MDB8601AWW41 Maytag Dishwasher - Instructions

After only 2 years, the Amana dishwasher door began to stick severely. If finally stuck so bad that I had to break the handle to get the door open. The replacement latch and handle fit perfectly and it only took a few minutes to get the screws off of the inner door panel to access the broken latch.

First I removed the screws from the inside of the door exposing the latch assembly. Removed the old part and installed the new assembly. Don't screw it on to the door untill the cover is on again.
First I ordered only the latch without the handle. Found after opening it up the handle was broken on the inside so had to order the assembly. It's a piece of cake to install. If you're having touble opening the door don't think because the handle looks ok from the outside it's not broken.. probably is. Partselect.com is the greatest company to deal with. I'd recommend them to anyone and have.
Sam

Removed the old one....slid in the new one.

I bought 2 Maytag appliances, a microwave and a dishwasher - they are both crappy!

The top plastic spray arm kept falling off into the top shelf of the dishwasher, causing all of the glasses on that shelf to come out dirty.

The arm has a small bracket that can snap off and on the main water tube easily without tools.

Changing it was a snap!

I removed the screws around the top and halfway down the sides of the inside of the door. I found that you dont have to remove all 10 screws to access the assembly. Reach in and pulled out the assembly, there was enough slack to pull it out above the door. Pull the connectors off and slide the new ones on. Set the new assembly back in place, insert the 2 top screws first, and then the rest. That was it...very simple to change.

Removed ~12 screws holding the inside liner onto the door. Pulled off the two connectors (one with black and one with white wires). Replace the handle and latch mechanism. Redid connections and replaced screws. Viola. (Be sure to buy BOTH the handle and latch mechanism- I don't see how you could easily install the handle on the mechanism myself, and what broken in my case was the black handle).

simply pulled out old one slowly inserted new one (stretching slightly) Presto done

Easy! Unscrewed panel, took off old latch, put on new. Took about five minutes.

I had to remove the the old retainer from the old wash arm ,install it on the new arm by snapping it on then I snapped the arm with the retainer up top of dishwasher.

Removed inside cover.
removed part.
disconnected switches.
plugged wires onto new part.
placed part in.
put inside cover on and screwed down.
Note: be careful of the bottom of the inside cover.

This site has a great video on how to do this. Just follow that.

I pulled out the dishwasher enough to tip it back and put a block of wood underneath the front leveling foot.
This step gave me more room to work on the valve.
I removed the lower cover plates to expose the valve.
I disconnected the incoming water line and unplugged the electrical connection.
I then unscrewed the bracket to release the valve from the case and took off the rubber hose attached to it.
I installed the rubber hose on the new unit and installed the bracket back in place. I then wrapped some Teflon tape on the threads of the valve fitting and re-installed the water supply line. I re-installed the electrical connection.
I then turned on the water to check for leaks. Once I was certain there were no leaks, I re-installed the lower cover plates and took out the wood block and pushed the dishwasher back into place and re-installed the screws that held it in place.
I then ran a load of dishes to make sure everything was working properly.

Removed all the screws holding the inside panel of the door to the door itself. Lifted out the old broken door latch. Pulled the wire clips from the 2 switches located on either side if the door Latch assembly. This is a bit difficult. You have to keep working the wire clips back & forth; Up & down until the clips are free from the switch metal contacts. Reinstall the wire clips on the new door Latch assembly making sure you attach the black wires and white wires on the same side of the new latch assembly as on the one removed. Replace the new latch assembly aligning the mounting holes on the door with the new latch holes. Replace the inside panel aligning the holes and replace the screws. The screws were the star head type so you need a special driver bit. I used the box the latch came in the prop up the inside door panel while I worked.

After disassembling accumulator assembly looking for reasons that washer not washing properly, I noticed accumulator filter had failed. The plastic (or whatever material it is) covering the holes was torn in a couple of different holes. Realizing that this was not the reason for the loss of pressure I investigated a little more and found that water arm going into the docking station was extremely worn with much play. Water pressure was compromised because of it. I replaced filter and docking station and now its like a new dishwasher again. Saved a dishwasher from the landfill!

In order to clean the screen I had to remove the impeller. Removal required using a wheel puller. I backed off on the impeller screw but left it attached so that the wheel puller could pry against it. I then tightened the puller enough to free the impeller. I was then able to unscrew and remove the screen for cleaning.