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Home > Archive > Tools repair and advice > June 2006 > Maytag dishwasher leaking from front door
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Maytag dishwasher leaking from front door
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| I have a Maytag dishwasher, model# DWU7400BAX. It is around 8 or 9 years
old. It is dripping water from the door. The drip appears to be coming
from inside the door, around 5 5/8" from the right side. The drip does not
start happening until the unit has been running a while, when the washer
knob gets toward the heating delay asterisk (just beyond 6 O'clock
position). Not sure if it starts happening exactly when it reaches the
asterisk, just that this is the general location it starts happening. I
began the wash at the Normal position.
The location of the drip seems to be 1/2" to the right of where the latch
for the detergent cups is located. My theory is that the small square
gasket around the latch is letting water get inside the door, and that is
why it is taking a while for the water to soak up the insulation on the
inside of the door, and then make its' way to the bottom of the door and
then leaking out the bottom of the door. The rinse aid cap is also near
this location, but I suspect the gasket more than the rinse aid cap, based
on my own opinion from examining these two items. Do you think I'm correct
in diagnosing the detergent cup door latch gasket as the cause of the leak,
or could it be something else like the black rubber gasket around the door,
or the rinse aid cap?
Assuming that the gasket around the latch for the detergent caps is indeed
the cause, then the next question is can I replace this small gasket myself,
or do I need to have a professional do this? I notice that they sell a
latch/gasket kit online for only $2.50. Does replacing this gasket involve
removing the white plastic panel on the INSIDE of the door? This panel
appears to have special bolts which seem to require a special "star shaped
six point wrench" rather than a standard Allen hex wrench. If getting to
the gasket involves removing the white plastic panel on the INSIDE of the
door, then where can I buy this special wrench, and would it be easy for me
to do this job myself? Is there another way to replace this gasket, such
as, by removing the OUTSIDE panel of the door, and if so, then how do I do
that?
Any potential snags I need to know about...such as would I need a special
glue or tools to install the new gasket, etc, or is it likely I could cause
other leaks by doing this repair myself?
This may be grasping at straws, but is there some type of caulk I could use,
or anything else I could use, that could potentially fix the problem WITHOUT
having to take the door apart?
If you think this fix is NOT a do-it-yourself job, then do you think it
would be worth spending $100 or more for a repair, or should I simply use
the money toward a new dishwasher? What is the typical life of this
dishwasher, and how much does an equivalent model cost these days?
Thanks for your advice.
Jay
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| Dave Harnish 2005-06-17, 11:33 pm |
| Hi Jay,
Not a tough job for the handy homeowner, this is about
the most common problem with these dishwashers. Caulk
won't do it - you'll have to replace that little boot.
Pulling the door apart's not that hard, either - don't let it
scare you. Torx drivers are available at nearly any
hardware store these days, and it's not a bad idea to get
a kit of various sizes. There are handy drivers that include
4 or more sizes in the handle, or in an inexpensive kit.
Usually includes at least a #10, #15, and #20, the most
common sizes used in appliances.
Power it down, remove the inner door panel screws, and
just close the panel back up again, slipping a clothespin or
small Visegrips into the latch strike to hold it up for you. (I
snap a forceps into the strike to hold it, which works well.)
You'll see how it installs, it's pretty straightforward. You
have to pull the dispenser wax motor(s) and linkage out
to get to it, but just take your time and you'll be surprised
at how easy it is. You'll find a lot of 'gunk' - mostly
detergent residue - in the area that'll have to be cleaned,
and that usually takes longer than the actual boot
replacement.
I've not been too impressed with these machines, but
they've been doing better than I expected when I first saw
them. They'll never beat the longevity of the earlier
(belt-drive) Maytags, but the same can be said for pretty
much every appliance out there today.
Hope that's of some help.
God bless,
Dave Harnish
Dave's Repair Service
New Albany, PA
www.DavesRepair.com
drs@sosbbs.com
570-363-2404
Free home appliance tips from a 32-year pro repair
technician! Get your monthly email newsletter here:
(Back issues now posted too!) www.DavesRepair.com
John 3:3
"jay" <jaynews@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:Sc_Cd.10743$PY6.655@trndny02...
quote:
> I have a Maytag dishwasher, model# DWU7400BAX. It is around 8 or 9 years
> old. It is dripping water from the door. The drip appears to be coming
> from inside the door, around 5 5/8" from the right side. The drip does
not
quote:
> start happening until the unit has been running a while, when the washer
> knob gets toward the heating delay asterisk (just beyond 6 O'clock
> position). Not sure if it starts happening exactly when it reaches the
> asterisk, just that this is the general location it starts happening. I
> began the wash at the Normal position.
>
> The location of the drip seems to be 1/2" to the right of where the latch
> for the detergent cups is located. My theory is that the small square
> gasket around the latch is letting water get inside the door, and that is
> why it is taking a while for the water to soak up the insulation on the
> inside of the door, and then make its' way to the bottom of the door and
> then leaking out the bottom of the door. The rinse aid cap is also near
> this location, but I suspect the gasket more than the rinse aid cap, based
> on my own opinion from examining these two items. Do you think I'm
correct
quote:
> in diagnosing the detergent cup door latch gasket as the cause of the
leak,
quote:
> or could it be something else like the black rubber gasket around the
door,
quote:
> or the rinse aid cap?
