Our GE Profile has had a lot of issues with the sprayer arms clogging and things (e.g., bottle caps, pieces of plastic, pistachio shells) getting under or through the inlet cover (508) and down into the sump filter (506). I have gotten pretty adept at removing the lower sprayer arm, fine filter and sump cover to fish things out of the sump filter at the first sign of standing water. I also routinely clean out the holes in the sprayer arms when the dishes aren't getting clean enough. Tiny bits of plastic, bell pepper seeds and such seem to big the biggest culprits for clogging the sprayer arm!

Today, I cleaned both the sprayer arms and sump filter (found yet another beer bottle cap in there -- ugh!). I noticed there was a lot of what I first thought was cheese in the sprayer arms, which seemed odd. Then, when I went to put the fine filter back in, I saw the white rubber/plastic tube that is part of the sump inlet (505) and that the Fine Filter ASM (507) fits into is disintegrated! It was actually bits of the white rubber (not cheese) clogging up the sprayer arms. Now there is nothing left of the vertical tube sticking out of the sump inlet for the fine filter ASM to "plug" into. :(

Question 1: I assume that it is not OK to continue to use the dishwasher with part of the sump inlet in this condition. Is that correct -- or would it be safe to operate like this until we get the parts and/or a repair person to fix it?

Question 2: How hard will it be for me and my husband to replace the sump inlet ourselves? We are both pretty handy. Will we have to pull the dishwasher out -- or can we get to the sump inlet from inside the dishwasher? Will we need any other parts besides the sump inlet (505) like the clamp (451) and the plate (456) or a new sump filter (506)? Can we get step-by-step instructions for replacing the sump inlet?

Question 3: I can't figure out or find online instructions on how to remove the metal mesh course filter (502) or the sump filter (506) in order to clean these in the sink (I assume that is a good practice). I seems like the plastic sump filter might be holding the big 502 metal filter in place. From the diagrams of the sump filter it looks like there might be some tabs holding it in place that I could squeeze and then get the filter out (but I'm afraid I'll break the filter trying).

Thanks in advance!

PS -- I am always amazed that these things make it into the dishwasher in the first place as I rinse and inspect dishes before they go in. Still, other people including my kids, husband, and nanny put dishes in the dishwasher and are not as careful. Despite my vehement cautions to everyone that the dishwasher is not a trash compactor, weird things still end up in their and sometimes in the sump filter. I would love to know for the future if there are models/makes that are more fool-proof when it comes to catching all the junk that seems to hitch a ride on the dishes in our house. :eek:

pull your washer out, disconnect power, water and drain.

first, I would take out the bottom sprayer arm by lifting up and turning counter clockwise, it pops off. next take off the filer under the arm. there are a couple little tabs on the white coupling that you need to pry up a bit and then twist off counter clockwise. there are only 2 spots it is held on but 4 tabs so just do those. then pull off the outlet tube that goes up the back. then take off the grill and then maneuver the mesh piece off. this is important because if you don't do that, when you pull the sump out you will break the tabs that hold that grill on.
now, tip the washer onto its back and loosen the clamps holding sump inlet (505) in place. there are three. pull it out. the metal mesh course filter (502) and the sump filter (506) just need to get pried out of the sump. it is soft and bends easy, they are just held in with a little groove. replace the parts and back together, took me about an hour but was figuring it out as I went along.

hope this helps someone