Spray Arm Seal

The most difficult part of this was figuring out the problem was with the middle spray arm - that it was not spinning (and thus not rinsing the top dishes). I could spin it by hand fine - but if I watched its position while the machine was running (open/close the door) I saw it wasn't moving. I took out the top shelf (with spray arm attached) and connected it to the garden hose. I could see then that the arm was sagging and hitting the rear connection, preventing it from spinning. To replace I removed the plugs from the top shelf side-rails (bend the rail open with your thumb and tip the plugs out of the rail to the right for the left rail, to the left for the right rail. this is easier than pulling them out the end of the rail). Slide out the top shelf. Turn over, remove the phillips screw and pull off the manifold, and middle spray arm. Replace with the new parts. I also replaced the top spray arm (which was very loose, and probably not spraying well because it was so loose). For this I unclipped the top feed tube and pulled off the old sprayer. Put a towel in the bottom rack of the washer so you don't drop the little pieces into the pump below. The top spray arm simply snaps in with the two connectors (the pointy one attaches through the feed tube).

removed parts and the ordered the parts. It was very easy to order parts from Partselect. I unscrewed a few screws and the disassembly was a breeze. I then revresed my steps and the new parts were instlalled no problem. Now on the the motor replacement. Thanks Partselect.com

First I had to remove the upper dish rack from the dishwasher. This was the most difficult part of the entire fix. I found the screw which holds the spray arm in place, Removed it and took off the old spray arm. Then I replaced the seal and put the entire thing back together, put the screw back in and replaced the rack. Then I ran a load of dishes and discovered the machine works just fine now.

Remove upper tray and spray arm. Remove two screws retaining pipe for upper spray arm and overhead. Unscrew retainer on top of lower spray arm and remove. Gently rotate the upper feed pipe clockwise until pipe can be removed from lower pipe. You may then remove the lower pipe and bearing housing where the seal is. Reverse order for reassembly. I also replaced upper spray arm bushing. Very simple, remove one screw and the arm will come out.

Had trouble finding my model dishwasher so i called Part Select and we were able to identify the same parts from a newer model. Repair was to replace the entire spray arm assembly, it went well with no problems.

Disconnected power to dishwasher. Removed water supply hose from inlet water valve.
Removed lower and upper racks. Removed Lower spray arm. Removed tube from pump tp top spinner. Pulled dishwasher from under cabinet (remember to tip to get back out!). Placed dishwasher on its back. Removed electrical connectors from water valve, main motor and drain motor. Removed drain hose from drain pump. Removed pump/motor assy by pulling out wedges and pushing assembly into dishwasher. Removed pump/motor assy from inside dishwasher. Cleaned out pump. Installed new chopper. Re-install pump/motor assy. Re-install driain pump hose. Re-connect the pumps and water valve electric connectors. Slide dishwasher near cabinet for re-install. Re-connect drain hose to dishwasher. Re-install dishwasher under cabinet.Reconnect water supply. Removed top spinner from tube. Installed new spinner onto tube. Re-install tube onto main pump (below lower spray arm). Clean out and re-install lower spray arm. Remove middle spray arm from top rack. Clean out spray arm. Re-install spray arm with a new gasket (gasket may have not been needed). Re-installed lower and top racks. Re-connect power supply. Position all three spray arms pointing towards the door to confirm they were turning. Tested dishwasher - confirmed fill, wash, and drain properly. Also confirmed that all three spray arms were turning. Machine is washing, draining and running great since!

I followed the PartSelect video to replace the feed tube assembly with spinner and the spray arm seal for the middle wash arm. Washing performance was better, but a couple weeks later the dishes on the bottom rack suddenly stopped getting clean. I decided I probably needed a new chopper assembly, which is identified by PartSelect as the cause of problem for 48% of the cases of dishes not getting clean. Before ordering the chopper assembly, however, I followed the video about how to replace the chopper assembly to determine whether the chopper assembly seemed to be worn out (the video shown at https://www.partselect.com/PS11722146-Whirlpool-W10083957V-Chopper-Assembly.htm). It was worse than I anticipated. I found the holes of the chopper assembly screen blocked by food, and the spinner in front of the screen had broken apart. In addition to finding the pieces of the broken chopper assembly, I discovered a treasure chest of debris, including about 8 pieces of broken glassware, 3 twister ties, a half-inch button, a 3/4-inch screw, and dozens of small pieces of metal. I poured water into the area and used a kitchen baster to suck out the water with all the pieces of debris, finishing the clean-up with paper towels. I ordered a new chopper assembly to replace the broken one, and the part arrived in under 48 hours. I relied on the same video to install the new chopper assembly. The only tricky challenge was getting the new chopper assembly back into place. I first tried needle nose pliers in two sizes, as recommended in the video, but what worked much better for me was using two chop sticks that were each about 1/4 inch square from top to bottom. Needle nose pliers are slanted, but the chopsticks did not vary in thickness and separated the screen from the spinner an even distance apart, making it easier to get the gear shaft on the chopper assembly to align in a straight line with the gear shaft on the pump motor. I also rotated the two gear shafts so the gears of the chopper assembly would mesh correctly with the gears of the pump motor shaft. The video cannot show that step very well because the man's hand blocks vision of how exactly to fit the chopper assembly into place. The video also fails to warn about possible debris around the chopper assembly and to explain how to clean out the debris. After finishing installing the chopper assembly my 14-year-old dishwasher cleaned my dishes as well as a new dishwasher. I spent a total of $110.24 on parts and shipping and invested a couple of hours total. The alternative would have been to spend $800 on a new dishwasher or wash dishes by hand. I am very, very happy with the outcome.

removed rack
removed one screw
removed old seal
installed new seal
installed screw

Used bowls in upright position in upper shelf determining no water to upper shelf after running in rinse cycle. Added a cup of Vinegar in rinse cycle. Performed bowl test in upper rack & still no water in bowls. Dismantled inside of unit by removing both spray arms & found lower seal deteriorated & upper seal in need of replacing. Replaced seals & redid bowl test & found no water getting to top rack still. Found utube vid showing removing garbage disposal portion of unit. Requires removing screen in bottom of dishwasher. One screw attaches garbage disposal cover. Found non food items & food by broken garbage disposal. Repaired disposal, removed debri & reinstalled all components. Redid bowl test in upper shelf & bowls were overflowing!!????Dishwasher works GREAT now & can hear garbage disposal operating along with massive water being sprayed!!!

remove upper rack & replace one item at a time