DB400A1 Frigidaire Dishwasher - Instructions

I removed some philips screws from the kick plate along the bottom of the dishwasher. I then removed some trim screws on the sides of the bottom door panel (the smaller panel below the door on the front of the dishwasher). There were also two screws into the top of the lower panel that you can only see when the door is open. This let me remove the whole lower door panel and kick plate. It was now possible to see the springs on the left and right, and it is actually possible to change them at this point, just with access through the front. However, it is very awkward. Contrary to what some repairs have said, it really is much easier if you can pull the dishwasher out from under the counter about 6 inches. To do that, you'll have to unbolt it, and that will vary depending on how yours was mounted. You may find brackets along the front, screws or bolts through the frame into the floor, and/or retaining straps from the top up to the counter.

Beyond that, it's simple. You'll see that the spring hooks into a slot or hole on a large L-shaped bracket that moves with the door. There is one on each side at the bottom of the door. The other end of each spring hooks through a hole in the frame rail on the bottom. There will likely be several holes, letting you choose how tight you want the spring (this controls how easily the door will drop).
A pair of needlenose pliers is handy for getting the spring end into the holes.

Again, it was a lot easier doing this from the outside of the dishwasher after pulling it out a few inches.

The gasket was easy to remove and easy to replace. Our story is interesting because upon calling SEARS to find the replacement part we were told they no longer make it because the dishwasher is too old (approx. 15 years). It works wonderfully so I was annoyed to think we'd have to buy a new one just because of a bad gasket. My husband has a knack for finding things online and eventually discovered your site as well as the original drawing of the machine to find the part number and lo a behold, it fits perfectly. No more leaks! Sweet

Removed 2 screws from the Access Panel and 2 screws from the Toe Plate using a Phillips head screwdriver. The broken spring was removed and replaced using the opposite spring as a guide as to the position of the spring. The opposite side (the unabroken one) was replaced. The panels were screwed back into place. End of repair.

I removed the whole spray assembly and replaced the base by removing the spray arm and re-attaching to the new wash arm support and diffuser assembly. When re-installed into the dishwasher, it works like new!

At first remove the lower rack to give more room for you to lean over the inside of the dishwasher then remove the old gasket tub 90 inches long make sure that you know which side goes where, so that it will be easy to put the new one. Then press the gasket firmly on the side.Now you can start your dishwasher with no leak and saves you a lot of money for buying a new one.

The repair was simple. When the part comes, you may need a hairdryer to heat up the plastic a bit to get any kinks that may have happened during packaging or shipping, very easy 5 minutes. Removed the old gasket by hand, very easy, 1 minute. You will need to clean out the track that the gasket sits in. Mine had years of black gunk inside of it. You will need qtips or a small screwdriver with some tissues or papertowels, easy but took 15 minutes to clean out properly. Installed new gasket in the track, start at the top middle, there is a notch on the gasket so you know where the middle is. Installed by hand, just push bottom edge into the clean track, easy 5 minutes. Ran the dishwasher with no leaks. Very pleased with the result and how easy the gasket was to remove and install.

All you have to do power down the unit, then disconnect the power connections at the element and remove the old nuts and replace them with the new ones and tighten. Don't tighten too much, the element has a rubber seal that just needs the nut to snug it up.

First, open the dishwasher door and unscrew it from countertop or side of the cabinet. Second, close the dishwasher door and lock it. Thrid, pull entire washer out slowly. Fourth, remove old door spring on both side and replace with new one using needle nose plier. Fifth, unscrew drain hose from under washer and under the sink disposal and replace with new one. Sixth, run washer and ck for leak then push it back under the counter top...done

Removed the old rollers with with screw driver. Used the original screws and washers, and reinstalled the new rollers. Had been having trouble with top dish rack metal slides popping out of the old rollers. I not that the replacement rollers are slightly larger and have slightly deeper groves for the slides. Have not had the new rollers installed long enough to see if they remedied the problem. Will know in a few weeks time. So far, so good.

After I received the Motor Shaft Kit I removed the spray arm tower and removed all screws, the center screw would not come out of the impeller, was stripped. Used a hammer and chisel to split the center of impeller and was able to remove. Also had to split the bottom impeller because it would not come out. All the parts that came in kit fit perfectly. Thank you Very much.

I had to replace the door gasket but it would not go in very easy..So I put the gasket in a sink of warm water so it would be more pliable. Then it went on fairly easy.

I pulled the old door gasket out, cleaned the guck out and pushed the new one in it's place.

I removed two screws that hold unit to countertop,
just pulled out unit about two inches. Removed broken door springs. Installed new door springs and pushed unit back into place and installed the 2 countertop screws DONE.

Removed the service panel below the door (4 hex-head screws), then reached in and took the old broken spring out (right side) and hooked the new one up.

Glad I bought 2 springs - the other one (left side) broke about a week after I fixed the first one! Replaced it the same way. Helps to have small hands - you can't really see where you're putting the springs but can feel where they should go.

In about 20 minutes, I was able to remove the front panel and access the springs. Besides a hard water line in the way, it was a snap.