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Low Tech Hacks

Replacing Dishwasher Circulation Pump Bearings without buying a whole new unit

Posted by Admin • Friday, April 26. 2019 • Category: Low Tech Hacks

I have a DW80j3020us/AA Samsung dishwasher. It has been producing a loud noise for some time, and the noise kept getting worse. It was a matter of time before it either seized or melted the motor. The reason I know that the problem is with the circulation pump is that the noise is only audible while it's washing (circulating), not while draining or filling. Clearly the problem could be the motor (bearings) or some part of the impeller/grinder (less likely).

Samsung Dishwasher

My options were:

  1. New dishwasher
  2. New Circulation Pump motor DD31-00008A ($150)
  3. Try to change the bearings (I've found nothing online about anyone doing this)

 

You can find lots of videos online on how to properly replace the circulation pump motor/assembly. I followed the guides for removing the internal components down to the food chopper, since the chopper is on the motor shaft. This takes about 20 minutes. After that, it was easy - all I had to do was pull the bottom cover off and remove 4 screws to get the motor out. Then a magical thing happened.


Bottom cover removed
The motor

Four more screws and the motor casing is off. The motor is brushless, so no brush springs flying out and no painstaking tricks to get them back in. The rotor simply slides out, with the two bearings on the shaft. There was little doubt about the issue - the bottom bearing was noisy.

Rotor with bearings

This is where I got lucky. The bearings are clearly marked (608Z in my case, which are 8*22*7 mm). I just happened to have a 10 pack of 608RS (same bearing but with rubber seals) that I bought for the frame pivots on my mountain bike (a vintage Trek Fuel). Pulled it off with vice grips, put it back together, and I have a quiet dishwasher again!

Removing the bearing

Analysis

My dishwasher also had a small leak from one of the corners, and, on closer inspection, the moisture (leak) detector was removed. After some thinking I pieced together what happened in its lifetime:

 

  1. Dishwasher was (probably) dropped onto the lower back corner, deforming the body and causing a small leak
  2. The slow leak caused the sensor to throw alarm codes but since it was a slow leak, it was not obvious
  3. Some enterprising repairman removed the leak sensor and called it a day
  4. The water continued to drip and pool under the bearing, causing it to rust
  5. you know the rest
  6. In the end, a little bit of Quicksteel on the leaking corner took care of everything.

Updates

It is now August 2023 and the bearing I put in wore out and started making noise again.  It's been 4 years since I first wrote this post.  It didn't look as if it got any water on it.  It's possible that I have low quality bearings that just don't last.  It only takes about 30 minutes to replace, so I guess it's still a major win over buying a new dishwasher.

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6 Comments

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  1. Chris on 2020-02-06 12:37:

    Thank you so much for this. My dishwasher, same model, suffered the same fate just a few months off warranty.

    It cost me less than $3 for a new bearing and about an hour of my time overall from start to finish. In my case, the shaft seal appears to have begun a minor leak, dripping directly into the bearing... Destroyed.

    I went from having to turn up the tv because it had become so loud to having to now mute the TV to even hear the dishwasher.

    Thanks!

  2. Peter on 2022-06-23 00:35:

    Had the same exact issue. Bought a 2 year old Samsung dishwasher on Market place and with installed was very noisy. Replacing my pool pump bearings in the past, the noise was familiar. Took the circulation motor off and saw the bearing was bad and rusted. Ordered new bearing to replace and it should fix the problem. I am scratching my head a bit because the bearing was rusted. I don't see any leaking, but could have been condensation build up of some sort. Thanks for sharing this write up!

  3. Jeremy on 2022-05-05 10:29:

    I had this very same issue. I lazily bought a "new" unit off Amazon and I'm positive the one I got was a return and suffered the same issue of persistent high pitched noise.

    Found this thread and decided to give it a shot.

    Unlike OP, I wasn't able to use a pair of vise grips and had to use some gear pullers. Got a 4" set of gear pullers and ground down the jaws to fit within the metal posts where the bearings were sitting. On both units, the bearings were pretty stuck even with a dose of pb blaster.

    Hope this helps someone else. Gear pullers made the job easier for me.

  4. Admin on 2022-05-05 10:57:

    Thanks for writing that up. I recall expecting that I'd need to use a gear puller and being pleasantly surprised when the bearing came off easily. Mine didn't have a shaft leak, so it didn't seize onto it.

  5. Rick on 2023-01-04 20:58:

    Well, first Happy New Year everybody ! Would like to thank Admin for this post because my dishwasher started to make an annoying grinding noise and was going worst and worst. I checked everywhere at the drain pump and under the drain screen where is the chopper blade . . . nothing there . . . nada ! A friend of mine told me that these motor were sealed and doesn't worth to spend times trying to repair it! I'm a DIY'ER and hate to quit at the first obstacle! I continued my research and when i saw your pics, i jumped in the kitchen right away and began to work on it and like Chris after 1 1/2 hr the job was done, didn't need my puller very easy pull had 2 x 608z on hand and silence like when it was new !!! My first idea was to buy a new motor ( $$$ ) but they're not cheap with the exchange and shipping . . . save a few hundred bucks! Watched a lot of videos like Admin but nothing about replacing the worn bearings on the oem motor . . . guess why ?????

  6. Matt on 2023-11-05 19:42:

    I really appreciate this post! Although the size wasn't stamped on the side of my bearings, it was the standard skateboard size that I could pick up at the local Zumiez. Thanks a bunch!

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