66515973991 Kenmore Dishwasher - Instructions

This part is different than the original but works great. I used Geronimo's instructions, but cut the ring (see below) so I didn't have to glue it back together.

1-remove upper rack by removing holding clips.

2-remove old assembly from Rack

3-Use exacto knife to cut old ring guide at top between 2 hooks to accommodate new style (one solid plastic piece). No need to re-glue since the hooks hold it up okay.

4-re-install upper rack

Turned of water and unplugged the dishwasher.
Disconnected the incoming water line.
Drained on to the floor (have paper towels ready)
Disconnected the electrical feed wire.
Disconnected the rubber hose.
Unscrewed screw holding the fixture to the frame.
Took off the brass elbow from the old part.
Put pipedope around it and screwed into new part (carefully, so as to not crack plastic again).
Attached part back to frame.
Attached water lines.
Turned on water, plugged it in and ran dishwasher looking for leaks. No problem.

First of all, we were very impressed with the ease of finding the parts, the ordering, and the velocity in which the parts were shipped. We received them the next day. I had to remove one of the screws from the old kit, since the new one only came with one. I looked at the diagram on the website of the assembly, and also remembered what the assembly looked like before I took it apart. The first time I tried it, I could not get the spray arm to spin without hitting the dishwasher rack. Since I had ran out of time, I had to wait until the next day. Once I started, I realized that I had the mounting bracket on backwards. Once I turned it around, I tightened the screws, and it was done within 5 minutes.

I unscrewed the old water inlet valve from the frame of the dishwasher so that I could manuever my hand around to the backside where the rubber hose was connected. That was the easy part. I then had trouble holding the old valve while trying to unscrew the hot water copper tubing so I screwed it back on the frame. My dishwasher is close to 18 years old and I think that was part of the problem. After soaking in WD40, I finally got the valve out. Then I had to remove the "L" shaped connector to put on the new valve. Everything went back together a lot faster and it's like I have a new dishwasher again. By the way, I am a 53 year old female so that may be why it took me so long.

Removed 5 or 6 screws replaced O ring,Srewed cover back on ,no more leak.

Removed dishwasher, take to garage, removed lower rack to gain access to top of motor unit. Used star socket wrench to remove upper screws holding top of unit in. Disconnect wires, drain tube and counter weight. pulled motor unit out from inside dishwasher and placed on bench. Proceeded to disassemble motor. Some things were obvious, others not so. replaced old worn out parts with new, used a little lube (Vaseline) in places to assist in getting seals back in place. Instructions were of little help need to pay close attention when tearing unit apart. Reassembled with new seals, installed motor and re-installed dishwasher...NO LEAKS!! Wife and I happy.

The dishrack fits perfectly in our 10 yr old KitchenAid dishwasher. Took a little while installing the wheels and 3 rows of tines that were not in place as instruction sheet was a bit vague. Our old rack had had several tines rust off, and recently learned that we should be using liquid detergent as the powder is like a sandblasting agent over time. Also we didn't get a knife/fork basket with the rack; however, old one fit okay.

Remove power, either unplug the unit or locate and turn off the circuit breaker. There is power under the dishwasher even if it is not running.

Use the nut driver to remove both lower panels to gain access to the bottom of the dishwasher.

I suspected the overflow switch and used the ohm meter to discover the resistance of the switch, with no water in the washer, measured anywhere from a couple of ohms to 40 ohms or more and of course it should be less than one ohm.

There was no sign of any leakage or other problem so I wanted to keep the job simple and replace only the actual micro switch.

Problem! The micro switch is mounted on the back side of the float stem kit and visibility is severely limited. About all you can see are the switch terminals and the head of the phillips screw that holds the microswitch on the rest of the float stem kit.. You'll definitely need a small mirror.

I first pulled the wires from the microswitch terminals. Then I used a small phillips screw driver to remove the screw holding the switch and the first thing that happened is the small white float lever fell out. (I didn't know that it was even there because of the poor visibility. Ugly surprise!)

I spent 1/2 hour or more studying how the lever went in and found that the cirular end of the lever fits into a circular depression in the assembly body and was HELD IN BY THE SWITCH. (Now it's really getting ugly!)

