My 20-year old Admiral dishwasher is still going strong, except that
last night, when I pulled the door open, I heard a loud crunch, and now
the door just falls open on its own weight everytime I open it. The
springy support that the door used to have is gone, and the door all of
a sudden is now heavy since there is no more spring-loaded assist to
keep it up. Also, all the plastic wheels that make the wire rack glide
out have fallen off.

I still love this unit and despite its age, I'd like to keep it going.
Can these defects still be repaired, can it qualify as a do-it-yourself
project, and what parts and tools do I need? Is the broken or dislodged
spring inside the heavy door wall, or is it on the inside wall of the
dishwasher? Any available parts assemby diagrams?

The Admiral dishwasher is Model No. DU2406-A S/N 00916 94 0686
manufactured by the Holland Division in Sharmburg, IL.

Thanks.

I imagine it could be repaired but taking it apart might make alot more
problems like rusted screws breaking or ruining their mount hole. Why
not just use it till its dead, so now you just lower it by hand. Paying
someone to fix it might be 50% the cost of a new unit.

wrote in message

I still love this unit and despite its age, I'd like to keep it going.
Can these defects still be repaired, can it qualify as a do-it-yourself
project, and what parts and tools do I need? Is the broken or dislodged
spring inside the heavy door wall, or is it on the inside wall of the
dishwasher? Any available parts assemby diagrams?

Let's break this down to logical steps. If you call a service technician,
it will cost about 30% to 60% of the cost of a brand new DW and once
repaired, something else can go tomorrow. Waste of money.

If you can figure out how to disassemble and repair the door yourself, you
may get a few more years from it. Just a guess, if you can't figure what
tools you need, it may be over your head. The good part of this, if you
experiment and damage something, there will be little loss. Take a shot at
it. Expect to run into rusted screw heads and bolts, etc.

While you like the existing unit, you'd be pleasantly surprised at how much
better it washes, quieter, etc. Think about a new one.

There are springs on the ends of the hinges inside the dishwasher. They
do rust and age, and eventually break sometimes. One of the two on my
older Kitchen Aid broke last year. You need to pull the bottom panel
off and sort out how the springs are attached, and see if you can get
replacements. It's not that hard a job, but I havent done it, I just
live with the "heavy" door.

Can't say about the racks.....

wrote:
My 20-year old Admiral dishwasher is still going strong, except that
last night, when I pulled the door open, I heard a loud crunch, and now
the door just falls open on its own weight everytime I open it. The
springy support that the door used to have is gone, and the door all of
a sudden is now heavy since there is no more spring-loaded assist to
keep it up. Also, all the plastic wheels that make the wire rack glide
out have fallen off.