Kitchenaid Dishwasher Door Drops when Opened

[TechnicianBrian]

Model #KUDS01FLWH1, the customer complained that the door seemed very heavy when they would open it and if the door didn't get latched, would have a nasty habit of falling open by itself. After a few times of running into the door with their shins, it was time to get this thing fixed.

About
The doors on the Kitchenaid line of dishwasher use a spring and link assembly to counterbalance the weight of the doors, and because the internal panels of these doors are stainless steel, they tend to be a bit on the heavy side. The link is made up of a small rope with plastic connectors on either end to connect to the door hinge and spring. This link will wrap around a set of pulleys (one of which is stationary) near the front of the frame allowing the rotational movement of the door hinge to translate into a horizontal pull on the spring. The spring is then connected to the rear of the dishwasher frame and remains in place with just a small amount of tension applied.

Problems and Solutions
The most common failure of the door link is the end connecting to the door spring breaks and allows the rope to pull loose, or the link just breaks at one of the ends due to the constant tension and bending when run through the pulley system. Once the first link breaks, the customer will notice the door uncomfortably heavy when opened much like this customer did. I replaced both links with the parts from the new door link kit which contains a new set of pulleys and two links that have a red strand (see part link image) woven into the rope to indicate the new vs the old style link.

A Secondary Solution
The new style link has an added benefit of being wrapped tighter than the original links to help prevent dirt and debris from getting stuck within the strands of the rope resulting in extra friction as it moves past the stationary pulley. It is this friction that causes the link to drag when the door is opened or closed and make a very noticeable harmonic spring noise. Often the solution used to stop this noise is to apply a lubricant to the pulley to allow it to slide better, but the long term result will be extra dirt being attracted by the grease or oil that is applied. The better solution would be to do a quick replacement using the new style links and keep them clean from the start.

Once the link kit was installed, the door works just fine again, and because both links were replaced, the door should only open when the handle is pulled.

Dishwasher Door Balance Link Kit Part # 8194001

[apptech]

Have you ever seen any of the ones with the red strands in them break?

[TechnicianBrian]

The lanyards with the red tracer were supposed to reduce the chance of breaking and they are made of a tighter woven line to prevent dirt from getting stuck between the strands resulting in more friction as it moves over the door pulleys.  This friction usually manifested itself in making the customer crazy with the annoying harmonic spring noise when the door is opened or closed.  My experience has been they work, break and make noise just like the previous version, but are available in a kit with a single part number so that at least is an improvement.

Brian

[dtk200]

Brian, this is incredibly helpful -- the same thing just happened today to my KitchenAid KUDS01FLSS1.  It sounds like this is relatively easy to replace, but I am not a superexpert with appliances.  Would you be able to quickly note how to actually replace the springs (or is that info that would come with the door link kit?).

Thanks!
DTK

[AJ]

Hi dtk200

The links are very simple to replace. You will need to slide the dishwasher out from the cabinet. Then you will be able to see just how everything goes.

[dtk200]

Hi dtk200

The links are very simple to replace. You will need to slide the dishwasher out from the cabinet. Then you will be able to see just how everything goes.

OK, you've already lost me.  The dishwasher is screwed/welded/wedged into the undercounter area where it is located.  How do I slide it out?

[AJ]

If you open the dishwasher door and look up under the counter top you should see two screws that hold the dishwasher in place.

Remove them two screws and the dishwasher should slide out if the water line, drain hose and power cord are long enough. If they are not long enough you will have to disconnect them.

If you have granite counter tops the dishwasher maybe held in place with screws on the sides under the gray plastic caps.

[TechnicianBrian]

Hey all, just an update to this post. I don't know if anyone has purchased this link kit recently but it is now comming with replacement pulleys that have both wheels rotating on shafts instead of one that moves and one stationary.  Part number and the red tracer link are still the same.  I personally think this is a good move considering the number of new units that have doors making noise.  If both rollers can move freely, that should stop the noise, and reduce the friction on the links.

TechnicianBrian

[Umpalumpajay]

regarding the pully fix for the kitchenaid door falling problem. i followed your advice and it SEEMS like i fixed it myself, so thanks! BOTH sides on mine were broken so i really had no guide to reattach everything. now that i've fixed it, it seems pretty tight. should the door be nice and stiff (not falling) anywhere in the door opening range? so i can set it at 45 degrees it will stay there? thats how it is now but i want to make sure thats how its SUPPOSED to be. i had to kinda guess where the springs went as they were both detached...but overall, thanks a million!

[CanDIY]

Can someone post the after pic so I have something to go by?  Both my springs broke before I had a chance to pick of the parts! 

[JWWebster]

Awesome AJ dw Manuals

http://appliancejunk.com/forums/index.php?action=store;cat=20