Fixing a Leaking GE Washing Machine

We have a pretty standard GE Washing Machine. Looks just like this one (which is just a screen grab off the Internet, and not actually our machine!):

Our model is a WHDSR109J8WW, but honestly they're all very alike.

This washing machine had recently started leaking, and I thought it might be the end for it. But in the spirit of experimentation, I figured I'd try fixing it.

To my knowledge, these machines are well built, and unlikely to corrode. If there were to be a leak, it would likely be in the water inlets (the two hoses on the back attached to your house water supply) or in the water pump/drain system (the larger pipe at the back that attaches to your slop sink or waste-water system). Aside from the pump, these pieces are *very* repairable, and usually require parts that can be bought for several dollars at your local hardware or plumbing supply store.

If the leak is coming from the drum, there's really no point repairing the washing machine. It's just too much work, and the parts are probably quite expensive.

Moving the machine.

Plug the machine out. I'm not kidding. This thing has 240V of electricity, which is double your usual household supply. If you touch the wrong wire you will get a very unpleasant jolt.

Hopefully your machine has extendable plastic hoses, because you're going to need to pull it out from the wall and stand it somewhere where it can still run while you have access to the back of it. You'll need no more than a foot or two of extra space. Pull it out *carefully*. You might need help. Make sure it's standing upright, and use a level, if possible:

The first thing to do is remove the front panel. You'll need something like a putty knife, which you're going to *carefully* slide between the top of the washing machine and the front panel.

Be forceful, but not aggressive, and don't scratch the panel. It will (or should) pop out.

Now have a look around. See can you find the source of the leak. Don't detach anything, don't yank anything - just look around.

In my case, NOTHING SEEMED TO BE LEAKING. The pipes and hoses were clean and dry; the drum looked sound, and the pump was dry.

This was a conundrum. What was causing the leak?

In the absence of an easy solution, I turned to the internet and did several hours research.

In the end, one silly solution presented itself:

The washing machine detects the amount of water in the drum using a pressure gauge. You'll see a small box-like chamber attached to the drum, from which a very narrow hose runs. If you were to follow the hose, you'd find it goes up to the load-size selector switch on the control panel. This hose can fill with lint, and when this happens the pressure gauge fails. When the pressure gauge fails, the machine doesn't know when to stop filling the drum with water, and the machine overflows.

All you need to do is clean out this hose.

Remove the top panel. There are screws on the back. After you've removed these, slide the panel to one side and lift it out. You'll see the other end of the hose attached to the load-size selector on the left. The hose is easily worked off the selector and the pressure box on the drum. Remembering exactly how it ran, remove it and use whatever you have at hand to clean the lint and gunk out of it. Once you're satisfied that the hose is completely clean, run it back through the various conduits it was in and reattach it at both ends.

Note: if this little hose is NOT blocked or gunked up, then the leak is probably coming from somewhere else. I can't help you if that's the case.

Now reassemble everything, plug the machine back in, and try it out. Select a rinse, being sure to select the largest load possible.

If everything works as planned, your leak will have disappeared.

Put the washing machine back into its place. You're done.

Fixing a Leaking Frigidaire Dishwasher

Dishwasher Model: FFBD2411NQ0A

Several months ago I broke a glass in the dishwasher. This was no ordinary glass breakage - the glass shattered like a car windshield, and there were literally dozens of tiny bits of glass all over the dishwasher. I cleaned up as best I could and forgot about the matter until three weeks ago.

That's when water started coming through the basement ceiling. I isolated the leak to the dishwasher in the kitchen above and started testing.

Honestly, I didn't need to do much testing: after pouring a pint or two of water into the washer, I could clearly see it coming out the bottom!

Most dishwasher leaks are from the door, but this one wasn't. The water was coming out from the area of the motor.

A hunt around on the internet confirmed that most motor leaks are caused by the gasket around the motor's spindle becoming damaged. It's rarely the O-Rings.

So here's where I had to do a bit of thinking. Should I simply junk the dishwasher and buy a new one, should I fix the motor, or should I replace the motor?

An internet search showed me that many Frigidaire dishwashers take the same motor, and it was available new from several sources on the internet for $75-$100. Replacing the motor seemed the best option.

Yes, I could have tried to fix the motor, but once I looked at it, I concluded that the work involved would be very difficult and the repair uncertain, since there might be more glass in there.

The motor arrived in good time, and I got to work.

Here's where I need to tell you something very important: CUT OFF ALL ELECTRICITY TO THE DISHWASHER. This isn't just a safety issue; if you don't cut off the electricity you will scramble the circuitry and possibly be left with a non-functioning dishwasher. You'll fix the leak and kill the electronics. So cut off the electricity.

Replacing the motor was surprisingly easy.
1) Take everything out from inside the dishwasher, including the glass catcher, rotating arm, and the plastic thing beneath the rotating arm and glass catcher that is secured with three screws.
2) Shopvac everything out of the space in the bottom of the dishwasher. I actually found several pieces of broken glass, proving that I did a bad job the previous time.
 3) Tip the dishwasher over, unplug the motor from the circuitry (a little plastic clip), remove the retainer bracket (two? three? screws - can't remember) on the motor, and pull out the motor from its housing.
4) Follow the instructions that came with the new motor. Soap up the new O-Rings and insert the new motor into the space for it. Reattach the bracket and plug the wire clip back into the motor.
5) Stand the dishwasher back upright and turn the electricity back on. Turn on a wash cycle (or maybe just the rinse cycle), and watch for water beneath the dishwasher. If there's no water, you've done your job right.
6) Replace the dishwasher in the space for it.
7) You're done.

In my case, I wasn't done. I stupidly didn't turn off the electricity in the beginning, and between moving the darn thing around, opening and closing the door, accidentally starting and stopping the cycles, I had completely scrambled the circuitry. Luckily there is a master reset/test cycle. I can't fully remember the button combination, but I'm pretty sure you'll find it here: http://www.ehow.com/how_8766908_do-frigidaire-gallery-series-dishwasher.html

This reset the dishwasher, and I now have a functioning dishwasher again. The motor cost me $80 (or so), which is a big savings on the $350-$400 I'd have had to pay for a new dishwasher.