MDB7851AWB2 Maytag Dishwasher - Instructions

First I opened the breaker on the dishwasher removing power from the unit. Then I removed the Torx head screws on the cover on the back side of the front door. Then I pulled off the stainless steel sheet metal panel which exposed the door latch. Then I unplugged the electrical connectors to the two micro switches on the assembly, next I plugged in the connectors on the new latch assembly and postioned the latch back on the mounting holes. Replaced the stainless steel sheet metal and put the screws back.

First and foremost, turn off the power to the dishwasher at the breaker panel. Next, open the door and remove all of the Torx screws along the door edge, except the bottom two. The inner skin will open enough, and there is sufficient slack in the wires, to change out the latch assembly without completely removing the whole inner door skin. Next, remove the wire harness plug from the right switch and then insert it onto the right switch of the new assembly. Do the same with the wires for the left switch. Note, you may need a pair of pliers to remove the wire connector from the switches. Place the switch back in place, lining up the screw holes properly, and replace all of the Torx screws. Turn the breaker back on and you are done.

Not only could I get the part from PartSelect.com quicker than I could from Sears, the total cost with shipping was the same as Sears wanted for just he part!

All i had to do was ....first unplug the dishwasher,then remove 10 of the Torx head screws on the inside of the door.(from the top down)
With that done i could open the cover without taking it off. then unplug the switches,and replace the new handle.
screw the cover back in place.
done! piece a cake!
MD
PS (don't forget to plug it back in)

First turned off power to dishwasher. Then, I removed all the screws on the dishwasher door. Removed old plastic door latch from wire assembly piece. Pressed on latches for square small wire boxes connected to wire assembly piece to be able to handle wire assembly plastic piece without attachment to dishwasher. Tried to snap door handle to wire assembly plastic piece, but didn't seem to fit - was too tight. Checked for discussion online and found that it required heavy pressure to snap in place. Used pliers to clamp down on outer plastic on wire assembly piece to squeeze fit door latch plastic hooks in place. This was difficult, but with heavy pressure finally managed to snap in outer hooks. Then with difficulty snapped in inner hooks. Was afraid of breaking new plastic piece, but all worked out well. Door has never opened and closed so well!!

Difficulty was primarily because there were no instructions for the procedure so trial and error. I suggest: 1) Turn off power circut to the dishwasher. Then remove the star headed screws on the panel with door open and this separates the interior plastic door liner from the exterior door panel 2) remove the 4 screws inside the door that are the final fasteners for the exterior panel and the metal brace 3) bottom of the old door panel is curled and needs to be bent back slightly at the bottom 2 corners with a screw driver or pliers so the old panel can be removed by sliding the panel upward past corner brace while being careful with the electrical connections 4) once the old panel is removed the new one can be slid down the door arms and the interior screws attached 5) finally install the star head screws holding the interior panel and the new exterior panel. Restore electrical power and enjoy the new look of the ss panel.

Spent 1 hr following video. Difficulty was taking part apart & attaching new latch handle to latch assembly. Called PS tel support & spoke w/Breanna who was patient & tried her best to coach me. Sent photos to her via email to show what part looked like. Her boss discovered latch was attached upside down. Tried very hard to reattach in the correct direction. To no avail. Was advised to call Whirlpool tech. Instead, contacted handyman to complete repair.

First, I recommend asking PartSelect for help to insure you have correct part. They tell me the pictures on the web site are provided by Maytag and are copywrited so they can't change them. The pictures are incorrect and misleading. However, it's a known problem, so the PartSelect people will steer you in the right direction. Bottom line in my case, I needed the lower cost part that included more pieces (counter-intuitive so I was glad I called). Got the right part the first time in about 3 days regular shipping.