The problem then is how to get the lever back in place and have it stay there while placing the micro switch back in place. There just isn't any easy way to do that. If only the switch and lever were one piece it would have been so simple.

Aha!

I placed and aligned both the lever and the microswitch on the float assembly body that I received. Using a couple of small pieces of electricians tape I taped the microswitch and lever together so they were one piece. Then I carefully (very carefully) removed the switch/lever
"assembly" that I made and eased it into position onto back side of the dishwasher float stem assembly body. When the switch is almost in place there is just barely room to get the tip of your finger in there and seat the rounded end of the lever into the depression. After seating the lever, carefully replace and tighten the phillips screw holding the switch in place. Then remove the electricians tape.

Replace the wires on the micro switch terminals, replace the front panels, put your tools away, and by golly, you're done.

This repair is not for the faint-hearted nor for those with fat fingers or who tend to be klutsy. It took me three or four attemps and a couple of hours to get the microswitch and float lever into place. But I think it was worth it as I didn't have to remove the dishwasher, play with water lines, or remove the full float assembly thus avoiding creating other problems that might likely result in water leaks and additional repairs..

If you decide to try this repair, good luck. It can be done but it is tough.

One day the door came slaming down. Pulled off the bottom two panels and noticed a broken spring. For the small investment I purchased two new springs and replaced both while I was down there.

1) Pulled off the bottom two panels
2) Took note of location of where the springs were and removed the old springs.
3) With my fingers found the holes and placed new spring on the door side.
4) With some muscle stretched the spring untill it joined the multiple tension slots on the frame of the washer.
5) Found the correct tension to suppt the door opening and closing properly.
6) Replaced the two bottom panels
7) Cleaned up and was done!

Thank you partselect for your great web help!

Took off the front cover and scraped out soap deposits - probably consequent to wash water not being hot enough. Replaced the lower seal - used some automotive weatherstrip seal to cement it in place. Loosened the door per instruction sheet and replaced the water deflectors on each lower corner. Probably took me longer since I'm 81 years old and don't get up and down as well as I once did. Insulated the hot water tube so wash water is hotter than before. Works pretty good.

No brainer

Contrary to info on your website, the bezel is removed by turning it counterclockwise. This misinformation wasted a lot of time. The bezel is difficult to turn. I used a home-built wrench: drive two screws spaced 3 inches apart through a stick of wood, projecting 5/8 inch. Engage the screws in the slot in the bezel and in the grill, and turn ccw. I cleaned the deposits from the surface where the gasket seals with white vinegar. New gasket and bezel fixed the problem.

all I had to do was snap the plastic piece in.
thanks, great experience.

1) Removed the two white clips from the left and righ hand side of the top tray roller rail. this allows the tray to be completely removed and ease access to the washer assembly. The clipe looks like the letter "k", so you will need to close the "k" to almost straight line in order to get it through the hole.

2) Put a sheet or a towel at the bottom of the machine, just incase you drop the two small cross head screws. This prevents the screws from falling to the bottom of the machine.

3) Remove the screws. At this time the washer assembly will/should slip out very easily. very little force is required to pull the assmbely out.

4) Slip on the new washer assembly and put the screws back in place. Tighten screws, Be careful not over tighten the screw as you may crack the plastic flange.

Note: My machine is an older model, so the washer assembly had two screw fixing. The new assembly only had one hole. Although one fixing appeared to be sufficient, I decided to drill a hole on the other side and this worked fine.

5) Replace the top tray, taking some care to ensure rollers are correctly located within the rails. Then replace the clips and job's complete.

We were told by a repair guy to buy a new dishwasher-about a $900+ cost to replace. Then a local parts place and Sears each quoted us $85 for the part plus $129 to come out. Found your website and bought the part for $17. Also bought a hard rubber gasket that fits on the bottom of the door for $8. The brackets that came with that last part were the hardest to install, but the gaskets took 15 minutes. We did glue another strip of the long door gasket along the area under the door lip. Works great! Saved over $800. You rock!