This past weekend I had the great pleasure of having Todd (varicyclevoice) and Mike (dishwashercrazy) for the weekend. We had plans of talking dishwashers, looking at photos and eating lots of great food. Well Todd just happened to have with him a few parts for my ailing KDS-17A so we (or I should say they) had a great time taking it apart cleaning it up, putting in back together and most importantly upgrading my kitchen.

My Kitchen Aid has had an issue with a very tiny leak which Todd diagnosed as a Seal and it was also very loud which he diagnosed as bearings in the motor. He brought replacement parts which they replaced and now it purrs like a kitten. I can’t believe how quiet it is compared to how it was. We wrapped it with additional insulation before installing it and that made a huge difference. My Boschmore was demoted to the utility room and my KDS-17A was promoted to the kitchen and I couldn’t be more thrilled. We actually had such a good time we forgot to take pictures. We did get a few though that I thought I would share.
What we discovered when we took out my current dishwasher was old fittings so we replaced all those with current fittings, and replaced the fittings I used in the utility room for the second dishwasher.

One thing led to another and after a trip to Ace, a trip to Home Depot and a few curse words I now have my KDS-17A as my daily driver and what fun I am having. That thing cleans like crazy and in about half the time of my old machine. I’ll post a bob load or two as I have them.   Here is Mike cleaning the bottom and checking for leaks.

The new motor

This is what I have now:

The Boschmore:

But close:

The 17 Series has always been one of my favorites but I would love a 15 series Varicycle.  Maybe one will come my way someday but this one sure fills the need.

I had a KDS-17 that I gave to a friend of mine, those panels are stainless steel!

Hey Ralph, congrats on getting the KA working and installed in the kitchen, it looks GREAT!

Kevin

And shiny is a VERY GOOD THING!!!!! 

Kevin

to have these friends.  Todd actually sent me the stainless panels a couple of years ago for my birthday.  They are not perfect, but for that age who wants perfect.   And you are right, I counldn't have asked for two more knowledgable people working on my KA.

And, I agree I love hearing the water moving around in there.  With that quiet purr of the new motor I now get to hear the timer clicking and the water moving.  Lots of "Rinse and Holds" these past few days.  LOL.

Here comes Mike and Todd!

You're a lucky guy, Ralph.

Great story with all the details and wonderful pix--AS USUAL, Michael!

So nice to see the faces.

Ralph I did not had a chance to meet you on my last year's trip, 

but it seems that you guy's had a wounderful time.

What a great story like Mike said you have the best people who know there craft which you know.

Mike the pictures are very nice and you have been traveling lately all around and finding great finds,

even thou I talked to you through half of your rides lol... I'm glad your safe and sound.

Todd you look really good ! and I thank you again for last year at your place,

You have such an extensive collection we should call you Mr. Kicthenaid !

Ralph congrats on your machine are you using your Bosch as a second machine ?

Sneak peek of Todd's Collection..

Can u say Kitchenaid !

Wow.

Darren k

Yes I have the Boschmore hooked up and I am using it as a second machine.  I have to get a counter over the top of the Dishwasher and Trash Compactor but I can use it as it is for now.

LOL!

Very nice KitchenAid! Quiet? Not quite but what do you expect from a Hurricane In A Box? It looks like fun was had by all with a successful repair made better by having good friends mixed in.

RCD

We gave "MINI" wash in a whole new meaning!

I dropped the upper rack to the lowest position and it looks like you can get a glass that's up to about 8 to 8.5 inches tall.  I have some Ice Tea glasses that are 7.5 inches tall and they fit with room to spare on the second to last setting.  I have to keep mine tilted higher on the other side because my dinner plates are on the larger side at 10.75 inches.  If I drop both sides they won't fit.

Here is an example loaded.  You can see the tall glasses on the right side.

Yes KA did offer both types of panels, the BC was usually a little more expensive than the painted panels and real SS was even more. The real SS panels had a blueish cold color to them while the brushed Chrome panels had a warmer slightly golden color to them. Keep in mind that most Built In DWs did not come from the factory with front panels on them and you had to pay extra for the front panels. This all changed by the early 1980s as most companies started to include reversible front panels. This came about because UL started to require DWs to come out of the box with front panels installed in the late 1970s, so to reduce inventory WP, KM, D&M, GE and many others went to having each DW have several reversible panels rather than stocking so many different machines in different colors. KAs as some of you may remember came with heavy duty grey cardboard panels so the machine [ at least in theory ]be used until the metal panels were installed.

....but I will not be defeated.

So the other night I'm running another load of dishes.  I have been finding all kinds of creative reasons to wash things and I know many of you on this site know exactly what I mean, others would think we’re nuts but we really don't care about them.  LOL!

I started the machine and it didn't sound exactly the way it usually does but I let it go.  It sounded like there was a little flutter or something.  Anyway, it seemed to sound OK as it went on but at the end of the cycle I noticed a little water on the floor in the right hand corner in the front.  I thought maybe there was an issue with the seal or maybe something leaking inside the door.

The next night I took the panel off, started the dishwasher and proceeded to get this fine mist of water sprayed over me as I stared at the motor.

Soooooooooooo, what did I do?  I called Todd.  You know Todd, A.K.A. Varicyclevoice, A.K.A. little SteveT.

I didn’t even finish telling him what it was doing and he is telling me I need this Hobart part #107011 for an Impeller Drain Seal kit or whatever the hell it’s called.  He even gave me the Hobart phone number to call in Little Rock.  What a guy!!  Anyway, they didn’t have it in stock but I did find the Whirlpool Kit Part 4160551 (also provided by Todd) on eBay for $9.00.  It’s brand new in the package with free shipping so I thought that was a good deal.  I’ve read all of SteveT’s former posts on this topic and I have not used the machine since for fear of ruining the new motor we just put in.

Anyway, send good Karma my way folks.  Todd is going to consult with SteveT and together with my Webcam he is going to walk me through this sensitive procedure.  If it doesn’t include a Food Processor, Mixer, meatball or spatula I am a fish out of water but I’ll take my hands out of the pasta dough and give it a go!!

Awesome that you are not calling it quits. The webcam idea is neat as well, you should broadcast it for all to see, a live KA repair.

Good Luck!

-Tim

Glad you caught it early, The first thing you replace on a machine like this is the shaft seal when you are doing a rebuild. And on the KDS17s a leak like this if not caught in time can ruin or short out and even cause a fire from water and detergent getting on the blower-dry heater, water inlet valve and worst of all the expensive [ hard to find KDS17 timer ]. Over the years we saw a lot of KDS17s where the timer shorted burned and melted and it was usually the end of the DW as they were already old enough that people would not pay for a new wring harness.

Well, thanks to excellent advice from Steve and Todd I have the KDS-17A back in service.  I created a quick video of a Rinse and Hold cycle.  I had to cut it short because my make shift glass door was not doing a very good job of holding the water in.  LOL.

If I can figure out a better set up I'll create a better video.  I had intended to create of video of replacing the Drain Seal but it didn't work out that way.  The machine is now dry as a bone again underneath so I'll leave the bottom panel off for a few cycles so I can keep an eye on it but I think it's good to do.