As far as install, you need a "Torx" screwdriver (screw heads have a star-like pattern) to remove the screws along the inside of the door. From there, the old latch is accessible and easy to remove. As others have mentioned, the hardest part is removing the wire harnesses on either side of the latch. They have a slide on compression clip holding them on, and I think that time and ambient moisture must cause them to get stuck very tightly. I originally thought there was something locking them on, but in the end, I was able to pull and wiggle them loose with by applying slight inward pressure on the prongs with long nose pliers. You have to be careful not to damage the parts when attempting to pull them apart. It's nice that the part I ordered includes new switches, so if I caused any damge removing the old ones, it didn't matter. Just take extra care on the side with the wires and plastic connectors, since those parts aren't included and are more involved to replace if you damage them.

Overall, a very simple repair. The repair stories from others on the site were very helpful and gave me confidence when I ran into the small snag mentioned, since others had the same problem. Hopefully the additional detail I've provided on that issue will help fill any gaps.

remove 11 screws, remove old latch after disconnecting electrical wires, connect wires to new latch assembly, and replace 11 door screws. Easy breezy.

First, we removed all of the screws around the perimeter of the interior door panel and lifted it up. (we didn't take it completely off because that would have required disconnecting wires so we just held it up out of the way.)

Second, the plastic on the latch assembly was broken so that part came out fairly easily. The hard part was disconnecting the metal prongs that plug it in to the door control wires. We tried everything--prying, pulling--and finally got all three of us in there. One pulled on the latch end of the prongs, the other pulled on the door wiring end of the prongs, and I squeezed the prongs in-between with needle nose pliers. This broke the prongs on the latch side, which was fine since we were replacing the entire latch (the directions in the service manual we downloaded didn't give any indication that disconnecting the prongs would be difficult--I feel like there must be a trick to it, but breaking the prongs worked fine too!)

Third, we plugged in the prongs of the new latch--went in easily!--and popped the new latch into place in the door. It wasn't held securely, probably because of the broken plastic, but we replaced the inner door and screwed it in place, and when we shut the door it worked.

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.

I removed eight screws and installed the new parts. The replacement factory parts are better then the originals and the latch handle should not break again. Had I called for service it would have cost $149 (not incuding parts) just for them to show up to look at it and tell me that they need to order these same parts. Plus, I would have had to wait an addtional two weeks for them to order the parts and come back to do the repair since most service companies do not carry parts with them. Their parts are marked up and would have cost 30% more for the same factory parts I order from you. The parts including shipping were $36.30 and I had the repair completed in three days, including standard shipping time. Quite a savings! and very easy to complete the repair.

Thank you!

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

Read the Q & A, watched the videos and tried not to drop any screws into the wash tub. Walter from Tucson, AZ made a great point about not overtightening any screws that bed into plastic.

If you have already figured out what the problem and the part number is, and have gotten this far, then you probably already know how to fix it and do not need instructions. But if you do, I took the following steps:

1) Use a #T20 star bit to remove the screws from the inner door panel. [Note: I would use a manual screw driver as opposed to a drill/driver, because you are less likely to accidentally strip the threads in the screw holes];

2) Lift the panel up and detach the wire harnesses from the metal receptacles attached to the old assembly.

3) Remove the old latch assembly, and then press the wire harnesses into the metal receptacles on the new assembly. [Note: You may have trouble getting the wiring harnesses out. If you pull hard enough you can get them off, but if you truly cannot, simply detach the metal receptacles from both the new and old latch assemblies and place the old metal receptacles on the new assembly with the wire harnesses still attached. If you choose this method, be careful with the little plastic retainer bars that secure the metal receptacles, they are pretty easy to break.];

3) Put the new latch assembly in its seating and re-secure the inner door panel. If you used a drill/driver before, I would really switch to a manual driver at this point.

4) Take the dishes out of your bathtub, and place them in the dishwasher.

5) Close the door back.

6) Stare.

Disconnect the power,open panel and remove screws with the exception of the two bottom ones. This allows the panel cover to be opened far enough to pull latch assembly clear.
Remove electrical contacts (2) and put defective unit aside. Connect new latch unit to both wire saddles,line up unit with proper holes and install two screws. Once fixed in place,install all other screws and switch power back on.Do a short test run to check for any leaks