kd-16 leak out the door
working on this kdi-16 for my girlfriend's mother. water drips from the bottom corners of the door. First time I tested, it was the left side of the door on the first cycle and the right side on the second cycle. That seemed odd. I have replaced the tar-like goo along the spot-welds inside the door and at the corners with silicone, as it was hard in some places, very soft in others, and I felt water coming through the tar in the corners near the hinges before I took the front of the door off. The tar was pulling out and the leak slowed appreciably when I pushed it back in, but it was very soft, so I replaced it with silicone when I opened the door up. Seems to leak when the machine is filled and slinging water (not surprisingly). I'm wondering if it is filling too high and sloshing out? I'm going to take another look tomorrow or the next day. I have wondered if the door seal might have shrunk in length, so I extended that a bit with some silicone and magnets. I covered the door seal with duct tape to add a little thickness, but it didn't help. It has me puzzled. I was so sure it was the tar-stuff at the left and right sides that I didn't take the front off the door the last time I tested it, and there wasn't time after that test. It made it through a cycle with no leak, but offered a couple drops on the second and some teaspoons on the third. It appears that this machine does not have a float overfill shutoff device? The dryer mushroom in the back doesn't have a float in it, does it? How does this thing know how much water is in it? She is 80 (the mom) and getting frustrated with the leak and is talking about going to Sears. She has company coming for Christmas. I hate to see a machine like this go to the landfill. I tell her it is a great machine, if we can just find out how the water is getting into the door and out onto the floor. It seems to be landing on the rubber strip at the bottom and dripping out the corner. The whole strip gets wet. I don't have a book, so I don't know what's supposed to be there. Seems to me it ought to be made so that sloshed water would be redirected back inside the cabinet. I reworked the door springs a couple years ago when the ends broke off of them. Is there any sort of seal or flap that is supposed to keep water from sloshing up into the door? I am thinking of installing a silicone flap on the door with neodymium magnets just to break up the sloshing. (it's made for plugging the gap between stove and counter or between washer and dryer). It's a great machine. No chips, no rust. Not much paint on the timer panel, but enough to kinda figure out what it's supposed to be doing. I haven't watched it leak with the front of the door off, but if it is overfilling or oversloshing, there's nothing in the door that can stop the tsunami. I know some newer machines have some sort of diverter at the corners where the door meets the cabinet, but I haven't seen evidence that this machine had them. I don't see evidence that the detergent dispenser seal is leaking. Any ideas?
