Detergent and Rinse Aid Dispenser

1. Remove torx screws around outer edge of inside of door.
2. Separate outer door panel from inner door panel.
3. Locate dispenser, and remove 6 hex nuts and 2 wires for solenoid.
4. Insert new dispenser and re-insert hex nuts.
5. Reinsert torx screws.

First, I brought in my electric screwdriver and torx bit set. The screws holding the door are torx type. I removed the screws holding the door cover allowing access to the (6) hex head screws holding the dispenser in place. Raising the plastic flap covering the dispenser I removed the (2) electrical plugs from the solenoid. Using my elec/screwdriver and a 3/16" socket I quickly removed the old dispenser.
I cleaned the gasket area with some 409 and a paper towel and slid the new dispenser into place. I used a 3/16" nutdriver to tighten the screws. I tightened the screws in a cross pattern in (3) stages so as not to squeeze the gasket out of position. Screw slowly and the screws will bottom out when the proper gasket tension has been achieved, don’t over tighten.
I closed the door and ran the dishwasher in rinse cycle checking for leaks. After a couple of minutes and no leaks I pushed the cancel and drain button. I folded the plastic cover back down over the dispenser and reinstalled the outer door cover tightening all screws with my electric screwdriver and torx bit. I opened the door and filled the rinse dispenser.
We've used the dishwasher several times since the repair and the dispenser has worked fine.

Replacing the actual part was easy. Getting to it was the slightly difficult part. Here's how it went:
Remove the torex type screws surrounding the inner door - this was the easiest part. The screws came right out, but be careful. Removing the screws near the top (was controls) part will release the seaparate top part. Once you do that, it's only held by wiring, and you don't want that to break, so treat this part with care.
Remove the bolt screws holding the outer door to the inner door - so the inner white door containing the dispenser to be replaced, and the outer door separate, but are held together by these bolt screws. You need to remove these to separate the doors further giving you easier access to the dispenser. Some of these bolt screws were in challenging positions to reach.
Disconnect dispenser wiring and replace part - Remember where the wires go, so mark them before removing them. The part is held in by 6 bolt screws. Once removed, the part easily came out. Pop the new one in, screw the bolts in, plug the wiring back up.
Put all parts mentioned previously back together.

Now even though we gave the correct model # of our unit, the part sent did not match 100% what we replaced. There was an extra wire plugged to ours. The connector to plug it to does not exist on the new part. My assumption is this wire is for detection of rinse agent (illuminates a ligth on the front panel if empty) - so we just left this unplugged. The new part has a manual, visual gauge on it anyway which I prefer, so this was not a big deal. This is just warning for others that do this kind of thing.

All in all, it was a well worth it repair. $50 as opposed to $500 for a new unit and installation. We will definitely be looking to this site again for items we feel can be repaired. THANK YOU!

Via your web-site I was able to download the step-by-step screen-shot pictures. I was really surprised on how easy the detailed photo screen shots made the repair really easy! Thanks for making this repair a piece of cake. If I should ever need additional parts for any of my home appliances I will certainly order my parts through PartSelect.

First I removed the screws holding the outside door panel to the inside door panel. Next (at this was the tricky part) was separating the panels. In our model of dishwasher, there is a layer of Styrofoam between the two panel to reduce noise. Unfortunately the Styrofoam is glued to both panels. Separating it without damage was not possible. So it was done with brute force and the Styrofoam broke in several places.

Replacing the dispenser involved removing six screws, disconnecting the wires and popping the dispenser out. The new one went in easily although there seemed to be a correct amount of tightening to do. It was tricky to get the cover back on because the Styrofoam pieces had to go back together like a puzzle.

Once reassembled, I ran the machine and it leaked at the dispenser. So the cover came back off. This time I played with the adjustment of the dispenser, testing it with the outside cover off, to insure that I had a tight, non-leaking seal. Once done, I put the cover back on and we are back in business.

The new dispensers do not have connections for the "Add Rinse Aid" light. They use a visual indicator on the dispenser itself. I simply taped the wire for the indicator light up and left it inside the door.

One last note, on our unit, the outside door panel is two pieces. I needed only to removed the lower portion for this repair. Unfortunately, I removed both and in the process broke the small plastic end on the door latch requiring me to purchase a new one. Bummer. That was a 10 minute repair though.

Thanks to the previous review of this part, I was able to figure out how to do the replacement myself and saving $150 on a service call. The part is super easy to replace. Remove the screws on the door, lift the outside piece of the door up and off the hinges and then unplug the old piece. I had turned off the electricity to the dishwasher to avoid getting shocked. There were 4 hex nut screws holding the part in, removed those & popped out the old part. Installed the new one, put the door back on and the screws, turned it on and no leaks. This part was so easy to replace, even for a 52 year old woman like myself!

Need torx to remove front panel. There are four screws that hold the control panel that don't need to be removed. If you do remove them, it helps to put the control panel back before you reinstall the front. The six screws that hold the soap dispenser are a very small hex (<1/4, maybe 3/16). It would help to have some small sockets or nut drivers handy for this.

The door balance is easy.

Removed chassis cover, disconnected electric from old part, unscrewed bracket, removed old part, inserted new part, screwed in bracket, attached electric, and reattached chassis.

Partselect. Com got my order here within 48 hours. . . They're awesome!! The new heater element also comes with a new electronic control unit that the instructions say must be replaced at the same time. Apparently this unit is a huge upgrade since it greatly increases the drying and water temperatures. Very easy installation for both. The dispenser unit was also redesigned and is supposed to be more efficieint. It too was easy to install. The "cntrl-elec" I mistakenly ordered and did not install and returned to parts select. I misread the scematic. It seems you have to order the entire control panel which include the cntrl-elec board and the eletronic control for the heating element, all just to replace the labeled display buttons. . . Cost, $306. Instead, I just photocopied a diagram of the display from the owner's manual and taped it to top of the door next to the controls. The machine works better than new.

Took me longer to find my tools than to do the repair. DId have to call the PartSelect 800 # while making repair but woman there read to me a note in their system about a redesign of the replacement part that explained exactly my question. She was VERY helpful. I will not be calling the appliance repairman again!