WDF520PADB7 Whirlpool Dishwasher - Instructions

repair went smooth for the grommet. suggest a small of vasoline to ease installation of grommet

I simply had to hook up the power cord to the dishwasher so i could plug it into the outlet rather than direct wire the appliance. Everything went very smoothly. Everything needed for installation other than tools was provided. Easy to follow instructions if you know a little about electrical wiring.

Took out old rack by twisting the rack supports. Used old supports because in good shape. Removed the wand from old rack and placed on new rack. Then replaced the supports. Worked great.

I turned off the power to the dishwasher, removed the kick plate, raised the front levelers, disconnected the electric to the appliance, turned off the water supply to the appliance, disconnected the water supply, disconnected the drain system from the garbage disposal, unscrew the appliance from the countertop, then I remove the appliance from underneath the counter. I then tilted the appliance back and then in screwed the plastic retainers that held the heater element in place, removed the old one, replaced it with the new one in reversed the whole process

As washer had been in place for several years, decided to go for new arms rather than clean the originals. Simple twist of the wrist to remove and another twist to install each new one. Slick as a whistle. Seem to work just fine.
Thank you,
EG

Disconnected the damaged hose extension from the dishwasher outlet drain hose and the connection to the sink drain. Removed two clamps. One a spring clamp and the other a screw clamps. Connected the new extension hose with a spring clamp to the dishwasher outlet drain hose. Connected the other end to the sink drain with a screw clamp. Checked for leaks. Good to go!

The water valve float lever was broke. So I replaced that and the water level switch. Probably didn’t have to replace switch. Very easy!!

You only need to pull it out about 6 to 8 inches and you don’t need to disconnect anything to slide it on

thought it could be due to the overfill control switch,so ordered one and replaced one in the washer. However, it did not solve the problem. Having a repair company coming to look at the dishwasher. Tipped the washer on its back and switch was readily accessable. Only had to open plastic covering over the switch, disconnect the wires and install new switch and reconnect the wires.

Put in both a new element and thermostat. Did not fix problem. Using an ohm meter I did not measure any voltage to the thermostat. Suspect it’s a problem in the control unit, and decided to replace dishwasher.

The circulation pump is a super easy fix and the installation video parts select has on its website is accurate. I felt the most difficult part of the repair was removing the dishwasher from the kitchen counter to make the repairs. After you get the dishwasher out, you pretty much just pop the old pump out with your hands and a flat head screwdriver. (The supplied video is spot on ) Installing the new pump will require a pinch plier or a hose clamp. I chose a new hose clamp as it is cheaper and I would never use the pinch pliers after this job.

Replacement parts from factory installed using u tube support video


Also replaced stop ends for top rack by removing old clip in to push down and lined up to secure in slots at end of rack, notice new plastic parts are installed by pushing hardware into slots downward until they clip into place

simply line up the new pin with the rectangular slot in the kick panel and metal panel behind, slide the pin in and turn it with a flat blade screw driver.
NOTE: the original pin was black. A black replacement part cost $29 plus shipping! A knock-off pin was only $6 plus shipping. I got the cheap one and colored it with a black Sharpee marker before installation.

Did the repair, but needed one extra step not described in video:

I followed the directions on the PartSelect Youtube video - very helpful! I do believe the heating element was the original culprit, as it had a "burn" area about the size of a dime that caused it to almost break into two parts. Obviously a point of failure.

BUT - after replacement, it still did not solve the problem of the dishes not drying.

After much web searching, I tried the diagnostic mode on the dishwasher, and that did a hard reset of the logic board and FIXED the problem.

So in all, it required both a new heating element AND a hard reset via diagnostic mode.

Thanks to everyone for posting their experiences on changing the heater element. The most difficult part of the repair was getting the dishwasher out of the cabinet. I didn't know that I should disconnect the water line underneath the sink and this would make the removal easier. Also, because the copper water line going to the dishwasher was kinked, I ended up changing it with a flexible steel braided line.....much easier to install.

Once the dishwasher was out of the cabinet, I turned it over and easily removed the clips that held the heater element in.

I would definetly recommend people doing this repair themselves, it will save you a lot of money!!!!!