61-1120-23 Tappan Dishwasher - Instructions

I used the scissors to open the bag the gasket came in. From there it was just seeing how the old, worn gasket was seated in the track around the inside of the dishwasher. Pulling the old one out and snapping the new one in the same way. When I was finished, there was about an inch between the two ends at the bottom where the gasket wasn't quite long enough for them to meet. I was a bit concerned seeing the basin fills with water. So I cut an inch off the best part of the old gasket to fill the space. No leaks! It works great and was so easy to do.

I read the instructions that others had posted and completed the repair in less than 5 minutes!

Removed the lower panel (two screws near the floor, two screws with the door open).

Remove screws holding the top of the dishwasher in place.

Remove two screws holding the incoming water switch.

Pull the dishwasher out to access the left side of the dishwasher.

With the door closed remove the spring (replaced both left and right).

Test the motion of the door.

Reverse the process
1. push dishwasher back in
2. Attach water switch bracket
3. Attach top screws that hold the dishwasher in place
4. Replace lower panel
5. Attach screws for lower panel

Test the door motion,

I replaced the gasket a couple of years ago for less than $50. The springs with shipping for less than $25. I wonder how much longer the dishwasher will last. The repairs are easier than putting in a new dishwasher and a whole lot cheaper.

My dishwasher started leaking at the beginning of the summer. We didn't know what to do, but didn't want to call an appliance repairman. Towards fall, a friend came over and pulled it out and found the heating element brass nut which was broken. We put it back in and washed dishes the old-fashioned way for another 3 months after that. I asked at my local hardware store for the part, and thought about trying one of those big-box do-it-yourself stores but never got around to it. Finally after getting sick and tired of doing all the dishes in the house by hand, I found your site, and the part I needed and ordered two (just-in-case). A few days later, we got the part, I pulled the dishwasher out again, screwed on the new nut by hand and put it back into place. We're in business!

Replacement was simple.

1) Soaked new gasket in hot water for about 15 minutes to make it more pliable. 2) Cleaned accumulated soap residue from gasket area. 3) Removed old gasket by pulling it from machine. 4) Installed new gasket starting at the top and aligning notch on gasket with center of top door latch. 5) Pressed gasket into place working from the top to the bottom. 6) Inspected and found about a half inch gap remained at bottom. 7) Cut a piece of the same size from the old gasket and pressed it in place to close the gap.

Isolated the leak and found the nut had split thereby allowing a loose seal and water penetration. Ordered 2 nuts just in case the other goes and the installation was easy. Unplug the unit, remove baseplate, remove screws under the countertop, and slide the unit out a bit. Use needlenode pliers to remove terminal connection and replaced nut. Reverse it for assembly. 3 minutes tops $6 later it is done. Easy money saved by a DIY.

This site had good pics and descriptions of the gasket I needed, as well as a LOT of users instructions concerning installation. Ordered, came quickly. It was a little hard to push in the groove. (Maybe a little silicone lube on the gasket would help??) I also filled in the gap at the bottom with a small section of the old gasket, as suggested by (other) installers. Why not? Anyways, it took both hands to close the door the first 3-4 washes. Easy to open/close now. AND... no more leaks! Great price, too!

DISASSEMBLY
- Switch off circuit breaker for dishwasher.
- Remove lower front covers from washer to observe motor (for later steps) and to clean-up water.
- Remove top and bottom dishracks.
-You may want to take pics of the placement/orientation of components in the following steps as you disassemble them for reference during reassembly.
- Remove spray-arm base from pump housing.
- Remove and discard impeller— put a screwdriver in the impeller grooves to prevent it turning as you loosen the screw.
- Remove impeller, O-ring, and blade. Discard impeller and O-ring, but keep blade (I couldn’t find the O-ring; it had probably disintegrated).
- Remove pump housing, pump plate, and gasket.
- Use two flat-head screwdrivers on opposite sides of the rotor to pry it off the motor shaft. Be cautious not to damage the area around the motor shaft—wood can be used to protect the area and provide better leverage. If the rotor can’t be removed, a chisel or hacksaw can be used to split it before prying it up— be cautious of the motor shaft when splitting the rotor. Discard the rotor.
- Locate the upper seal, note its orientation (cup-side-down), remove it, and discard it (my upper seal was in the recess in the bottom of the rotor).
-Drive the shaft-key (small metal tab) out of the shaft groove using a hammer and flat-head screwdriver and discard it— the new rotor has a molded-in tab that will slide into the groove in place of the shaft-key.
- Remove ceramic ring from motor shaft and discard it (my leak was caused because the ceramic ring was broken in half).
- Use a flat-blade screwdriver to pry loose the lower seal—before removing it from the shaft, note its orientation (wide-side-down). Be caution not to damage the area around the motor shaft—wood may again be used for protection and leverage.

