[prodonjs]

My Maytag Dishwasher (DWU5902AAB) is leaking from the front door. This isn't a new problem. It has leaked every so often from the time I moved into the home four years ago until now. I started to pay greater attention though after having some work done in my kitchen.

Here is what I have tried to do so far:

• I examined the door seal. It seems to be completely intact. I took it out and inverted it based on some recommendations I read here. I do not believe the water is coming from there.
• I took out the lower wash arm and inspected it. Visually, I see no evidence of any kind of cracking or splitting.
• I took the inner door panel apart. See the image below. As you can see, a clear trail from the soap/rinse aid dispenser area. I thought I had an easy fix. I replaced the grommet for the dispenser latch, and also replaced the o-ring for the rinse aid dispenser. I took the door panel off and stress tested it using my shower head. I blasted water at high pressure directly at the dispenser area for 5 minutes and did not get a drop through. After cleaning off the residue trail and running the machine through multiple cycles, I no longer see any moisture from that area. I believe that issue is now fixed and is not contributing to the problems I am still having.
  
• I took off the outer panel to observe the unit running. Here's what I found. It's pretty obvious that there has been some long term water damage to the unit. The inner cardboard panel has been getting wet for a long period of time it appears. Surprisingly, most of the water was collecting in the lower left corner of the unit opposite from the dispenser area. This corresponds to the area where water most often drips out. When I have this outer panel disassembled, I do not observe any water coming from the dispenser latch area.
  
• The image below shows the machine running. I circled the areas of the metal door frame where water appears to be coming from the back and saturating through. This is roughly how much water leaks during a typical cycle. It's not a ton but enough to have me concerned to leave it be. It doesn't leak constantly throughout the entire cycle either. It may take 10 or 15 minutes for the first drops to appear, which leads to me believe it's a problem created by random splashing/spraying and not a consistent leak problem.
  
• Upon taking the door panel off after a wash cycle, the inside of the panel as well as the inner insulation is completely dry. The only area that is saturated is the foam strip at the bottom of the hinged door assembly. This strip is waterlogged and has clearly been damaged by years of hard water saturating it.
  
• Finally, here's the last image. This is taken from underneath the unit while it's washing. You can see water coming up over the lid of the washing basin, splashing against the metal door frame, and dripping down beneath.
  

So, while I realize this is an older unit and there is some significant rust damage from years of water leaking over this edge, I really do not want to replace it at the moment. Mechanically and electrically, it works great. It washes dishes very well, and has no other problems. Also, my wife and I just had to replace our refrigerator, so we're hoping to avoid buying another appliance at the moment.

I'm looking for guidance on what to do next. Most repair places I have talked to are at a loss after I tell them what I have already done. I can conclusively say that the water is not coming from the dispenser latch. It definitely appears to be coming from splashes that come up over the lip of the drain pan where there is no gasket or seal. I checked my washer for levelness and it's pretty much dead from side to side and front to back. The water level during a cycle just touches the bottom of the metal heating ring inside of the machine. I cannot seem to find a single thing.

I'm desperately hoping that someone here has something else for me to try. At this point, I'm reluctant to run the machine unless I am present because I fear that one of these times, it's going to leak significantly and create some damage. I refuse to give up on the machine at this point until someone can convince me that it's going to cost more to fix than it would be to replace.

I sincerely thank you for any assistance.

[stukincali]

I just resolved a similar problem I was having with my 16-month-old dishwasher. I tried most of the things you mentioned here. Last night I figured out my problem. The vent in the door was completely clogged. When water would turn on, the pressure was being released between the door and the tub. When I cleaned the vent, the problem went away.

One more thing to try at least. Good luck!

Vito

[prodonjs]

I had read that before too. I tried looking at the vent assembly for my model and there didn't seem to be much to it.

Parts for Maytag DWU5902AAB Dishwasher - AppliancePartsPros.com

Also, it didn't appear like there was any water leaking in between the door panels anymore. It appears like it's splashing over the bottom and out from the underside of the door. I really don't understand why there isn't a seal there. It seems like an odd design.

Since I have ran the unit without the door panel on, I don't see any water leaking from the top part of the door and running down. Unless I am missing something, it only seems like it could be coming from bottom and splashing over the lip in the drain pain.