WDT540HAMZ4 Whirlpool Dishwasher - Instructions

After replacing the door seal and the dishwasher still leaked a lot of water out the bottom of the door, I read posts by a couple of other DIY who said the lower spray arm can split at the seam and cause this. One post noted it is very difficult to determine if this is the problem, that you may have to take the blade of a screwdriver and try to pry the seam apart gently to see if a gap does appear with very little force being applied. If so, then just imagine what happens when that very hot water makes that plastic more flexible and then the seam opens and forces waves of water against the lower door. I could see a small seam split using that strategy and when I replaced the spray arm, my leak stopped. I don't regret replacing the door seal as it had a couple of small tears and hard water deposits all over it, so it was time to do that even though it was not the culprit for the extensive leak. The arm is SO EASY to replace, just twist the plastic nut under it and it pops right off. Put the new one on and twist the nut the other way and it secures it.

Snap in the missing track stop and twist snap the middle spray arm. That simple.

Disconnected the damaged hose extension from the dishwasher outlet drain hose and the connection to the sink drain. Removed two clamps. One a spring clamp and the other a screw clamps. Connected the new extension hose with a spring clamp to the dishwasher outlet drain hose. Connected the other end to the sink drain with a screw clamp. Checked for leaks. Good to go!

Only one friction sleeve was broken. So I pulled out the dishwasher to see how the one on the other side went on. It was very easy to replace and I replaced both. Unit works fine now.

Put in both a new element and thermostat. Did not fix problem. Using an ohm meter I did not measure any voltage to the thermostat. Suspect it’s a problem in the control unit, and decided to replace dishwasher.

Thanks to everyone for posting their experiences on changing the heater element. The most difficult part of the repair was getting the dishwasher out of the cabinet. I didn't know that I should disconnect the water line underneath the sink and this would make the removal easier. Also, because the copper water line going to the dishwasher was kinked, I ended up changing it with a flexible steel braided line.....much easier to install.

Once the dishwasher was out of the cabinet, I turned it over and easily removed the clips that held the heater element in.

I would definetly recommend people doing this repair themselves, it will save you a lot of money!!!!!

Put the kick plate under the dishwasher and screwed it in. Easy!

I read how other people had the same problem, I checked everything that could possibly cause this. I then believed I knew what was wrong. I ordered a new arm. It was unbelievable how easy it was to replace.it. It took less time than a minute. . Turn the nut holding the arm counter clockwise to remove the arm. To replace turn the nut clockwise I now have a working dishwasher. It is not necessary to remove the dish rack.

Removed the inner panel, remove electrical connection to dispenser, remove dispenser, metal tabs that hold it in, are a bit hard to pry metal tabs, and when installing net dispenser tabs are also a little difficult to pry tabs to install but doable. So far works like it should.

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.

The old filter simply unscrews and the new one screws in.

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.

Pull dishwasher out a few inches. Disconnect spring from plastic connector with long nose pliers. Remove connector. Replace friction sleeve. Replace connector.Reconnect spring to plastic connector. This completes repair.

Very easy to twist off the old pump and replace with new part. Worked perfect after replacement! We just followed you tube instructions

The air just unscrews with one twist and the new arm twist right back on. No tools needs. Saved me $100 service call.