My Second Career as an Appliance Repairman

[MatTele]

Is a failure.
Now, i consider myself pretty handy around the hoise, but I've spent the majority of the weekend fixing the dishwasher and it's still out of commission.
I received the sump assembly I ordered on Friday.
Broke one of the plastic hold down tabs on install.
Stripped it down, reused all the new guts on the old plastic sump tub.
Hooked it up, leaked. Missed 2 screws. Fixed.
Hooked it up again. Leaked. Forgot a dime sized gasket. Fixed.
Hooked it up again. No leaks, ran a whole cycle, no problem except the water doesn't drain... In fact, it seems that I hooked up the pump motor connections backward because the water shoots up from the bottom of the tub instead of being sucked in.
So, it's Sunday night, and I have to pull the dishwasher out one more time and hopefully complete the fix. I think I'll wait til tomorrow though.
Oh, Did I mention that the disposal seems to be leaking?
Sheesh....

Sent from my Telecaster through my AC15

[Brad Pittiful]

you can do it!

[dented]

We have all done this before. Tried, failed, repeat, repeat........Don't give up, you can do it. Maybe look for a youtube vid on the install or repair. Anyhow ask tap1454 he can help I bet! You'll get it and you will never forget how. Good luck.

[TeleKato]

I feel your pain. It took me two weekends to fix a toilet. And it was not the serious part of the toilet that needed fixing. I thought I had it ... SWMBO informed me otherwise. So far, it's holding .... I think I'll put the house up for sale.

[MatTele]

Thanks everyone. The most frustrating part? There is a YouTube video of this exact part being replaced in the exact same dishwasher... I just can't follow directions apparently. Oh well... Just gotta keep the missus from losing her cool... She's more stressed out about this than I am...

Sent from my Telecaster through my AC15

[bcarter_1]

I call them "learning opportunities", and I learn alot... all the time in fact...

[RCinMempho]

Things like that are why I work on software.

[robt57]

But does your first career include the use of a sling blade ??

[telleutelleme]

I once posted a timeline for doing your own car repairs. I think 50 was one of those markers where you quit tackling the big jobs. Is your birthday soon?

BTW - I feel your pain. Washing machines and refrigerators were always my threshold of failure.

[DavidP]

..."Do it Over Stupid", most of my household DIYs unintentionally follow this philosophy. Look at it this way -- at least you're not playing with 400-plus volts working on an amp!

[Larry F]

My dad could fix anything, it seemed. Nothing in our house was ever broken, as Dad would come home, look at the problem, and fix it that night or the next day. He was always so cool and methodical. It almost looked like relaxation for him.

My parents' second house had a flooding problem, as did others in the neighborhood. He had a sump pump that had been acting up. When I was out for a visit, I helped him fix it. But apparently, it still wasn't acting properly. One day, he went out in the rain and this time, fixed. He came back into the house, told me mom, "It's fixed," and collapsed and died from a heart attack. Knowing Dad, that was the best way to go.

Now that I have gotten back into playing and using tube amps, I really wish I could call him up for help with a problem.

[tap4154]

Originally Posted by dented

We have all done this before. Tried, failed, repeat, repeat........Don't give up, you can do it. Maybe look for a youtube vid on the install or repair. Anyhow ask tap1454 he can help I bet! You'll get it and you will never forget how. Good luck.

I mainly install, and if he hadn't already effed it all up might be able to help

You NEVER want to walk into a job that a home handyman has already botched.

BTW, what brand DW and how old?

[jhundt]

I have two phrases that I repeat to myself during these projects...

"Everything that can go wrong will"

and

"Difficulty every step of the way!"

[7171551]

dishwashers are evil twisted machines. I installed a new kitchen with all new appliances here 3 years ago... Everything works as it should apart from the dishwasher. It started acting up just as it reached one year old. The free extended warranty that covered it was worth what it cost! Defeated the repair guys on repeated call outs:

On each occasion I telephoned and explained the problem. Then arranged to have someone here for the callout. The repair guy then confirmed the problem (if he arrived at all.) Then they ordered the part. Then arranged another callout... wrong part... etc etc. You see how this is going...

I gave up. Wash the dishes myself. Its much easier...

[goonie]

Spent the afternoon playing lawnmower repairman ... to my utter astonishment I got it working. I'm good with cars but lawnmowers are evil.

[lewis]

Youtube appliance repair videos are great.
Lately I've been able to dig into our clothes dryer and replace $40 worth of parts which saved us from having to spend several hundred on a new dryer.
Having a repairman show up at the door was not an option because the dryer isn't worth what he would cost, $100.
Keep at that dishwasher, they aren't as complicated as they look. I used to repair our old one and was able to install they new one without a hitch.

[sjtalon]

I feel your pain.

Best of luck !

[fuzzbender]

you're analyzing the problems and learning from mistakes, sounds like you're doing something right, good stuff

[clayfeat]

I failed at installing a garage door opener over the weekend. Humiliating.

[emu!]

If you hooked it up backwards, wouldn't it become a DISH DRYER? ;)