FIXED 665.12793K311 Leaking from diverter Kenmore Elite Dishwasher

[diyRayC]

Model Number

665.12793K311

I have a leak on a Kenmore Elite Dishwasher model 665.12793K311 which is only about one year old.

The problem appears to be at the diverter motor (part#: W10380170) and its seal with the bottom of the sump (part#: W10457989). Internet research so far suggest a problem with the seal being installed upside down at manufacture.

However, my particular model is different than pictured solutions. Slight changes in design of the parts and most noticeable is the seal placement on my unit is a part of the sump housing and is not positioned between the diverter and under side of the sump housing.

Upon disassembly I found a seal placed in the sump housing on the tub side between the housing body and the diffuser (part#: W10476221) inside the washer.

I found the seal to be clean and intact. Treated it with plumber's silicone grease but without success. It continued to leak even when tested with the machine off, of course leak rate increased when washer ran through a test cycle.

So several questions.
1) Is this seal placement correct in its position placement and orientation?

2)Am I missing a seal under the sump housing next to the diverter motor?

3) Is it possible that an unseen seal within the diverter motor has failed - if so can it be replaced or do I require a new motor even though my unit does not show water damage?

4) Web DIY fixs suggest adding O-rings etc. to the seal or am I stuck replacing the entire sump housing just to get a small seal?

5) What other possibilities am I missing?

I thank you for any assistance in advance.
diyRayC

 

[Jake]

Hi RayC,

Unfortunately, I haven't worked on this model as of yet to advise you what to do to fix the leak.

Hopefully another tech. or member that's seen this problem can tell you the fix for the leak.

Jake

 

[bradmodelt]

Fixed?

diyRayC,

Did you ever get your problem fixed? I have the same issue and not sure whether I should order Sump Assy (no way to get Sump seal by itself) and/or Diverter Motor. On top of leaking I have ruined wood floors and since my dishwasher (different than yours but Kenmore 665.13269K112) is only 2.5 yrs old I think Kenmore should be liable. Seals shouldn't wear out that quick. Do you have any knowledge about claims?

thanks for any help advice,
Brad (bradmodelt at gmail dot com)

 

[Jake]

This thread may help: Trying to locate leak from Kenmore 665 dishwasher

Jake

 

[Maleo]

I had the same problem. Leaking at the diverter motor. Ended up buying a new sump. Didn't help. Took the diverter motor apart and found rubber seal inside the tapered plastic shaft had slid down the metal diverter shaft. Pushed it back into place. No more leak.

 

[Jake]

I had the same problem. Leaking at the diverter motor. Ended up buying a new sump. Didn't help. Took the diverter motor apart and found rubber seal inside the tapered plastic shaft had slid down the metal diverter shaft. Pushed it back into place. No more leak.

Excellent, good find, glad your back in business!

Jake

 

[mbohlmann]

Found the same thing as Maleo. Rubber bushing/seal had moved down the shaft about 1/2 inch. In addition to pushing it back up into place I added a piece of rubber hosing, like surgical tubing to the shaft to help prevent it from sliding down again. Lubed everything with plumbers grease and so far, so good. The ID of the tubing was sized to be forced a bit onto the shaft for a tight fit.

 

[wahsah]

Quick and cheap leak fix

The seal should be located between the bottom of the sump and the diverter motor. When you remove the diverter, you can look into the sump and see the seal. There have been many problems with the way these things are installed at the factory. When the open side of the seal (with the spring) is installed facing up, the water sits in it and rusts the spring. When the spring rusts out, the tension on the inner part of the seal relaxes, and the leak starts. (When this type of seal is installed as an oil seal, the spring faces inward, towards the oil, because oil doesn't cause the spring to rust. So you install the spring away from the water in this application.)
The seal is not sold individually as a replacement part, but it is a common 10x18x4 garter spring seal. It just pops out with a small screwdriver or awl. These things fail quite frequently, from rust and from wear, and are a great source of aggravation.
Most technicians and parts supply places will tell you that you need to replace the entire sump when the seal goes out, but that isn't required. At Oil Seals, Shaft Seals and Rotary Seals Online Store and Supplier you can buy a new seal that is the exact replacement for $3.08 each! Look for TC10x18x4...
Install the new seal with a light coat of grease, spring side facing down toward the diverter. Assuming that your diverter motor hasn't rusted away from water damage and is need or replacement, this fix is quick and easy, and for less than $5!!

 

[flynn405]

Accessing the seal

This sounds exactly like the problem we are having with our 2.5 year old Kenmore Elite. The diverter motor looks in great condition. Our question is how to access the failing seal in the sump? Do we take apart the entire sump assembly? It is not clear how it is assembled in order to get to the seal. Thanks so much for your advice!!

 

[wahsah]

Seal location

Remove the diverter motor. Look up into the sump. The seal is right there. Everything is done from the bottom of the dishwasher.... (This is so much easier if you remove the dishwasher and tip it onto its back.)

 

[zborgerd]

I've replaced the sump on my Kenmore Elite 665.13183K802 now twice, over the past few years, and it's leaking again for the third time. The gasket usually lasts about a year.

