My 13 year old dishwasher started leaking-I noticed water on the floor after running it. I reasoned-it must be the gasket-so I bought a new one, and took the old one out, installed the new one. Why don’t they run the total circumference of the door? They leave about 6" at the bottom of the door un-gasketed. Anyway, tried it-still leaked! So, I removed the new seal, cleaned everything, and re-attached it. Tried again-but still leaked. Anybody know what is going on? :smack:
http://www.repairclinic.com/0088_9_1.asp#Level1_6
I replaced the main tub seal once, it was pretty easy, and the parts were cheap.
Water doesn’t leak from the bottom of the dishwasher because there is basically a tub built into the design. The gasket is there just to keep all the water that’s being shot around from the jets inside the unit.
First, the big question…is the water dirty, and when does it leak?
Pull the bottom panel off and check the drain hose. I’m willing to bet either the hose is cracked/worn or the clamp is rusted. Either way, an easy fix.
The main seal on the motor shaft is likely the cause. I incorports a ceramic seal under spring tension for the rotating part of the seal. This seal involves a rubber diaphram that flexes and eventualy wears out. You’ll see the water leak out mostly after the machine shuts off, when this seal goes out. You will see some water on top of the motor if this seal leaks.
The door is not a water tight seal, so excessive suds do cause a leak at the door jamb.
The fresh water plumbing may leak,before the relay of the dishwasher. Water will leak coninuously in this case. The feed tube from the relay to the interrior may leak or the plce where it penetrates the box may be loose. The assembly that pententrates the box incorperates a vacuum beak design that can allow water to leak when filling.
The drain hose may be loose or shot.
My pick for most likely cause is the motor shaft seal, which is the hardest item to inspect, since you need to disasemble most of the washer assembly to service it.
This is not directly connected to this problem, but it is useful information.
Some time back, my dishwasher would not discharge. Calling around, I was told it was probably the pump and probably not worth fixing.
I was shopping around when a repair guy told me to check the air gap. Sure enough, crud had built up and was blocking the discharge tube.
Cleaned that and it has worked fine ever since.
Additionally, although this doesn’t sound like your problem, a repair man told me my dishwasher leaked because I was using Electrasol. He said something something suds lock. Told me to run an empty load with vinegar and then switch to Cascade. Worked like a charm. Your mileage may vary, just wanted to let other people with leaky dishwashers know.
My first step would be to take off the front bottom plate, run the dishwasher, and look under there with a flashlight, till you see what’s leaking. You may get lucky and see water coming from a simple connection that came loose.