Whirlpool dishwasher - door springs and dish racks...

[turbokinetic]

Good morning folks. I had such good response on the question about our clothes dryer "dryness board" that I figured I would ask another question. First of all; I'm not entirely sure this is vintage or not. I think it's over 20 years but just not sure; so apologies if this is in the wrong forum area.

This dishwasher (see pictures) belongs to my mom. The door springs seem to be gone so that the door falls harshly unless you are very careful when opening it. I want to research disassembly instructions, but can't see any model number on it. I fear the nameplate is missing. Could someone confirm where that would have been attached?

Also, the dish racks are rusting and deteriorating. If anyone has a set they would be willing to sell, please contact me privately.

Many thanks for any advice!
Sincerely,
David

 

[DADoES]

 
Model/serial tag per red arrow?

 

[turbokinetic]

Thanks Glenn. I hope that is the tag but hate that I was that non-observant if it is LOL!

 

[combo52]

1990 or Slightly Earlier WP DW

Hi David,    Door springs are pretty easy to replace on these DWs, If you can't find them let me know.

 

I would have good used racks for this DW if you can not find them locally, they are costly to ship so you should consider visiting.

 

PS, Try to get your Mom to stop pre-rinsing the dishes, not only does it ruin the racks etc but it will destroy the main pump seal.

Another common reason that racks rust on older DWs like is a low water fill condition, to check for proper fill poor 2 gallons of water in the DW, [ then pump it out by running a drain cycle ] Then the next time you run a DW cycle compare the water level to how full the DW was when you poured 2 gallons in the machine, if it is much lower replace the inlet valve, do not try cleaning it unless you can find a new valve diaphragm as this is the bad part.

 

John

[this post was last edited: 12/8/2020-11:19]

 

[turbokinetic]

John, thanks for the pointers! Will try the water level test as soon as I can.

Can you explain the reasoning behind pre-rinsing the dishes causing damage to the racks and pump seal? I'm not doubting you but I would like to understand this better. It would seem that the few drops extra water wouldn't make a difference.

I've been trying to locate racks locally for about a year and just have not had any luck!

 

[appnut]

With dishes being pre-rinsed, there is no food soils available for the detergent to "attack" and remove. So, the detergent ends up eating away at the rack coating. Plus other parts of the dishwasher mechanism. Because I never rinse off my dishes, my dishwasher racks still look in near pristine condition when I change dishwashers. I.E with my 19 y/o GE GSD1200 PotScrubber and my 9 y/o Kenmore Elite tall tub dishwasher.

 

[awooff]

Top rack

A bit off topic here but is it me? Or do the plates in the top rack seem really big to fit standing up with all that room above them for a whirlpool of this age - does the top rack wash arm even clear the bottom rack dinner plates?

Im not seeing the adjustable upper rack mechanisms on both sides of upper rack so maybe this model just had a lower upper rack then most??

Aaron