It's just a crummy design and very well might be installed upside down in every dishwasher and replacement part that was ever manufactured.

Mine is a slightly different sump model: W10168822 , but all of the Whirlpool-manufactured crap has roughly the same design. I've decided that I've received nearly 7 years out of it and I'm pretty much done. Getting pretty old replacing the same parts.

I could pull it back out again and go through the same old thing, but there comes a time when it's just time to move on.

 

[JeffSK1]

I ordered the replacement seal and the 10x18x4 seal was too large for my Kenmore Dishwasher 12783K (Model 665.12783K310).

In my case, The repairman installed a new sump to see if the good seal in the new sump would remedy the leak.

In my case, the leak remains and appears to be the result of a bad diverter motor W10537869, which I plan to have replaced. After this work is done, I plan to keep an eye on the condition of the seal and will replace it in the future if I begin to see wear.

Once I determine dimensions for the seal that fits my dishwasher, I will share them on this forum for others who may have the same model. My thanks to WAHSAH for giving me some good ideas and putting me on the right path. Thanks, Jeff

 

[cklein]

The seal should be located between the bottom of the sump and the diverter motor. When you remove the diverter, you can look into the sump and see the seal. There have been many problems with the way these things are installed at the factory. When the open side of the seal (with the spring) is installed facing up, the water sits in it and rusts the spring. When the spring rusts out, the tension on the inner part of the seal relaxes, and the leak starts. (When this type of seal is installed as an oil seal, the spring faces inward, towards the oil, because oil doesn't cause the spring to rust. So you install the spring away from the water in this application.)
The seal is not sold individually as a replacement part, but it is a common 10x18x4 garter spring seal. It just pops out with a small screwdriver or awl. These things fail quite frequently, from rust and from wear, and are a great source of aggravation.
Most technicians and parts supply places will tell you that you need to replace the entire sump when the seal goes out, but that isn't required. At Oil Seals, Shaft Seals and Rotary Seals Online Store and Supplier you can buy a new seal that is the exact replacement for $3.08 each! Look for TC10x18x4...
Install the new seal with a light coat of grease, spring side facing down toward the diverter. Assuming that your diverter motor hasn't rusted away from water damage and is need or replacement, this fix is quick and easy, and for less than $5!!

I can't believe I found this... Whirlpool Gold diverter motor leaked and failed. I bought new motor only to discover that the seal in bottom of sump is destroyed. You can no longer buy the seal separately from buying a new sump (found out from sears that they've since modified the sump, presumably because of the failure.)

I found a rubber washer at the hardware store that i used instead. While it's not leaking, the motor is making all kinds of noises and clicks. I assume there is friction causing this because it was quite snug when I put the rubber washer on it.

I found another washer that is exact size of the seal but it doesn't have the features of the Oil Seal you described above. Can I use this or will it leak? In the meantime I will order a seal at your recommendation... thank you you are a lifesaver!

 

[naoki]

Mine had the same problem as Maleo (msg #5). The seal inside of the diverter/lower spray arm motor unit slipped down. It appears that there isn't a good mechanism to hold the seal in the place. This washing machine (Kenmore Elite 665.12793K311) seems to have a couple of major design flaws. Very disappointing for such an expensive machine.

Note that Wahsah (msg #8) suggested that the sump seal is TC10x18x4, but it is not the correct size for 665.12793K311. Although the sump seal wasn't the problem, I got OSM 6X16X5 TC FKM from MSP Seals, and it is a good replacement. The height is 1mm shorter (the original was 6x16x6), but it works. Both original and this replacement has TC profile (double contact), but the contact area is located in the opposite side. With the replacement, it seems better with the spring facing motor side (i.e. same orientation as the original seal).

I could fix the leaking by just pushing in the seal inside of the motor unit. But if you need to replace it, here is my measurement ID=3mm, OD=12.21mm, height is 5.88mm.

I made a illustrated web page of how I fixed it here: http://orchidborealis.blogspot.com/2017/03/kenmore-dishwasher-leaking-diverter.html

 

[Jake]

Thanks naoki.

I helped you back in 2015 here: 665.12793K311 Stuck -resetting- in the wash cycle

What was the final outcome?

Jake

 

[naoki]

Jake, thank you for your help. I updated the other thread. It was a problem of water inlet valve.

 

[Jake]

Thanks naoki, Got it!

Jake

 

[steampowered]

Repaired the diverter shaft seal

Found the same thing as Maleo. Rubber bushing/seal had moved down the shaft about 1/2 inch. In addition to pushing it back up into place I added a piece of rubber hosing, like surgical tubing to the shaft to help prevent it from sliding down again. Lubed everything with plumbers grease and so far, so good. The ID of the tubing was sized to be forced a bit onto the shaft for a tight fit.

I tried this and it worked great! Thank you Maleo and mbohlmann for figuring this out! I didn't even need to buy a new diverter - just pushed the shaft seal up and held in place with a piece of tube. An elegant solution, and cheap.