Rehabilitating KitchenAid Series 23

[betterwasher]

Hey everyone, just discovered this website after researching my mother's old KitchenAid. We have a Series 23 which I've gathered from the posts on here is a dishwasher worth holding onto. It's really not hard to see that modern washers are NOT built as well - I was in home depot recently and every dishwasher, even those over a grand had an abundance of plastic fittings. The quality isn't there anymore.

Anyways, we were thinking about replacing our KitchenAid with a new model since our Series 23 does not clean dishes as well as it used to, but realize we'll be better off repairing it. What parts of the dishwasher are worth inspecting and replacing? Right now dishes in the lower tray are cleaned fine, but anything in the upper tray remains grimy and in some cases still with pieces of food present. I checked that the upper wash head spins just fine (it does), and the lower head isn't jammed either. Without a service manual I'm not really sure where to go from there.

Also, the tension spring or device that dampens the door as it opens seems to have failed as well. Is that an easy fix or just a flaw that easier to live with.

Thnaks in advance for your help.

 

[rp2813]

The check valve may be stuck open.  Its a common problem that can compromise the amount of water getting to the upper wash arm.  Sometimes, depending on the configuration of the drain hose, you can hear an "urping" sound during wash periods when the check valve is stuck open.

 

It's just a little rubber flap inside a plastic housing that the drain hose connects to.  To test it, you have to remove the housing.  Remember which end is which, and the direction water flows through it when the machine drains.  The flap is supposed to remain closed except when the machine is draining and the force of the water pushes it open.  Blow into the housing from both ends.  If you're able to blow through it from both sides, the valve is bad/stuck open.  You should only be able to blow through it from the end that connects to the pump.

 

There may be pictures of the part if you want to do a search.  GE makes a replacement that will work, but it's only the flapper.  It's their part #WD1X1486.

 

[dustin92]

Your fill valve's screen could be plugged with sediment as well. Very easy fix if that's the case.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Before you tear into the check valve:

Make sure the water feed tube going from the back of the upper rack to the upper wash arm hub is not bad. I have seen them get brittle and start disintegrating.
This is a very common cause of the top rack not getting clean in KD-18 thru KD-23 machines.
WK78