KitchenAid dishwasher leaks

Looks like I have a leaking dishwasher.

KitchenAid model KUD1021RBL4 Black

It appears to be coming from the right front corner. Using a mirror I saw it drip from the Control, Overfill Assembly (8545946) item 1. I suspect the Gasket, Flat (8531743) item 11 is bad. See attached diagram parts list.

Question...How do I remove the assembly and can I just replace the gasket or is it not worth it and just replace the whole assembly. Do I need to remove the door unit? Can I leave the unit in place to do the repair or do I need to remove from cabinet cubby hole?

Additional information...It leaks only slightly and not continuously. Intermittently. I ran an empty rinse cycle and using a mirror I was able to see the water drip from that housing unit. But it only dripped once. As if a shot was pushed through it. No steady stream. See pics. Notice drop of water on bottom of white housing. Puddle on drip pan.

 

WOW! 99 reads and not one comment! I've ran the unit several more times and have not seen any leaking. Do I button it back up or keep looking?

 

I had a leak on one but I don't think it was a Kitchenaid. The gasket wasn't sold individually so I cleaned it and where it sealed against the door and smeared thin bead of black gasket silicone. You could check online to see if the gasket is available separately.

Usually the worst part of the job is just getting the door opened up but many have screws on the side and then you just do some careful prying & pulling to remove the door panels. Just be careful that once you remove a panel the door becomes lighter and the counter balancing springs will try to close the door.

 

PD, I don't mind replacing the Overfill Assembly. And I don't think I need to remove the door. That is my main question. How do I get the assembly off and is it necessary to remove door or pull unit from cubby hole? But now I can't see any more leaking! But you know how that stuff works, if it happens once it will happen again at some point in time.

 

Follow up:

Since the unit hasn't leaked after several washing cycles over the past couple weeks, I decided to take preemptive action. I drilled a hole through the floor under the offending area to fit plastic funnel. To the end of the funnel I attached a hose leading to my basement sink. Now if any leaks appear it will drain.





NO! NO! NO! I did not do that.

However, I did lay a small tray under the section to catch any further leaks if they occur and buttoned it back up. Now I'll periodically check it until further action is required.

 

For some reason I missed this thread.

Although that gasket is not known for leaking it can. The gasket, OEM part # 8531743, is available separately. The only disadvantage, and I can't figure out why, is that it's over $20 for the part.

 

Resurrection of an old problem.

It looks like the leak has reappeared and this this time it actually caused very minor damage to the floor. That's not a problem since it can't be seen.

The problem is the same as before, (see post #4) the gasket on the control overfill assembly needs replacement. PJ makes reference to this in post #6.

I can't figure out how to remove assembly. There are several You Tube videos that show how to replace overflow float and the overflow switch but not the assembly that holds it to the washer tub.

There is a video produced by Appliance Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHzWskFViVc

that shows how, but they want a subscription fee of $25 for 7 days or $30 for premium viewing. I'm too cheap and I'll be damned if I'll pay for instructions that should be very easy to accomplish.

Does anybody know how to do this dis-assembly before I dive into it and experiment on my own? I need to do this quickly since I have several other projects scheduled within the next several days (living room painting). The little women will not proceed to the next project unles I complete this one. And of course she wants this fixed ASAP.

 

Sometimes I can make things look more complicated than they are. The unit just screws off when you take off the float.

The gasket looks perfectly good! And I also question as did PJ in post #6 why $20 for a piece of rubber washer. I did notice that the plastic nut that holds the unit in place was easily unscrewed with little effort. Which makes me think it was just loose and not tighten properly. I may just re-assemble it and keep the unit exposed to see if that solves the problem. Although I pulled the unit out of the cubby, I can put it back and still have complete access and exposure to that section.

 

OK, reassembled unit and did test run. Still leaks by about a drop or two during and entire cycle. Nut and gasket firmly tightened. I can't imagine that is the problem. On one repair parts supplier site a person had the same problem. It was suggested that the inlet water valve needed replacement. I thought the overflow valve was meant to prevent an overflow in the event the fill valve malfunctioned. If the overflow float and relay work (as they seem to to be by visual inspection) why would the fill valve need replacement for this type of leak? Any takers on this question?

 

For those who might be interested.

I ordered the replacement overflow switch assembly. To my surprise it came with two gaskets. My first thought was they sent an extra. I installed new assembly with gasket on the inside section as originally built. Test run, and still had leakage. Installed second gasket on the outside of switch assembly. So far no leakage after two full wash runs on all cycles. Interestingly, no bulletin or instruction were supplied with new parts. Maybe my fix of using both gaskets is not correct, but why send two and it works?

 

Re-cap... Overflow valve float switch leaked. Replaced. Seemed to fix the situation.

Current situation. After several months of monitoring and one or two leak problems, I think I finally identified the cause. Original and replacement float switch are good and never needed replacement. The cause is the detergent! The "standard" powder or liquid detergents worked fine for years. Never had problems. Then at one point my wife started using the tablets. The ones with the big red dot in the middle. Those seemed to work OK. Then they stated to package those tablets in a plastic wrap that is suppose to disintegrate into the hot water. NOT! On all previous repairs or leaks since using these wrapped tablets I noticed a heavy gunk paste like goo embedded in the underside of the float. See accompany pic.

The way it should look


The way it looks when using wrapped tablets


So I believe that the wrap material is not dissolving completely and is collecting under the float causing it to bind and not float.

So now the question is, is my water not hot enough (I doubt it)? Or is this a symptom of poor product. How would I go about finding out if anybody else has had this problem? I fear if I complain to Kitchen Aid they will tell me to go see the detergent manufacture and viced versa. Needless to say we are not using the plastic wrapped tablets.

 

That would be from water not hot enough however my mom had used those same packets and they didn't always dissolve properly either. I have the washer set for heated wash which means it raises the hot water if it doesn't come in hot enough and that didn't help.

Needless to say.... I recommend not using them.

 

Dishwasher detergent also has a shelf life so unless you run the machine every single day do NOT buy in bulk from the warehouse club. It also helps to run the water at the kitchen sink to get it as hot as possible immediately before starting the dishwasher. This latter action reduces the amount of cooler water (standing in the piping) from cooling down the machine.

 

PJ, correct you are. We also use the Sanitize level of temp to insure the water is hot enough.
Thanks, for confirming my suspicion of the deterrent. I'm considering getting a new hot water tank next year, but our hot water seems to be good and delivers on demand.

Furd, you are also correct. We do run the machine nearly everyday. And yes she learned the trick to run the sink faucet first to purge the pipes of cold water.