WDF520PADM2 Whirlpool Dishwasher - Instructions

Received the new cap and twisted it into place.

My 2 parts were delivered very quickly. We had been putting off the repair, mainly because any time you hire a capable repair man, the charge to "walk through the door"is very high. I actually thought about buying a new DW for this reason . . . Then I googleD PARTS, And was lucky to find PARTS SELECT. I was most impressed with the graph layout of the parts, which enables the buyer to actually measure the part being replaced to be sure the correct item is being ordered. The instructions were excellent, and this grandmother took care of the repair, easily.

I snapped on the new part onto the track. It was that easy! :) Thank goodness the part was available from Part Select!
T. Edwards

removed screws holding dishwasher to counter top,raised leveling pads,pulled dishwasher out, unplugged wiring,removed hold down nuts from inside dishwasher and installed new heater element, this was all easy the hard part was finding the code to reset the dishwasher there was no paperwork inside the dishwasher although there was an empty plastic holder.The code that worked for my model was with the door open to push the normal wash button then the high temp button three times as fast as you can within four seconds then close the door. It worked and reset the dishwasher which ran a short cycle then shut down as normal and is now working fine.After doing this select the beverage of your choice and relax. Hope this helps someone.

Unscrewed the top of the dishwasher from the counter top and slid the appliance out part way in order to reach the door spring. I loosened he spring from the bracket then slid the sleeve over the bracket. I reattached the spring to the bracket, slid the dishwasher back in and screwed it to the top just like it was prior to removal. Easy as pie.

This procedure assumes that the DW water connection and drain are flexible. Remove Phillips head screws (2) mounting top front of DW to underside of counter. Grasp door and gently coax DW outwards approximately 1 foot. WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES. On RHS check lower end of door spring and note in which notch the spring sits. On RHS, grasp white plastic connector ("hinge bushing", with spring looped around one end), stretch the spring while carefully lifting other end of connector up, out of slot in door hinge lever. Pry door hinge lever 1/8" away from DW body while sliding friction sleeve over its end. Work friction sleeve past hinge hook, past wider section, into narrower slot (about 2" from end of hinge hook). Raise door to closed position. Insert and hold lower (90 degree) end of spring into the same notch that it was originally in (mine was in the 5th from the front). Loop the door end of the spring into one end of the white plastic hinge bushing, then insert the other end of the bushing into the door hinge lever's hook while stretching the spring. It does not require much strength. CAUTION: If the lower end of the spring is not properly inserted and held in the notch, it can pop out and possibly injure you! Repeat for the LHS. Push the DW back in place, and reinstall the two mounting screws.

Took less than one minute

Was able to replace and repair without taking the dishwasher out. Thermostat is behind and to the left of the power junction box. Has 2 wires going to it. It is up against the bottom of tub. I used an angled mirror to see what I was doing. 1 small screw to detach and pull down thermostat. Be sure power is off before you start. Also reprogrammed defaults. Hit any button 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, fast and close door. Let it sit 15 min to run and re-set defaults. Now I have heat and dry dishes.

saw big hole in first (main) hose - got replacement at local hardware thinking it was the only problem - it wasn't - turned on the water and noticed another leak so ordered hose from parts select - fast delivery - installed 2nd hose but still a leak so ordered grommet from parts select - again prompt delivery - installed it and voila no more leak -
also checked for rat entry points, plugged those and put down bait - bait wasn't being taken under dishwasher even tho rat reappeared so put a snap trap in back - no luck so far - teachable moment: might have been cheaper to just get another dishwasher as parts are expensive and its difficult to tell extent of damage - luckily i only needed 3 parts = $150

Very easy repair !!! I ordered my heating element on a Friday , it was on my porch Saturday. I used the directions that Parts.com sent me . I also read everyones Installation instructions ..... Every step was very easy . I did watch a utube video , so I couldn't screw this repair up......... My wife had a new dishwasher picked out for $ 579.00 , my part was $29 dollars , savings $550 dollar ...... After the repair , I ran the dishwasher and the blinking clean lite took care of itself ... The water has never been this hot and dryers the dishes like it was a new dishwasher ...... My advice , read everyone's Installation instuctions and watch the utube video .....

Shut off breaker. Took off front skirt of dishwasher .
Used pliers to loosen the pressure clamp on drain pump , have towel handy as there will be some water. Turn pump to left as you push in on the clip on side of drain pump. It will come out. Remove wire plug from old pump and plug into new pump than insert new pump and turn and push in till it clicks. Use pliers to pinch hose clamp and push hose onto pump release hose clamp. Turn breaker on. Run a cycle and make sure all is tight before putting skirt on front.

I pulled the unit away from the cabinet, unplugged the washer and water line(not long enough to reach) removed two nuts from the underside and replaced the heating unit.

Everything worked perfectly---thanks to the suggestion of your call center agent. She suggested that since the replacement door handles were no longer available, I should consider repainting them--it worked like a charm. Please tell her she was a life saver. We rent that house in Fl and my returning tenants had complained about the discoloring refer handles. Thank you

The repair was easy. Getting the unit to slide out from under the counter was more time consuming.
After water and power is disconnected, tip the unit over onto one side to gain access to bottom. Look for two white composite plastic posts (insulators) about 2" long each with a single wire inside. Remove the two wire connectors then unscrew the insulators from the old heating element using an adjustable wrench. Inside the box remove the two metal element supports and pull out the old element. Clean and dry the area in and around the openings where the new element will be re-inserted. Carefully place the new element into the holes with the included new rubber washers. Re-install the two metal element supports on the inside of box. On the bottom, re-install the two insulators to the ends of the element, do not to tighten too much to avoid over compressing the rubber washers which could cause premature cracking. Reconnect both wires and check continuity from the door mircro-switch (white-violet) lead to the (white-red) lead on Electronic Controller connector #1 (P6). The circuit thru the element should be good if the Multimeter reads 10-35 ohms. Put the unit securely back under the counter and run a test wash. Works fine now.
I do recommend, if don't know how to use a multimeter or are concerned about accessing the electronic control box; contact a professional.

The Upper Rack Wheel Mount (where wheel attaches to mount) had broken. Was able to band-aid until parts received by running a small bolt and nut (with sufficient size washers) through the wheel attaching it to the assembly, then re-attaching the Upper Rack Wheel Mount back to the dishwasher upper tray. Once the part ordered from PartSelect arrived, it was a simple matter of mounting the new Upper Rack Wheel Mount to the tray, replacing the band-aided item. The upper tray did have to be removed from the slider bars - required the plastic keepers on the end of the slider bar to be removed and then reinstalled once the Upper Rack Wheel Mount was replaced.