GSD490M-01 General Electric Dishwasher - Instructions

I had never done work on my dishwasher - I was a rookie in this area. Turns out the work itself was quite simple. Pulled the dishwasher out, turned it over, and was able to easily replace the motor and pump assembly. The drain tube was also an easy replace. A couple key notes:

1. I also purchased a new drain solenoid and impeller kit. Note that both of these items are already included in the Motor and Pump kit replacement. There is no need to by both, now I have extras.

2. The end of the drain tube has to be trimmed if you are routing the drain tube to an air gap mounted on your kitchen sink. You have to cut the large diameter end of the tube to get to the narrow portion that will fit on your air gap.

3. The first cycle you run with the new motor/pump assembly is noisy. When you first fire it up the components in the pump are all dry, and they squeal until the water gets to them. I initially thought I had done something wrong, but once the water started flowing all the peculiar sounds cleared up.

This was a fairly simple repair. After disconnecting power to the dishwasher and removing the panel below the door, first had to remove a retainer C clip from the gate valve shaft. Then disconnected the linkage from the gate valve solenoid, removed two return springs and slid the gate valve contol arm off the shaft. Then removed the solenoid bracket that was fastened to the housing by 2 screws. This allowed access to the push on nut on the valve shaft. Removed the old push on nut which exposed the leaking seal. Removed the bad seal, then moistened and carefully slid on and seated the new drain valve shaft seal. Affixed new push on nut. Reinstalled the above mentioned parts that were removed. Problem solved - no more leak. Total cost $18.81 for factory GE parts plus $6.95 shipping. Thank you PartSelect.

1. Remove lower cover skirt.
2. Shut of water at undersink valve.
3. Unplug power cord or turn off circuit breaker.
4. Disconnect water supply line from fill valve.
5. Unplug the electrical connector from the valve.
6. Remove the 2 valve mounting bracket screws.
7. With loose valve in hand, rotate to gain access to allow release of outlet hose clamp for hose removal.
8. Remove brass fitting from old valve and install on new valve. Use teflon tape on the pipe threads only.

Install new valve by reversing the procedure.

Opened package from Parts Select.
Removed Silverware basket from package.
Opened Dishwasher.
Inserted Silverware Basket in rack.
Closed Dishwasher.
Discarded shipping package.
Told wife I fixed Dishwasher.
Sat down & had a beer.

The most difficult part was removing the dishwasher from below the counter. Once that was complete, I simply turned the washer onto it's front surface to access the pump easier. Simply disconnected the electrical connectors, loosened the three hose clamps holding the hoses to the pump. Lastly removed a stiff arm bracket holding the pump. Reversed the order to install the new one using a longer bracket provided with the new unit. Hooked up the electrical connections last and slid the washer back in place. The washer runs like new now and is not making noise. The replacement part was a perfect match.

took dishwasher out- put on table to work on-removed wire brace- disconected drain outlet- disconnected top drive seal- removed wire clip connector- removed motor unit----------------
installed new motor/drain unit--used new longer wire brac used adapter to connect electical leads-
tightened clamps and bingo it worked and didnt' leak. good job on the supplying of all the necessary adapers.

Did the install a few days ago 4.25.11 and all went smoothly. The instructions that came with the kit were very straightforward and the diagrams were extremely helpful in locating brackets/hoses/connections. My dad thought he would just get down there and do it, but wasn't sure what to do. Using the directions with the kit, I had the motor and pump off in under 5 minutes. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS WITH THE KIT!

Some things to note:
- Get some towels/cups/bowls, we had some water leaking from the dishwasher and hoses.
- Be careful removing the dishwasher from the counters, go slow.


