SAYS WHO?
First things first.. the seals and bearings sure as heck are available to purchase and the motors can be rebuilt and they are not that hard to work on.
Assuming that you do not break the ventilating fan, the bearings will come off the rotor fairly easily and install easily as well.
The Hobart part number for the bearings is BB20-18 @ 7.65 each( takes 2)
and the seal kit is Hobart part number 435102 which is 54.15. Both parts should be readily avaialabe at any Hobart office. If and when you want to do this job, please contact me directly and I will gladly walk you through it.
Michael, that machine should wash very well as it really no different than a KD18 series.
Like Eddie asked, is the filter clean? Or more so, is there enough water getting in to the machine? Is it hooked up to a low flow faucet? Some newer faucets have internal restrictors in them and not in the aerators so it can be hard to see one and hard to get a full amount of water into the tank within the time the timer allows.The water should be within a 1/4-1/2 inch of the hub on the lower wash arm.
Also, is the wash arm support in good condition? That is, does the white bushing on the bottom half stay in place when you pull it up or does it move up? If it moves up, then it will block all the water to the lower arm and you can have horrible washing results.
Look at the next two pics; the first one is how the wash arm support should look with the bushing in the correct position and the next one will be of it when the bushing comes loose and slides up to block the water from going thru the lower arm.
Loading properties are strictly at your discretion and if you personally feel it is not flexible enough for you, and if you don't want to work within the confines of the racks in the machine, you will never be happy with this style of Kitchenaid machine.
My wife still begs me to give her back any model of KA machine from before Whirlpool changed the whole design.We have a brand new KA machine now and while it is soooo much quieter that the 21 it replaced, she still complains about the racking of the WP inspired racks. I tend to agree with her. The racks in the newer machnes cannopt hold a condle to the vintage machines of Hobart design. Yes, the dishes eventually come out clean but it takes them forever to get washed and dried.
