MDB8600AWW Maytag Dishwasher - Instructions

Being a fairly technical female, I decided after Internet research to replace this part by myself. It could not have been easier - even after reading several Internet horror stories. I believe the major difference being I replaced the entire assembly, not simply the latch.

You need a hex-head allen wrench to remove the inside cover of the dishwasher door, and some sort of pliers to remove the old unit. I used vice grips since I am a wimpy girl - they worked nicely (this took the longest time).

Step by Step:

Turn off the power to your dishwasher.

Remove the door screws and carefully lift it to access the door latch assembly.

Remove the old door latch by unplugging the black and white electrical mechanism. Pay close attention to which side the black and white connections are removed from for reconnection reasons. This is where I had to use vice grips. It took a bit to "unplug" the old latch assembly.

Once the old latch assembly is removed, position the new latch assembly and reconnect the electrical source.

Carefully reposition the door and replace the screws.

Turn on the power.

Run a short cycle (I used rinse) to make sure that the unit was replaced correctly.

Can it be any easier than that??

First of all I shut the power off to the dishwasher at the breaker box. Turn the water off to the dishwasher. Unhook the water line and then remove the screws that go around the outside trim edge of the dihwasher that secures it to the cabinets. Then you will want to look at the adjustable legs on the dishwasher. You may need to lower the legs to get the dishwasher out from underneath the counter top. While you are doing this you should also pay attention to your drain hose. My drain hose had plenty of slack so I was able to pull my dishwasher out from underneath the cabinet and then unhook it. You should have towels or a bucket in place to catch any water that is inside the drain hose. Next I laid the dishwasher over on its left side and I was able to access the pump. I then used a flat screw driver to remove the hose clamp and remov the drain hose from the pump. I then unplugged 1 wire connector and a bracket and could turn the pump counter clockwise and removed it from the dishwasher. There is a bracket that must be removed from the old pump to the new pump. Once this is accomplished You are ready to reinstall the new pump. I took a towel and wiped the area where the pump hooks into the dishwasher to make sure all debris was removed. I then used a very small amount of gasket sealer and placed it around the "O" Ring on the new pump. Next place the pump back in the whole and turn in a clock wise direction securing it back into the dishwasher. Hook up the drain hose and the wire connector. Make sure the bracket is postioned properly and you are ready to put dishwasher back under the counter.

The real cause of the leak had nothing to do with the foam strip. The latch for the front loading door at the top needed to be adjusted to hold the door in tighter to the rubber door seal. This simple adjustment stopped the leak but since the foam seal was all encrusted with dried detergent from probably years of absorbing the leak, I replaced it with your new foam strip. I used a screw driver with torx bit and removed the stainless screws holding the inner door to the outer door. Once these were separated I removed the old foam strip using a putty knife and lacquer thinner. Placing the new strip onto these cleaned surfaces was the easiest part of the whole repair.

This is a very common problem with this model. However, in addition to this part, you also need the following part numbers (which are not listed for this model):
PS920544 - Lever Adjuster
PS893981 - Cover, Rack Adjuster

The updated RACK ADJUSTER ASSY part did not match up to the other parts in my dishwasher. But, after I found a diagram for another dishwasher model that showed the above two parts as well, I ordered them in hopes that they would work for mine. They worked like a charm, and the design of the new updated part is much better than the original part (which, if you take a look at epinions.com, breaks on just about every machine).

I hope this helps someone out ... I was close to ditching our 1.5 year old dishwasher and buying a new one!

The first thing I did was read the all of repair stories that others had submitted. Then I set the timer and chucked up the Torx bit in my electric drill/screwdriver. There are 10 Torx screws on the inside of the dishwasher door and they came out very quickly. The top two screws hold the latch in place. I lifted the inside stainless steel cover to get acces to the latch. There was enough slack in the wire that I was able to remove the latch from where it was and extend it above the door. This let me lay the stainless steel liner back onto the inside of the door without removing or disconnecting the soap dispenser. Thus exposed, disconnecting the connectors from the old latch and reconnecting them to the microswitches on the new latch was a breeze. Once connected, I reinstalled the latch assembly, repositioned the liner correctly and replaced the ten screws. The entire job, including putting my tools away and cleaning up took eight minutes. I did it on my lunch break. The eight minutes included pulling the circuit breaker and reconnecting it (very important, that step). The new latch/handle assembly completely fixed the problem.

I snapped the new parts onto the old parts of the dish rack. Voila! All done.

