Door Spring Linkage

first i removed the 2 holding screws fron the underside of the counter then oulled the dishwasher out about a foot. i then removed the side panel that hold the front plate in plase on the right, below this were the screws that held the door hinge assembly on the right. i then proceeded to remove those bolts. and replaced with the new one. replacing the spring and the linkage came next no tools required. i have to say that the diagram when i ordered helped emensly. i am a 45 yr old woman and fixed it by nyself thanks to your ordering diagrams. life is good!!

Thanks to repair stories about door leaks on partselect.com I ordered parts for the detergent/rinse dispenser in addition to the door gasket. The installation of the door gasket is really easy, simply remove the old gasket starting at one end. I needed a small screwdriver to get the old gasket end out of its channel, then pulled the entire gasket out. I cleaned the channel with water and simply pushed the new one into the channel, starting at the left bottom and continuing around. It is important not to stretch the gasket and also to have it equal length on both sides of the tub. Total time less than 10 minutes.

The replacement of the detergent grommet requires removal of the inner door panel. I removed the seven torx-head screws along the edge of the plastic panel and lifted the panel away from the outer metal door. There are wires attached to the detergent cup motor. I tried to remove them but found it was easier to simply snap the motor out of it's retaining clip, leaving the wires attached. The inner door panel can now be removed. The detergent/ rinse aid module is removed by taking out two hex-head screws. It lifted away from the door and the grommet is right on the front, surrounding the detergent cup latch. I removed the old grommet, cleaned the residue of old detergent and water hardness from the latch and the backside of the inner door. and placed the new grommet over the latch. I used a little water on the new one to make it slide on easier. I then reattached the module to the inner door. Be sure the grommet is centered in the square hole and evenly tighten the two hex-head screws. Re attach the soap motor by snapping it in place being careful to align its plunger correctly with the soap module. There is a groove in the plunger that fits into the plastic arm of the module. Re assemble the inner door and tighten the torx-head screws evenly. This job took about 30 minutes and completely solved the leak problem.

The broken spring linkage requires partial removal of the dishwasher. First, I turned off the power and water as a precaution. I removed the undercounter philips head screws, removed the lower access panel and kick plate using a nut driver. To access the door spring mechanism, the dishwasher must be pulled out from the cabinet about 10 inches. I had flexible electric and water lines so they didn't need to be disconnected. If the water and electric are rigid, then they have to be disconnected. This may require a professional. The replacement of the door springs and linkages is very easy once the dishwasher is pulled out. Keeping the door closed and locked, simply hook one end of the spring on the linkage, attach the other end of the linkage to the door and attach the other end of the spring to the hole in the dishwasher base where the old spring was attached. It is a good idea to replace both springs and both linkages to keep equal tension on both sides of the door. Slide the dishwasher back to it's original position and replace the undercounter screws and the lower access panels. Total time less than 15 minutes.

The replacement of the spring linkage was simple - the pulling out and pushing in of the under-the-counter dishwasher was the difficult and time-consuming part. The repair of the part took less than a minute.

The actual repair -
1. Hook the linkage to the dishwasher door
2. Hook the spring to the dishwasher base
3. Hook the spring to the linkage.

Getting the dishwasher out to be able to make the repair involved:
1. Unscrewing the base panel (6 screws had to be removed)
2. Unscrewing the dishwasher from the counter (two screws)
3. Turning off the water supply
4. Disconnecting the inline water supply from the dishwasher.

Once the part was replaced, I had to return the dishwasher to its original position, which meant performing the four steps (in reverse) used to pull out the dishwasher.

Took off bottom plate for access. Slid part that holds bottom of spring forward so I could reach it without pulling dishwasher out of position. Hooked spring to bottom attachment, then connected door spring linkage to holder that is attached to the dishwasher frame. Adjusted the tension with the tension screw and buttoned up bottom plate.

Removed four screws on bottom plate. Located repair site on outside of cabinet. Had to hook spring on bottom rear plate by brail. Then attached linkage to spring and ran stiff wire through linkage to raise it above arm. Called a man with stronger but larger hands had him stretch the spring while I guided linkage over arm and into the slot using the wire. Removed stiff wire with needle nose pliers and reassembled front plate.

1) Emptied Dishwasher (roll-around model)
2) Tipped it onto its back
3) Removed Toe Kick (2 screws) and Bottom Cover (4 screws) (screw driver)
4) Opened Door to access side panel (careful not to let it drop on my fingers)
5) Using Torx driver, removed two screws holding side panel on. This makes it easier to access the linkage and spring.
6) Removed broken link
7) Installed new link and spring noting the spring direction from the spring on the other side of the door.
8) Pulled spring over the bottom rail bracket with pliers.
9) Reinstalled panels in the reverse order.

This was really easy. I just took out the two screws securing the unit to the counter top and slid it out about 6 inches. Broken plastic spring linkage was obvious and easily accessible. I didn't know there was one on each side, I would probably have went ahead and ordered both and replaced them at the same time.

first I turned off the water to the dishwasher, and turned the power off for the dishwasher.
removed the 4 screws from bottom panel
then removed the 2 screws from the bottom of the counter,
at this point I could pull the dishwasher out. then figured out where the part went and attached.
pushed the dishwasher back and lined up the holes under the counter, put those in first, the put the bottom panel back on, turned the water back on, and flipped the breaker switch.
Reading the other stories really did help me get some idea of what needed to be done

Attaching the part to the door only took a few minutes but getting the dishwasher out over the hardwood floor that was installed after the appliance was put in was a pain. I had to remove a piece of the hardwood floor and use some technique to get it out of the opening so that the springs were visable. There is no problem after that. I would recommend using work gloves to stretch the spring over the retaining notch on the door so that you don't pinch your hand.

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.