Hi Jay,
Not a tough job for the handy homeowner, this is about
the most common problem with these dishwashers. Caulk
won't do it - you'll have to replace that little boot.
Pulling the door apart's not that hard, either - don't let it
scare you. Torx drivers are available at nearly any
hardware store these days, and it's not a bad idea to get
a kit of various sizes. There are handy drivers that include
4 or more sizes in the handle, or in an inexpensive kit.
Usually includes at least a #10, #15, and #20, the most
common sizes used in appliances.
Power it down, remove the inner door panel screws, and
just close the panel back up again, slipping a clothespin or
small Visegrips into the latch strike to hold it up for you. (I
snap a forceps into the strike to hold it, which works well.)
You'll see how it installs, it's pretty straightforward. You
have to pull the dispenser wax motor(s) and linkage out
to get to it, but just take your time and you'll be surprised
at how easy it is. You'll find a lot of 'gunk' - mostly
detergent residue - in the area that'll have to be cleaned,
and that usually takes longer than the actual boot
replacement.
I've not been too impressed with these machines, but
they've been doing better than I expected when I first saw
them. They'll never beat the longevity of the earlier
(belt-drive) Maytags, but the same can be said for pretty
much every appliance out there today.
Hope that's of some help.
God bless,
Dave Harnish
Dave's Repair Service
New Albany, PA
www.DavesRepair.com
570-363-2404
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John 3:3
"jay" wrote in message
news:Sc_Cd.10743$PY6.655@trndny02...
I have a Maytag dishwasher, model# DWU7400BAX. It is around 8 or 9 years
old. It is dripping water from the door. The drip appears to be coming
from inside the door, around 5 5/8" from the right side. The drip does
not
start happening until the unit has been running a while, when the washer
knob gets toward the heating delay asterisk (just beyond 6 O'clock
position). Not sure if it starts happening exactly when it reaches the
asterisk, just that this is the general location it starts happening. I
began the wash at the Normal position.
The location of the drip seems to be 1/2" to the right of where the latch
for the detergent cups is located. My theory is that the small square
gasket around the latch is letting water get inside the door, and that is
why it is taking a while for the water to soak up the insulation on the
inside of the door, and then make its' way to the bottom of the door and
then leaking out the bottom of the door. The rinse aid cap is also near
this location, but I suspect the gasket more than the rinse aid cap, based
on my own opinion from examining these two items. Do you think I'm
correct
in diagnosing the detergent cup door latch gasket as the cause of the
leak,
or could it be something else like the black rubber gasket around the
door,
or the rinse aid cap?
Assuming that the gasket around the latch for the detergent caps is indeed
the cause, then the next question is can I replace this small gasket
myself,
or do I need to have a professional do this? I notice that they sell a
latch/gasket kit online for only $2.50. Does replacing this gasket
involve
removing the white plastic panel on the INSIDE of the door? This panel
appears to have special bolts which seem to require a special "star shaped
six point wrench" rather than a standard Allen hex wrench. If getting to
the gasket involves removing the white plastic panel on the INSIDE of the
door, then where can I buy this special wrench, and would it be easy for
me
to do this job myself? Is there another way to replace this gasket, such
as, by removing the OUTSIDE panel of the door, and if so, then how do I do
that?
Any potential snags I need to know about...such as would I need a special
glue or tools to install the new gasket, etc, or is it likely I could
cause
other leaks by doing this repair myself?
This may be grasping at straws, but is there some type of caulk I could
use,
or anything else I could use, that could potentially fix the problem
WITHOUT
having to take the door apart?
If you think this fix is NOT a do-it-yourself job, then do you think it
would be worth spending $100 or more for a repair, or should I simply use
the money toward a new dishwasher? What is the typical life of this
dishwasher, and how much does an equivalent model cost these days?
Thanks for your advice.
Jay