>
> Assuming that the gasket around the latch for the detergent caps is indeed
> the cause, then the next question is can I replace this small gasket
myself,
quote:
> or do I need to have a professional do this? I notice that they sell a
> latch/gasket kit online for only $2.50. Does replacing this gasket
involve
quote:
> removing the white plastic panel on the INSIDE of the door? This panel
> appears to have special bolts which seem to require a special "star shaped
> six point wrench" rather than a standard Allen hex wrench. If getting to
> the gasket involves removing the white plastic panel on the INSIDE of the
> door, then where can I buy this special wrench, and would it be easy for
me
quote:
> to do this job myself? Is there another way to replace this gasket, such
> as, by removing the OUTSIDE panel of the door, and if so, then how do I do
> that?
>
> Any potential snags I need to know about...such as would I need a special
> glue or tools to install the new gasket, etc, or is it likely I could
cause
quote:
> other leaks by doing this repair myself?
>
> This may be grasping at straws, but is there some type of caulk I could
use,
quote:
> or anything else I could use, that could potentially fix the problem
WITHOUT
quote:
> having to take the door apart?
>
> If you think this fix is NOT a do-it-yourself job, then do you think it
> would be worth spending $100 or more for a repair, or should I simply use
> the money toward a new dishwasher? What is the typical life of this
> dishwasher, and how much does an equivalent model cost these days?
>
> Thanks for your advice.
>
> Jay
>
>
| |
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| Thanks. I ordered the part and did the job myself. It took longer than
expected, because I should have carefully studied how the 3 internal plastic
pieces of the latch mechanism were assembled. Embarrassingly, it took
probably a few hours to figure out exactly how 3 of the plastic pieces were
supposed to be put together: 1) the semi-clear plastic piece that the wax
motor pushes on, and 2) the tiny semi-clear plastic piece that is pushed by
the latter piece to move the latch and open up the dispenser while
simultaneously causing 3) a white plastic piece to slant downward to
dispense some rinse aid.
I did not get around to testing the dishwasher yet (will wait a day or two
until there are a *few* dirty dishes), but I'm 100% sure it was leaking
through the latch gasket due to the soap buildup in the mechanism, and I'm
99% sure I did wind up putting the mechanism back together correctly.
I think there is a good chance I fixed the leak, but will know for sure when
I test it in a couple of days. I'm not too impressed by how this dishwasher
was designed because of the fact that it needs this type of latch gasket in
the first place. Am I correct in thinking the washers that the don't have a
visible latch are less prone to leakage in this area? The GE dishwasher in
the house I just sold had a cup that swung open in a circular motion and it
did not have a visible latch and, if it had a gasket, I suspect it was
something less prone to eventual leakage. (However the GE didn't clean too
well.)
With this Maytag dishwasher, I still wonder if (even after the repair) water
could still make it's way into door if there isn't enough internal pressure
on the flat base of the gasket. In other words, while the gasket fits
snugly around the latch, the flat base of the gasket needs to be snug
against the inside of the plastic door panel. I assume this, by default,
should be the case as long as the mechanism was assembled properly...and I
believe that it was, but I'll find out for sure in a couple of days when I
test the dishwasher.
Jay
<<You'll see how it installs, it's pretty straightforward. You
have to pull the dispenser wax motor(s) and linkage out
to get to it, but just take your time and you'll be surprised
at how easy it is. You'll find a lot of 'gunk' - mostly
detergent residue - in the area that'll have to be cleaned,
and that usually takes longer than the actual boot
replacement.>>
| |
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| I finally tested the washer after replacing the latch and grommet, and
everything now seems fine. As mentioned in my prior newsgroup email, it
took a couple hours longer than necessary because I should have studied
exactly how the whole latch mechanism worked before taking it apart to
replace the grommet/latch, since a lot of time was wasted figuring exactly
how to put everything back together.
Anyway, everything is now working fine, so far. No more leaking, and the
soap dispenser appears to still be working properly after the repair.
Hopefully I'll luck out and get at least a couple more years of use out of
this machine.
Thanks again,
Jay
| |
| Edwin Pawlowski 2005-06-17, 11:33 pm |
|
"jay" <jaynews@verizon.net> wrote in message
quote:
>
> Anyway, everything is now working fine, so far. No more leaking, and the
> soap dispenser appears to still be working properly after the repair.
> Hopefully I'll luck out and get at least a couple more years of use out of
> this machine.
Good for you. With the savings from the not needed service call you can go
out to dinner and not have any dishes to wash.
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| ednlesia 2006-06-06, 9:21 pm |
| I did a search and found you on this forum. We had the same problem with
the leaking in the door and was able to fix it because of reading about
yours. Thanks so much. Now, ours is getting stuck at that little asterisk;
the heating delay point, and will not go on unless we move it past that
point. Help! Anyone.
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