and refer to the grid in the picture. The grid on your site was extreemly helpfull given the lack of part numbers printed on the Maytag OEM parts.