1. Shut off electricity
2. Shut off water. I just shut closed the line that went directly to the dishwasher.
3. Removed screws from bottom panel to expose motor and pump assembly.
4. Removed screws securing the dishwasher to the counters.
5. Slowly slid dishwasher from counter and rotated so door was facing the ground carefully to ensure wires/hoses were not pulled or crushed.
6. Removed screw from bottom of motor that was secured to the hanger.
7. Removed ground screw from bottom of motor.
8. Removed all wired connections from the motor and pump.
9. Loosened hose clamp securing the drain line and removed from motor.
10. Loosened 2x hose clamps securing the motor and pump assembly to dishwasher.
11. Ensured everything was clear and disconnected, and slowly removed motor and pump assembly from dishwasher.
12. Test fit new motor and pump assembly.
13. Reconnected 2x connections to the motor and pump.
14. Secured the ground wire to the motor and pump.
15. Slid motor and pump onto dishwasher and secured the 2x hose clamps.
16. Secured screw from the hanger cable to the motor and pump.
17. Reconnected water line to motor and pump, and tightened hose clamp.
18. Ensured all connections were made, hose clamps were tightened, and there were no extra connections.
19. Rotated dishwasher back onto feet.
20. Slowly slid dishwasher back into counters ensuring no cables or hoses were kinked or crushed.
21. Restored electricity and water to dishwasher, and then performed a quick test of one cycle to check for leeks.
22. Secured bottom panel and dishwasher to counters.
23. Enjoyed having a working dishwasher again!

I read all the other repairs first to find out what I had to do. I then took front cover off the bottom of dishwasher. Identified the leak was coming from drain seal. I shut breaker off unpluged wires that were hooked to the drain valve sensor. removed the clip carfully as not to damage it. Removed srews that held down drain valve. removed the push on nut that holds drain seal in place. then removed old seal. I wiped down shaft to get ride of any corrosion and reinstalled new seal with deep socket and a srew driver. I installed new push on nut with another size socket. I fitted drain valve to shaft, used plyers to gently to pull shaft so I could put the c clip back onto grove on the shaft. reinstalled spring and plug wires back in turned breaker back on. I turned the dishwasher on and it did not leak. I was very happy that i did not have to take the dishwasher out. I did all repairs with everything still hooked up.

The hardest part was removing the dishwasher from under the counter and cleaning up the large amount of water that poured out when I turned the unit on its side.
The actual pump replacement was pretty easy except there were a lot of extra parts that were only needed for other brands or other models.
I might have tightened one of the large clamps too much as there was a very slight leak after I was done. One or two drops of water per cycle, which evaporates quickly and not worth taking apart again.
It was not hard but took longer than predicted.
Much better than buying a new dishwasher or paying the estimated $350 to an appliance repair company.

Saved a bundle over the cost of a new dishwasher. by ultimately replacing the entire motor/pump assembly with one ordered from PartSelect.com And a bonus was a much quieter operating dishwasher!!

Here's what I did:

First tried replacing leaking drain valve shaft seal.
Removed entire motor pump assembly. Replaced seal. Still leaked (although less) because drain valve shaft was worn (corroded.)

Next ordered the entire motor/pump replacement assembly. The parts arrived in 2-1/2 days. (Should have replaced entire pump assembly to start with - all of the same labor to replace just the drain valve shaft seal.)

Anyways, instructions were very clear and well illustrated. This replacement took less time than to do the drain valve shaft seal.

