My Kitchenaid KUDI21 is somewhat loud -- around 70 dB on a sound level meter, and there is a bit of a high pitch whine or screech in the mix of sounds when washing. The noise is a little bit less "in reverse" during drain cycles.
I installed the replacement seal kit but that didn't help. The old chopper along with the old seals -- the ceramic disk that mates with the carbon ring along with all of the shaft washers and O-rings -- looked to be in great shape, too, but I changed them out since I had the kit at hand, using the white plastic gauge to put in the proper amount of washer-shims.
I had broken two of the black plastic studs holding down the pump housing in changing the filter screen a while ago. Yes, I was able to get a new filter screen from Sears Parts, but since then, that important part is completely unavailable. Have no idea how I broke the studs, but others reported trouble removing the pump housing even with the screws off, and applying some force to get the top with the filter screen may have done the damage.
As a result of the broken studs on the motor top plate that take screws to hold down the pump housing, the dishwasher started leaking from underneath at the hose connection to the upper wash arm tube. I drilled and tapped and installed a stud in the form of a 10-24 stainless steel screw, threaded from underneath and sealed against leaking with a neoprene washer, as a hold-down of the pump assembly to apply pressure to the hose connection, stopping the leak.
With respect to the noise issue, replacement motors are available on Ebay but I don't know the quality. Any ideas whether I should replace the motor, try to rebuild the motor, or if the noise has nothing to do with the pump motor? Were I to replace the motor, I would really like a new motor plate to go with that in place of my home-built stud arrangement to hold down the pump housing to prevent a leak.
My wife is happy with the machine as-is after I replaced the screen and fixed the leak, but should I worry that the noise level indicates an impending failure of a motor bearing?
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