Door Spring Linkage WP912653

***BEFORE STARTING BE SURE TO TURN OFF THE POWER!!
THE SPRING TENSION WAS GONE THAT WOULD KEEP THE DOOR FROM FALLING. KEEP IN MIND THERE IS A DOOR SPRING AND LINKAGE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE DOOR. SO BUY 2 OF EACH AND RETURN THE ONES YOU DON'T USE. IF YOU REPLACE THE LINKAGE ON ONE SIDE YOU MIGHT AS WELL CHANGE THE OTHER ONE SINCE IT'S ONLY A SMALL PLASTIC PIECE.
FOR ME THE SPRING WAS GOOD - ONLY REPLACED THE LINKAGE. REMOVED THE PANEL AT THE BOTTOM AND THE 2 SCREWS THAT HELD IT UNDER THE COUNTER TOP. I DIDN'T DISCONNECT THE WATER BUT WAS ABLE TO PULL THE UNIT OUT JUST ENOUGH (10 INCHES OR SO) TO GET TO THE SPRING. HELD IT IN PLACE WITH THE VISE GRIP SO IT DIDN'T FALL BEHIND THE UNIT. FYI - YOU MIGHT HAVE TO ADJUST THE TENSIONER ON THE BOTTOM IF YOUR SPRING TOOK A WALK WHEN THE LINKAGE BROKE. BE CAREFUL PUSHING THE UNIT BACK UNDER THE COUNTER. TOOK ME ABOUT AN HOUR AND SAVED SOME MONEY

I took off bottom front and kick plate. Retrieved the spring which had flown to the rear of the unit. Cannot pull unit out because the trim piece on the counter top was put in after the unit was screwed to the underside of the counter. So... I noticed that you could move the plate the bottom of the spring hooked into by unscrewing a long quarter inch hex head bolt and bring the plate forward where I could hook the bottom of the spring into the plate. I had first hung the door spring linkage on the door (looked at the opposite side to see how it was arranged) then onto the top of the spring. The difficult part was keeping the bottom of the spring in its hole in the plate while moving the plate back in place. After I got it past the flange where the bolt screwed in, I screwed the bolt in and pulled the plate back to match the opposite side distance which put tension on the spring. The door now works. I am fortunate to have my husband's tools available.

The time to hook up the spring was a minute or two. I simply attached the linkage to the door and then attached the spring to the linkage.The extra time in the repair was re-attaching the cover.

On my dishwasher, one linkage broke, making the door feel heavy to raise and lower. Because there are two door springs, one on either side, I decided to replace both plastic linkages even though only one broke, because it would only be a matter of time before the other plastic link failed and I would have to do the repair all over again. Remove the 2-piece panel at the bottom front of the dishwasher. It's held on by four hex-head screws which also have slots for a Philips screwdriver. The springs can now be seen on both sides of the door, at the bottom. Remove two screws that anchor the dishwasher to the underside of the counter. Gently ease the dishwasher a short distance out from its under-counter recess, just far enough to gain access to the springs. Make sure not to put any excessive strain on the water inlet tubing, drain hose or electric power cable by pulling the dishwasher out too far. Close and latch the dishwasher door so that the springs are in minimum tension. Note the slot that the linkages hook into on the door levers. Hook the small end of the spring into the hole in the metal bracket. Slide the linkage onto the other end of the spring. Stretch the spring to slide the free end of the linkage onto the door lever and into the appropriate slot. Push the dishwasher back into its recess and replace all screws and panels.

Took off the lower front plastic piece and unscrewed the side panel to snap the new part in place then attached the spring to it.

Unscrewed bottom panel. I could see right spring in proper position, left spring lying on floor, and broken linkage. Ordered part from partselect.com. To install, had to unscrew dishwasher attachment to counter, loosen leveling legs, pull it out a bit, then could replace linkage and reattach spring, retighten leveling legs, then push back in and replace screws and bottom panel.

removed 4 screws on lower plate, 2 screws on dishwasher tabs, slid unit out 6 inches, replaced spring linkage

Removed the inside door cover.Next remove door handle/latch/switch assy. Replace assy, replace covers. Done. Door spring linkage, pull out dishwasher to access sides. Insert linkage into spring hook, and install hook onto dishwasher bracket. Or just watch the video.

Pulled D/W out about 1/4 of the way. Kept door latched at all times. Replaced plastic links with new ones. (one was broken but replace in pairs!). Attached springs. No tools required for this. Pushed D/W back in place and secured screws to top. Only tool used was a nut driver to remove the screws holding the D/W to the counter. Total time 7 minutes.

Removed 2 each screws from counter top. Pulled washer out 1'. Installed springs and linkage by hand with door closed. Push washer back reinstalled 2 screws.