My first (?vintage?) dishwasher

[jmirawm]

thanks for all the info guys !!! fired her up this afternoon

Well I got her hooked up today. THE lights all clicked on and then the shhhhhooooooosh of water filling her up. She stirred to life and I could hear the constant spray of water! Of course I had to open the door really quick to see the roto-rack!! That roto-rack can really get with it. And there were no dishes loaded in it. Surprisingly, she seems quieter than my hotpoint dishwasher. After Going through the first wash cycle with no probs, when the first rinse cycle began she started leaking quite a bit! The kitchen floor will get a good mopping tonight! I am going to have to figure out where that is coming from. any suggestions ? I am so thrilled with my $5 find ! My first vintage machine!

 

[Unimatic1140]

Hi Jim, it could be coming from a number of places, such as the pump, a hose, door gasket, etc. Take off the bottom panel and run the dishwasher again, have a flashlight or other source of light handy so you can see exacly where the leak is coming from. Once you pinpoint exactly where the source of the leak is we might be able to give you some more suggestions to fix it.

 

[jmirawm]

Origins of the leak.....

I did as you suggested Robert. The leak is coming from the hose that supplies the upper spray tube. It has a pretty good crack in it. And it is spraying right on to the reel that holds the power cord!! GREAAAT ! I am assuming that I can take this off and go get a piece of tubing to match at a hardware store. The one thing I am not sure about.....If I turn the machine on its side, I will be able to get to the connection to the pump pretty easy. The other end of the hose hooks into the tub, and there is a metal piece across the bottom of the machine there. The cabinet looks to be all one piece. I am not sure how to get to that connection. I'll know more tomorrow when I have time to look at it on its side. I am VERRRRRY tempted to go get a hose now.....but it can wait...I have some mopping to do again

 

[bpetersxx]

origins of the leak

sears web site

part #5300805923

hose for spray arm

pete

 

[Unimatic1140]

Great Tom, I'm glad you found the source of the leak! Hoses are easy to replace and you might get lucky if that hose is still available and not have to retrofit another hose. I have no idea how to take that machine apart, but maybe someone out there has a repair manual for this machine.

 

[kenmore1978]

repair manual

Still available from Sears for a paltry $2.49

 

[jmirawm]

Parts ordered

I have ordered the manual, hose, and baskets. My next task is going to be cleaning her up, while waiting on those things to arrive. There is some rust on the underneath edges of the cabinet. What would be good to clean and shine up the outer part of the cabinet? the chrome buttons and upper console? And also the wood butcher block top?
You guys are great! thanks for all your help! I cant wait to run the first load of dishes! I may have to figure out a way to get a neato plexiglass window rigged up !

 

[kenmore1978]

Sprucing up

Hard to tell from pictures, since I could only see the edge of the butcher block top, but it looks like someone "refinished" the top sometime in the past and some kind of varnish or other coating has been applied. Butcher block tops really should have no "finish" to speak of, at least if it's used as an actual cutting board. If it's never going to be used for that purpose, then you might want to sand the finish off and refinish it with an appropropiate finish for use as just a "surface" to put things on. Looks like whoever did the "refinishing" didn't do a good job.

 

[jmirawm]

Exciting Discovery !!

I was looking through the parts lists last night at Sears.com for my model. There were several light parts listed. I got to thinking and looking closer. I pulled up the diagram. I found, hiding under a white plastic lens, A LIGHT above the Chrome buttons! HOOOOORAY!!!!! LIGHTED CONTROLS !!!! I Love lighted controls ! As soon as I get a new light I'll take a pic to share. Ashame I did not know this before placing my first order.

 

[kenmore1978]

control panel light

Before you go back to Sears, there's a good chance it's a standard bulb readily available at a hardware store or lighting dealer. Without even seeing the bulb, I would bet it's a standard 7 1/2 watt clear miniture base "Christmas Tree/Night Light" bulb. If it is, you may have to search for a 7 1/2 watt one, the "Energy Gods" have dictated that those bulbs should now be 4 watts. But I've managed to find the 7 1/2 watt ones without too much trouble.