-Remove all torx screws on door (2 min).
-unplug switch's (10 min) I used a small curved awl for this, there is a small nub that goes into the connector that needs popped off to release. I got the first switch in a few seconds, the second took several minutes.
-plugged in new switches and replaced torx screws (2 min.)
-another job well done.
The pictures on the web site were not accurate. I thought i needed the Latch assembly and the latch assymbly (Bisque)M. The Latch assembly Bisque had everything that the Latch assembly had plus the handle (and it cost like $8 less. So I had to return the Latch Assembly. Hopefully I made that clear I saw similar info when I was making my purchase but it was not clear so I ended up ordering more than what I needed.

Turned off water and power to the unit. Removed kick plate from under the dishwasher to access the water contol valve. Placed an absorbant rag under the water valve and water line. Disconnected solenoid on water control valve from electrical connection with my fingers. Used a standard adjustable wrench to disconnect the water line from the water control valve. Then used a 1/4" nut driver to loosen the two bolts that hold the water control valve on to the mounting bracket. Pulled the water control valve slightly forward to disconnect the water feed line to the dishwasher. Used a blunt end plier to pinch the clamp open and slowly wiggle the feed line off of the water control valve. Then removed 90 degree elbow off of the water control valve and used pipe dope and connected the elbow onto the new water control valve. Replaced water control valve in reverse order and utilized new hose clamp to reconnect feed line to new water control valve. Saved door seal for future use, when seal goes bad.

1st, shut off the breaker for the dishwasher.
2nd, opened the door and removed all of the torx screws holding inner door to outer door.
3rd, placed inner door up and held it out of the way (closed inner door through/around latch tab and folded up a piece of paper, threaded it through latch tab hole and placed a small piece of masking tape around the paper to hold door out of the way - this made the entire job easier, because you do not need to hold the door out of the way anymore).
4th, removed broken latch/handle assembly (carefully - it is always a good idea to collect/save broken pieces to piece together the "puzzle" in case you need to improvise. Removing the metal clip attachments is tough, but much easier now that the inner door is secured out of the way. They cannot simply be pulled straight out. You should use a gentle back and forth wiggle motion in a T-shape. Meaning, wiggle back and forth 1-way, and then the other way (perpendicular to the first way) - this should get them separated. Be patient with this procedure - it will work fine and you won't get frustrated.
5th, look at the situation to determine exactly what went wrong/broke specifically (I was extra screwed, because 1/2 of each of the "U" shaped tabs that hold each side of latch assembly in place were broken - as well as the tabs on the latch assembly. These U-shaped tabs were/are actually part of the plastic outer door. Specifically, they are on the inner side of the plastic control panel display. I could have replaced this part too, but I was trying to do as inexpensive a repair as possible.
6th, So - I found 2 nut/bolts in my toolbox (probably 1/8" in diameter - 3/4" in length - I used flat head. Be careful in your selection of bolt length - the least amount sticking out the front of the dishwasher - the better). I drilled 2 holes - in the exact location where these inner door tabs broke off - and entirely through to the outside of the outer door - yes, all the way through. We are talking about drilling through less than 1/4" of plastic - simple. I made sure that I would not be drilling through any lighting display or really important pieces. The holes ended up being situated in plain plastic locations - not interfering with any functions. Be careful in your selection of drill bit size - you want the bolt to fit through the hole obviously, but you don't want the bolt to have too much wiggle room - because it will be functioning as your new tab - that should have as much structural integrity. So, I recommend drilling a hole that is just big enough that you have to use a screwdriver to thread the bolt into the hole.
7th - I connected the clips into the new latch assembly - somewhat easier than separating the old one.
8th - I placed the new latch/handle assembly into its proper location (resting on the 1/2 mounting tabs that remained on the inner door).
9th - I then used a small flat screwdriver to thread the 2 screws in place (yes, screw head on the inside of the door - to function as a tab - the edge of the screw head will hold down on the latch tab ends). I had to tilt the latch assembly forward, to allow just enough clearance to get my small, thin flat head screwdriver in there (on a slight angle, but that's ok). Thread it through until it gently snugs down onto the latch tab.
***You can do better than I did if you want to go the extra mile*** Find a small, thin piece of sheet metal or plastic. Drill a hole just big enough for the bolt threads to slide through. This sheet should be cut to the following specs: a rectangular shape just big enough to span across the tab you made with the bolt - onto the inner door tab that it still not broken (the drilled hole to fit the bolt threads through on one end). It is added structural integrity to even better hold the new latch assembly in place. Think of it as a bridge that spans the tops of the U-tabs.
10th - After screwing the bolts through until just enough to snug down on the latch assem

