Drain Valve Shaft Seal

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.

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.

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.

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.

Before ordering the parts I read the posts by other do it yourselfers and found them very helpful. I ordered the seal and shaft nut from Parts Select and was impressed the parts were delivered in a couple of days. I removed the two lower panels from the dishwasher to expose the leak and the shaft. I turned off the electricity at the circuit breaker box and disconnected the wiring harness to expose the area I would work on. After cleaning the water deposits from the shaft I pried off the small lock washer and removed the plastic cam from the selenoid. Next step required removal of the push on nut. This was the most difficult part of the entire procedure. It required a bit of gentle but firm pulling with pliers and a couple of screwdrivers, sacrificing the nut in the process. It was better ordering a new one originally then trying to save the old one. Having experiencing these nuts in previous work, I knew a new nut would be a cheap fix! Once off, the old seal is easy to remove. Place the new seal on the shaft as per the included instructions, place the new push on nut and reassemble as originally taken apart. (I used a socket set to push on the push on nut.) I then ran a load of dishes to make sure there was no leak before reinstalling the lower panels. I had no leak but pay close attention to placing the seal and push on nut. The seal must be in the exact place.

I removed the front bottom panels to give me access to the Solenoid area. I did not take out the dishwasher from the cabinetry. I removed the screws holding the solenoid assembly and the C clip holding the hand fan shaped white nylon thing onto the valve shaft. I slipped these to the side. Then I cut through and removed the push on nut with a wire snipper plier. Then I used a knife blade tip to pick out the black seal. I then slipped the new seal onto the shaft, being careful that the flat side was outward, and slid it down the shaft and , with my fingernail, pushed it completely flush into position. The biggest challenge was the push on nut. It does not push on easily and must have the lips pointed outward. It required the use of a 3/8" diamater tube slipped over the shaft to tap the nut down the shaft. This caused the shaft to push into the pump housing, which caused the valve to bind. So I used a vice grip to pull out on and hold the shaft while I tapped the push on nut with a flat head screwdriver. Then I just reversed the solenoid assembly removal. But , when I ran the dishwasher, it no longer leaked.

unscrewed bracket unplugged solenoid , pried off spring clip pulled nylon arm off and took off old push on nut. I had to squeeze the push on nut together with pliers from two angles to get it loose

The leak was coming from the drain valve shaft and I found the tips to replace the seal from this website. I was able to reach everything without removing the dishwasher from the cabinet. Once I got the cam lifter off the old push on nut was corroded so it was easy to get off. The old seal was recessed so I used the point of an ice pick to gently pry it out. The new seal was easy to push in place but the push on nut was a bear. I saw other comments about using a deep socket to push it on but I didn't have one the right size. I was able to hold the end of the shaft with pliers and pushed the nut in place using a screwdriver. Ran a short cycle and no more leak. Thank goodness for this website. Found the part easily and the other written comments were very helpful.

I disconnected the electrical wires. Then disconnected the support strut and the two hose clamps. I was then able to remove the motor /pump assy where I completed the disassembly of the solenoid linkage and pump assy. I removed the solenoid shaft seal. I disassembled the impella parts & the motor shaft seal. I reassembled using new seals, impeller, and grader nut. The only tricky step was waking up to the fact of a left handed thread on the grader nut. I re-installed the motor/pump unit, tightened the hose clamps, connected the electrical wires, & support strut.