MDBS561AWS0 Maytag Dishwasher - Instructions

First I had to go out and buy a Torx driver set, then I removed all of the Torx screws around the inside of the door panel. After that the door latch was free and I saw my problem, a broken retainer on the door latch assembly. I ordered a new door latch assembly and when it came in I removed the two electrical leads, set the new door latch assembly in place, attached the two electrical leads and reassembled the door panel with Torx screws all around. The new latch worked just like it was supposed to.

Had to insert putty knife in the top of latch opening and press up to release the latch so the door would open.

Turn off electric to unit.
Removed the 12 star screws on the panel inside of door.
Pulled out the two wire plugs from the door latch unit, had to use a screwdriver to help push out the metal pronges.
Insert the plugs in the new unit and align the latch pivot point on the door and the two holes with the holes for the inside panel.
Replace the screws.
When the door is closed the latch will be pushed into place and the door is held closed.

I could not reach the heater element nuts from under the dishwasher so had to pull out the dishwasher. I removed the screws around the front of the dishwasher and pulled it about half way out before the water inlet pipe and the electrical wires stopped me. I shut off the water, unhooked the copper pipe, and unhooked the electrical wires (shut off circuit breaker first). Pulled the dishwaser out so I could remove the element nuts and wires to the element. Removed the old element and installed the new one - the old nuts would not fit. I went to a local appliance parts store and found that my element is no longer made. I had the correct replacement element but you need to order the nuts also. Luckily, the local store had a small brass nut that worked. Reattached the electrical wires to the element, pushed the dishwasher half way in, reattached the water inlet and electrical wires, pushed the dishwasher all the way in and scewed back into the cabinets. All is well now and the dishwasher is working much better.

The spring mechanism is on the side, so you have to pull the dishwasher out onto the floor. To do that, you have to remove the floor molding (preferably without breaking it) and remove the base coverings (painted metal plates on the bottom of the washer. Unscrew the side gasket plates on the side of the dishwasher (just inside of the door) where it attaches to the cabinet and the screws in the braces at the top (inside the door) where it attaches to the counter top. Now you will be able to slide the washer forward to look at the sides where the door springs are. Depending on the floor, you may have to raise the washer's front feet. They screw up. As you pull the washer forward be careful to not mess up the insulation which drapes over the top and sides. You only need to come out 1/3 of the way to see the sides where there is a plastic wheel at the forward bottom corner. As you move the door up and down you can see the hook where the cable goes and further up the side you can see several notches where the spring goes. Hook the cable and bring it around the wheel and attach it to the spring. To reinstall, just follow these directions backwards. Good luck.

Ist Repaired a hole in a rubber hose under the sink. 2nd Removed the 10 foot drainage hose with a regular screw driver (1 clamp at each end of the hose).
3rd Removed the insulation and replaced with the new after disinfecting the entire top and sides of the dishwasher with bleach. This eliminated all bad odor etc. only had to remove 2 plastic brads, 1 on each side of the unit.

Done and no leaks.

I wanted to get the dishwasher cleaning better and thought that maybe the accumulator needed to be replaced. I figured that I'd swap out all the spray arms as well, just for good measure.

I needed Torx screwdrivers (T15 and T20, I think - not 100% sure on that) and patience because there's really quite a lot of screws to get the accumulator out. Finally got to it and it didn't look damaged, but replaced it anyway.

The spray arms are easy - they just snap in except for the lowest one, that had a plastic nut. I ordered a replacement nut just in case I broke this one (you know how that goes) taking it off. Well, it took pliers, but it came off ok.

In the end, my dishwasher is happy and cleans much better now.

The original brackets that hold the water distribution manifold to the back and top of the tub came off the "X-shaped" plastic posts on the tub walls. That caused the upper wash arm to sag down into the travel of the upper dish rack and was broken off when the rack was pushed in.
I bought 2 new brackets and a new wash arm. The new brackets had a smaller aperature than the originals and fit tightly onto the plastic posts, holding the manifold firmly in its proper location. Replacement of the brackets and the new wash arm took less than ten minutes and required no tools!

I unscrewed the door panel. removed the plastic cover protecting the dispenser. unscrewed the dispenser (6 screws). I removed the old dispenser and put the new one on and put it all back together. It was pretty easy.

disconnected unit (electrical, water, and waste) un mounted from countertop, removed from under countertop, unscrewed hose clamb, cut off wire tie. Attached new hose and wire tie (not included) reversed above steps. Done in about 15 minutes

Not being very computer literate, the most difficult part of the entire venture was navigating your web site. But I finally found the part I needed. I paid on line with a credit card, and received the part within a few days. I popped it in the dishwasher, and it took three days before my son noticed it.
He was surprised and I was proud to say " I ordered it on line."
All's well that end's well.
I would difinately use your service again.

First replaced rubber seal around door, which did not stop the leaking.
Then ordered insulation foam strip and replaced old one, which fixed problem. Put new strip over the old one because tub was slightly warped.
Very pleased with order speed and cost.

Unpluged the electric, Disconnected the water line and the drain line. Removed the dishwasher. Removed and installed the new water inlet valve and the float switch. This was a very simple repair. Reinstalled the dishwasher and connect
the water and drain line. Pluged in the power line. Turned the dishwasher on and it worked perfect. Thank you for the correct parts.

This isn't a how to fix it....it's what part was bad. I had originally contacted the local Maytag repair center and the owner swore up and down that our problem had to be the thermostat and not the heater. He said he had only replaced maybe 5 heaters in 15 years. But our heater looked like heck, with hard water deposits and all, and it wasn't that old, but we went ahead and ordered the thermostat from PartSelect, which came in a day. The problem wasn't the thermostat, so we ordered the heater from PartSelect (again, only one day delivery) and our dishwasher is working again. The heater coil actually had a hole in it from some sort of corrosion. My 18-year-old son did the repair job in a jiffy.

After replacing the door gasket and seeing that this wasn't the problem, using the schematics found at partselect.com I finally realized that it may be the insulation foam strip. I ordered the product and received it very quickly. Installation went fairly quickly. It was easy to remove the old foam strip and install the new one. The only problem was that the foam strip was about 1/4 " too short and it didn't cover the entire bottom. I improvised a little bit and cut off some of the old strip and covered the gap. So far the leak seems to have been fixed. In addition to the foam strip I had to buy a torx screwdriver for $11 at the local hardware store. The total spent was around $25.

All that was broken on the old detergent dispenser was the door but the door can not be ordered without buying the whole detergent/rinse aid assembly. When I got the new item I just removed the old door and replaced it with the new door that I had taken off the new one. I still have the new detergent/rinse aid assembly that I can keep if I need to change it in the future.