Very simple repair:
1) Shut off water supply, electric power
2) remove front bottom insulated dishwasher cabinet cover grills.
3) disconnect drain hose and catch water in shallow dish.
4) disconnect water supply at solenoid valve.
5)disconnect electrical inside junction box and remove cable from dishwasher.
6) remove two under counter screws to top of tub
7) slide dishwasher out from under cabinets.
8) place soft carpet to cushion left side of dishwasher to avoid potential damage to water inlet to tub..
9) lay dishwasher onto left side. (Not right side, as jet dry reservoir wiill drain empty all over floor.)
10) unfasten motor support rod, power connector, and drain solenoid power connector.
11) unfasten motor ground wire.
undo pump inlet and outlet boot clamps.
12) remove old motor/pump assembly.
13) prepare new motor/pump assembly drain hose adapter stub reducer diameter to pump drain outlet. (tighten two hose clamps provided/)
14) place new motor/pump assembly into inlet and outlet boots.
15) fasten inlet and outlet boot clamps firmly tight.
16) install new, longer motor support rod (front)
17) install motor ground wire and new, fine thread grounding screw,
18) connect motor power to new power pigtail and plug new pigtail into motor power connection,
19) install wire wrap tie threaded through the support rod to front frame hole and support motor power wires/
20) install wire wrap tie through drain valve solenoid metal support holes and loop around solenoid power wires to support them.
21) tilt dishwasher upright and slide back under counter cabinets. Guid power and water supply lines to right under side of pump motor, and drain hose to left side.
22) reattach drain hose to new motor/pump drain stub reduce adapter, tighten hose clamp.
23) support drain hose with wire wrap tie looped over frame on left side.
24) reattach water supply to inlet water solenoid valve and tighten firmly.
25) redo electrical power supply connections to dishwasher hot, neutral, and ground (120VAC).
26) check level of dishwasher tub and adjust front and rear leveling legs on left and right sides. BE SURE LEVEL, OR WATER MAY SPILL OUT TUB WATER INLET OPENING DURING OPERATION.
27) remove inside tub drain trap screen (two screws) , and pull out sump baffle. Check for and remove clear any foreign objects inside tjhe sump.
28) replace sump baffle (flat baffel towards fromt. and tub drain screen cover.
29) Turn on water supply and electirc power supply.
30) Test wash a load of dishes and check for leakage.
31) reinstall fromt lower insulated cover grills.

Wow, the new motor/pump assembly operates very quietly compared to the old one - this is a pleasant and unexpected bonus.

No problems encountered.

Total time was about 2.5 hours to do all of above.

I called the repair guy, and he told me I'd have to replace the motor/pump assembly. He said he could do it for around $250 to $300. I logged onto this website for a look and saw the seal available. After reading the other responses, I figured with a seal and the cheap push-nut (that sometimes gets mangled upon removal), it would be worth a try.
I pulled the dishwasher partly out from under the cabinet; disconnected the front support mount, the drain hose, and the two water boots; dropped the motor/pump assembly; removed the solenoid; removed the e-clip, push-nut, shaft, and old seal; and then reinstalled everything. The hardest part of the repair was the tight working conditions. I wonder how many people pay hundreds of dollars because of this $15 part.

Rather than remove the dishwasher from the counter, I performed the repair inplace, which was much less work (although I did have to lay on the floor).
After turning off the power, I removed the two access panels at the bottom of the unit, disconnected the wiring from the pump and solenoid, loosened the drain hose fitting and drained most of the water out of the unit and into a shallow pan (the drain solenoid was stuck open, so this was pretty easy - otherwise, I still could have manually actuated the drain valve & solenoid to drain water through this hose).
There was alot of water in the unit and my pan overflowed a little. If I was doing this again, think I would have disconnected the drain hose from under the sink and drained out through that into a bucket (I could have controlled that flow better).
Once the water was out, there are just two hose clamps that hold the pump onto the unit (one on top and one in the back), and a stabilizer bar that connects the motor to the front frame. Removed these and the whole unit came right out.
The replacement pump & motor was exactly the same as the one that came out, so I didn't need any of the hose or wire adapters that came in the kit.
Reconnected the two pump connections, motor bracket and wiring, and the unit was good-to-go!

1. Remove access panel under door. 2.Shut off hot water.3. Shut off electric to washer.4. Disconnect water line from water inlet valve.5. Remove small outlet water line from valve. Replace valve & reconnect. OR !!! 1.Take solenoid valve & bracket off of original inlet valve 2. Pull out white plastic diaphragm cover. 3. Remove diaphragm & clean out water holes with a pin. 4. Reassemble valve. 5. Reinstall original water inlet valve & save $27.00

The shaft pulled out of the housing when I tried to get the push nut off. I had to take the pump housing out in order to get the shaft lined up with the valve when reassembling. In the end, the shaft had so much slop that no seal could keep it from leaking. Time for a new dishwasher.

After removing the dish rack I unscrewed the center riser spray by turning it Clockwise and I removed the lower spray arm. I then removed the lower spray arm support using a phillips screw driver and replacer the worn water seal. I reversed the process and reassembled the sprayarm and center riser spray. Job completed!