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jdubin  
#1 Posted : Tuesday, January 27, 2009 1:10:11 AM(UTC)
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jdubin

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Our Whirlpool DU810SWLQ0 came with a home purchased about a year ago - so, no idea of age of unit or repair history. Even after a good pre-rinse in the sink, we find small pieces of food and stuff left on the dishes and glasses. I'd say it gets about 70% of the dishes totally clean, but there are, say, tiny pieces of broccoli left on some things, or a bit of cheese, melted but not removed. I thought it was because this is a basic, no-frills dishwasher, but I'm starting to rethink that.

The first thing I did was remove the tower protector from the lower dishrack, and that seemed to help a little (we're careful not to put items where the tower pops up during a wash). But now I'm wondering if the spray arm is the right size for this dishwasher. When I open the door and manually spin the arm, it scrapes a little against the sides of the dishwasher walls, as well as clips the float switch. So, I tried to jimmy the door so I could peek in while the arm spins, but as far as I could tell (after getting myself wet), it wasn't moving past the walls or the float switch.

The spray arm installed looks just like what's pictured in the part list - but I'm wondering if these were made in different sizes, and maybe the dishwasher was repaired at some point with the wrong part. Or I'm just totally crazy, which is always within the realm of possibility. So, does this sound even remotely feasable?

Also, how do you remove the grate from the bottom of the unit? I'd like to make sure that's clear of any debris, but I can't seem to locate any screws or other way of releasing it.

Thanks for any help you can provide!
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gravelkm  
#2 Posted : Monday, April 13, 2009 6:55:21 PM(UTC)
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gravelkm

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jdubin,

I have the exact same problem with my DU810SWPQ3 Whirlpool dishwasher. The spray arms graze the sides of the dishwasher and seem like they get stuck when they hit the float.

I put a digital camera that has a video option in the dishwasher during a cycle (in a waterproof camera bag, of course), and saw first hand that the spray arms are not spinning. Water is shooting up through the holes in the spray arm with pretty good force, so I'm not concerned about water pressure at this point.

I purchased this dishwasher from a seller on craigslist who had had the dishwasher for two years (from a new home).

Have you had any responses from anyone?
jdubin  
#3 Posted : Monday, April 13, 2009 11:35:08 PM(UTC)
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jdubin

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Wow, using the camera was a great idea -- can't believe I didn't think of that! But it sounds like you're describing the same issue, with what I'm sure is the same washer.

Sadly, no responses at all to this post, and I haven't done much investigating since. I was thinking about calling Whirlpool, but I don't have high hopes for that route. If I do come across something, I'll be sure to post it here.
gravelkm  
#4 Posted : Tuesday, April 14, 2009 6:29:35 PM(UTC)
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gravelkm

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My wife and I did a little more investigating today. It seems like the issue with the spray arm hitting the wall and the float has to do with the fact that the pump and motor assembly is just sitting underneath the dishwasher, and doesn't appear to be mounted to the dishwasher in any way. Have you noticed that?

If you unscrew the Pump Outlet Nut (item #10 on the parts list), then you'll see that the part of the pump and motor assembly that this Nut screws into leans forward because there nothing keeping it "level".

As a result, the spray arms also have a forward tilt to them, and thus, this is causing the arms to hit the side wall (the right side in my dishwasher) and the float.

It seems like if we could get the pump and housing assembly to be pretty level underneath the dishwasher, this would fix our problem.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Kevin
gravelkm  
#5 Posted : Sunday, April 26, 2009 5:54:00 PM(UTC)
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gravelkm

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jrubin,

I figured out what the problem is with the dishwasher, and I bet the same thing can/will be said for yours...

In the parts list and diagram displayed on Whirpool's website (http://shared.whirlpoolc...0List%20-%208194503.pdf), part #5 (Motor Support) under "PUMP AND SPRAY ARM PARTS" was where the problem was. This thing was just hanging there and not actually connected to the dishwasher, and thus was not supporting the pump and motor assembly. Hopefully the attached image will help you out. Make sure that the support "arms" are locked into place on the dishwasher (red circled area). You should see two holes where each "arm" will go.

Hope this helps. Let me know!

Thanks,
Kevin
gravelkm attached the following image(s):
20090415_1351.JPG
jdubin  
#6 Posted : Saturday, June 20, 2009 9:19:40 PM(UTC)
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jdubin

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It's been a while since I checked back here, and I just saw your post with the pic. I thought "no way...", but... you ROCK!!! This is *exactly* what was wrong! I can't believe it was something so simple. I was convinced that someone had once repaired it with the wrong size spray arm.

THANK YOU for taking the time to take the pic and post it here -- you've saved me from buying a new dishwasher!
gravelkm  
#7 Posted : Thursday, June 25, 2009 3:45:28 AM(UTC)
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gravelkm

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My "handyman" brother actually led me to check the motor housing area. Thank goodness he did! I'm glad this has helped you and hopefully it will help others!
MechEng  
#8 Posted : Saturday, November 14, 2009 8:30:07 AM(UTC)
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MechEng

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Thank you both for the information! I am under the impression that my dishwasher has not worked properly since the day we moved in to our new house...that was in 2003! I fixed the problem with the motor hangers today in about 10 min total with just a number 2 phillips screwdriver.:)
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