1st: Unscrewed the inside of the door (actually hex screwdriver needed).
2nd: Removed broken part (one side of handle latch (which is plastic) was broken.
3rd. Had to disconnect two electrodes that were attached to the part that held the handle (there are two small prongs that you need to push back to remove these)
4th. In order to place the handle on the groove, you need to pull apart the bottom of the housing piece (it looks like it would be a hinge, but you just pull it apart)
NOTE: Make sure you have another person hold the top portion when you pull this apart because it has a spring and will come completly apart. This happened to us and it was a pain to get it back together.
5th: place the smaller "clamps" plastic pieces in the grove and then it should slide down into the groove, which will also seat the outer "plastic clamps" into the grooves.
NOTE: It seems like the repair part was built to reinforce this part of the handle, since this was the part that broke before. It is now reinforced with a little metal rod on each side.
6th: After all that, you need to place the two electrodes back on the piece.
7th: Hold it in place and put the inside of the door back on (start a screw on one side and then go to the opposite side. This will help to align the screw holes).
8th: After I put it all back together, I turned it on to make sure it worked ok.

After purchasing some torx head screwdrivers, it was easy to remove the front door of the diswasher and see that a few tiny plastic pieces had broken on the latch, rendering the entire dishwasher unusable. I found all of the broken pieces, and it took about 5 minutes to order replacement parts from partselect.com. What a great website! The schematics made it simple to identify exactly the parts I needed.
The parts arrived promptly, fit perfectly, and installation was a breeze.

This repair was very easy. First, I opened the dishwasher, removed the screws (they are torx) and removed the old handle assembly. I removed the inner liner from the door, and to do that I had to pull out the electrical wires. I turned off the power, always a good idea. I should have marked the polarity on the plugs before removing them, since you can put them back on wrong (and I did).

I also used caulk to hold the assembly on the bottom, since the cheap plastic molded forks holding the assembly on had broken. Most of the holding force comes from screws at the top. The caulk provides just a little adhesion, and will be easy to remove if the handle should need to be removed again--which I consider unlikely.

First , unplug your dishwasher from the outlet.Then remove the 9screws all the way around the inside of the door,followed by removing the 2 screws that hold the latch, 2 screws that hold the panel and 2 screws that hold the black case containing the electronic circuit board. You need to open up the black case in order to remove the thin cable that connects to the circuit board and which makes everything work. (You get a new one allready attached with the new panel). Next go to the latch assembly.You alsoneed to unhook the black & white leads. Take your time here and pull them straight back and slowly with a pair of needlenose pliers. They are stubborn so just take your time.To be safe I drew a small diagram to make sure that I hooked the white back to the right connection.
Once the part s were received , I put the new panel on, connected the cable to the circuit board, closed the case and put the screws back in. Next , I put the black & white wires back on the switch ( based on my diagram) , put the 2 screws in the latch locations and then put the remaining screws back into the inside door. Plugged it in , tested it, and everything worked just fine.
So far the wife hasn't used her herculean strength again. This is a Maytag & things aren't supposed to break.
Last note: Your telephone person was a jewel. The latch was shown as NLA (No longer available). She took the time when I called to follow up on the part number and find another number made by another company by special order. Absolutely first class in my book. Kudos to her.
Thanks again, service was good and delivery was within 5 days.

It was my first time repairing a dishwasher. I was a little worried. I also wasn't sure about how to remove the drain pump. Well, the hardest part was just getting the dishwasher out from under the counter. I did find a crimp in the drain line that probably contributed to the original pump going out. I fixed that, removed the old pump by removing one screw holding a stablizer bracket and twisting the pump connection. The original bracket is needed, so I removed it from the old pump, attached it to the new pump and reversed the removal process and secured the pump by reattaching the stabilizer bar with the single screw. I then slide the dishwasher back under the counter. Runs great. Easy repair. The part was shipped and delivered on time. Very impressed with the process and will order my appliance parts from you in the future.

This was a very easy repair. Before I did anything, I flipped the breaker for the dishwasher and tried to turn the dishwasher on to make sure it had no power going to it. Once I was certain the power was off I removed the hex screws (there are 11) on the inside of the door panel using the hex screwdriver. Lifting and holding the inside panel up, I then used the pliers to pry the old latch assembly out of its metal prongs. Then I replaced the old latch assembly with the new one, pushing the metal prongs (by hand) into the slits of the new latch assembly. Last, I lined everything up and screwed the door panel back in place. I flipped the breaker back on and activated my child lock to make sure I had power. The handle worked perfectly. Quick and easy fix!
I ordered the part with 3-5 day delivery and actually received it in 2 days! I'm extremely pleased with my partselect.com experience and highly recommend using them for all your appliance parts needs!