CLEANING/PREP
- Clean shaft with wire brush, white vinegar, and a rag (you may not need the wire brush if the shaft is in good shape, but my motor shaft was heavily corroded/rusted and I needed to smooth it to prevent it damaging the seals). Clean groove in motor shaft with flat-head screwdriver and rag.
- Use a rag and white vinegar to clean motor shaft recess and pump housing seat. The bottom of the motor shaft recess must be clean and smooth for the lower seal to seat properly.
- Clean pump plate, gasket, blade, pump housing, and screws with white vinegar and a plastic-bristled brush.

ASSEMBLY
-Wet new rubber seals, new ceramic ring, and new rotor with water to help them slide into place.
-Refer to pics taken during disassembly as needed for the following steps.
- Place new lower seal (wide-side-down) over motor shaft in bottom of recess.
-Push new upper seal (cup-side-down) into recessed area in the bottom of the new rotor.
-Push new ceramic ring into upper seal (cup-side) in bottom of rotor.
-Align groove on motor shaft with tab in rotor (a mark on the outside of the rotor shows the tab’s location) and seat rotor on the motor shaft by hand. Verify that the motor turns when the rotor is turned by hand. If not, remove the rotor and reposition it so that its tab slides into the groove in the motor shaft.
-Place gasket, pump plate, and pump housing in position. Start pump housing screws, but leave them loose.
- Place blade and new O-ring on rotor.
- Place new impeller on rotor and insert screw. Tighten moderately — overtightening could cause leaks. Hold the impeller by hand to prevent it turning as the screw is tightened— do not use a screwdriver to prevent the impeller turning.
- Finish tightening pump housing screws.
- Seat spray-arm base on pump housing and insert/tighten its mounting screws.
- Switch on circuit breaker for dishwasher.
- Start washer and watch motor to verify that shaft seal is not leaking. Run a full cycle to rinse the new parts and remove debris and vinegar residue. Continue to observe motor shaft area for leaks during cycle.
-Replace lower front covers.

I recently bought a vacation home in New Hampshire, and had a very detailed home inspection performed. The dishwasher unit was checked out to be in fine shape. Before moving in, I had all the hardwood floors refinished, including the kitchen, and everything looked great. After moving in and using the dishwasher twice, it developed a major leak coming from the bottom of the unit. "Here goes more money that I don't have, to hire an appliance repairman to fix this leak!" I decided to take the bottom kick panel off the dishwasher to see where the leak was coming from. It was coming from the the connection of the heater element at the bottom of the dishwasher. I found a brass nut had been cracked and wouldn't stay tight any more. I ordered the replacement nut from Partselect, RECEIVED IT THE NEXT DAY!!!!! using regular ground shipping, and installed the new nut using a socket set, and tested the unit. No more leaks!! Partselect saved me at least $150.00 on a service call for a $3.50 part. I'm not the handiest guy around, but even this was easy!
I also scored big points with the wife on my handyman repair! Thanks Partselect!

Greg

I removed some philips screws from the kick plate along the bottom of the dishwasher. I then removed some trim screws on the sides of the bottom door panel (the smaller panel below the door on the front of the dishwasher). There were also two screws into the top of the lower panel that you can only see when the door is open. This let me remove the whole lower door panel and kick plate. It was now possible to see the springs on the left and right, and it is actually possible to change them at this point, just with access through the front. However, it is very awkward. Contrary to what some repairs have said, it really is much easier if you can pull the dishwasher out from under the counter about 6 inches. To do that, you'll have to unbolt it, and that will vary depending on how yours was mounted. You may find brackets along the front, screws or bolts through the frame into the floor, and/or retaining straps from the top up to the counter.

Beyond that, it's simple. You'll see that the spring hooks into a slot or hole on a large L-shaped bracket that moves with the door. There is one on each side at the bottom of the door. The other end of each spring hooks through a hole in the frame rail on the bottom. There will likely be several holes, letting you choose how tight you want the spring (this controls how easily the door will drop).
A pair of needlenose pliers is handy for getting the spring end into the holes.

Again, it was a lot easier doing this from the outside of the dishwasher after pulling it out a few inches.

I called an appliance store and they said to bring in the model number and a deposit and they would order it for us. Then, I decided to go to the Internet. I Googled Gibson Dishwahers and your page came up. I entered the requested information and ordered the gasket. In LESS THAN 24 HOURS it was delivered and in les than fifteen minutes, our son installed it. No more leaks! Thank you for the excellent service.

Just snapped the wheels on and attached the bracket to the existing part.

I removed the whole spray assembly and replaced the base by removing the spray arm and re-attaching to the new wash arm support and diffuser assembly. When re-installed into the dishwasher, it works like new!

Removed 2 screws from the Access Panel and 2 screws from the Toe Plate using a Phillips head screwdriver. The broken spring was removed and replaced using the opposite spring as a guide as to the position of the spring. The opposite side (the unabroken one) was replaced. The panels were screwed back into place. End of repair.