Repairing Bosch SHV46C03UC/14 Dishwasher

[curmudgeon]

This won't be nearly as complicated as John's recent adventures with his Bosch fridge, but I do need some advice; later...

Our Bosch dishwasher has been awesome good for 11 years; quietly and effectively cleaning and looking good with it's custom cabinet door panels. It was quietly working away the other evening when it started making a very nasty grating noise. I checked and cleared the filters, removing some broken glass and soggy paper, but no joy - same awful noise.

After some no-fun time with Mr. Google I came across a very well done video showing how to replace seals and impeller on a very similar model -

I followed along with the video, improvising where our model was different and got the pump out with only one casualty, a rubber seal that I foolishly sliced with my screwdriver, and one curse directed at the designers for using a crimp clamp instead of a reusable hose clamp. When I got into the impeller I found a couple kernels of un-popped popcorn and thought "yay - not so bad....".

Reliable Parts brought the seal in overnight (no shipping charge) - A1 service, and I found a stainless hose clamp to replace the single use crimp clamp. I was a bit worried about my ability to reassemble without breaking something else, so catastrophized for a few days... Today, I was brave enough (and tired enough of hand washing) to tackle reassembly. It went well enough, and I eventually found a home for every fastener previously removed. The testing was successful enough that there was no smoke in the air, nor water on the floor, but although the noise was improved the pump was not building pressure like it should.

The impeller assembly in the video was not identical to mine, but what I hadn't realized the first time is that the two halves of the assembly are supposed to be firmly attached; not loosely connected as mine were. Here's a bottom view of a new (out of stock, no longer available) impeller assembly:

notice the green mushrooms; only one is broken.

My assembly looks like this:

no mushrooms left. I mistakenly thought it was supposed to look like that. The lack of mushrooms allows the two halves to separate:

There is enough clearance in the housing for the green piece to rotate at a much slower speed than the tan coloured piece and make noise as it rubs on the the housing

So far, I can not find a replacement for the impeller or the repair kit, 00167085, that includes it.

Do you think that JB Weld would be effective to glue the components together? A very thin layer between the parts and blobs on the bottom to fill the dimples in the tan coloured component and bond to what's left of the green coloured stubs. There's about 1/16" clearance on the bottom, so I can be a bit sloppy, er, I mean generous, with the JB Weld on the bottom. On the other hand, if I were really meticulous, I could cut off all of the stubs and replace them with tiny, stainless screws - seems like a lot of fiddly work that I would prefer to avoid.

Ideas? Thoughts? Anyone have a spare impeller stashed away in their "this is too nice to throw away" drawer?
-Steve







d

 

[YotaBota]

Looks like a 3D printer job. Then I'm guessing the "mushroom heads" are done with a heated iron/soldering gun to soften and rivet the two parts together.
A bit more tedious would be to to drill and tap holes for countersunk stainless screws.

 

[DPittman]

This won't be nearly as complicated as John's recent adventures with his Bosch fridge, but I do need some advice; later...

Our Bosch dishwasher has been awesome good for 11 years; quietly and effectively cleaning and looking good with it's custom cabinet door panels. It was quietly working away the other evening when it started making a very nasty grating noise. I checked and cleared the filters, removing some broken glass and soggy paper, but no joy - same awful noise.

After some no-fun time with Mr. Google I came across a very well done video showing how to replace seals and impeller on a very similar model -

I followed along with the video, improvising where our model was different and got the pump out with only one casualty, a rubber seal that I foolishly sliced with my screwdriver, and one curse directed at the designers for using a crimp clamp instead of a reusable hose clamp. When I got into the impeller I found a couple kernels of un-popped popcorn and thought "yay - not so bad....".

Reliable Parts brought the seal in overnight (no shipping charge) - A1 service, and I found a stainless hose clamp to replace the single use crimp clamp. I was a bit worried about my ability to reassemble without breaking something else, so catastrophized for a few days... Today, I was brave enough (and tired enough of hand washing) to tackle reassembly. It went well enough, and I eventually found a home for every fastener previously removed. The testing was successful enough that there was no smoke in the air, nor water on the floor, but although the noise was improved the pump was not building pressure like it should.

The impeller assembly in the video was not identical to mine, but what I hadn't realized the first time is that the two halves of the assembly are supposed to be firmly attached; not loosely connected as mine were. Here's a bottom view of a new (out of stock, no longer available) impeller assembly:
View attachment 28189
notice the green mushrooms; only one is broken.

My assembly looks like this:

no mushrooms left. I mistakenly thought it was supposed to look like that. The lack of mushrooms allows the two halves to separate:

There is enough clearance in the housing for the green piece to rotate at a much slower speed than the tan coloured piece and make noise as it rubs on the the housing

So far, I can not find a replacement for the impeller or the repair kit, 00167085, that includes it.

Do you think that JB Weld would be effective to glue the components together? A very thin layer between the parts and blobs on the bottom to fill the dimples in the tan coloured component and bond to what's left of the green coloured stubs. There's about 1/16" clearance on the bottom, so I can be a bit sloppy, er, I mean generous, with the JB Weld on the bottom. On the other hand, if I were really meticulous, I could cut off all of the stubs and replace them with tiny, stainless screws - seems like a lot of fiddly work that I would prefer to avoid.

Ideas? Thoughts? Anyone have a spare impeller stashed away in their "this is too nice to throw away" drawer?
-Steve







d

How about just good old silicone?

 

[YotaBota]

Could try the plastic shop for a glue, can't remember the name of the place but it will come to me,,,,, some day.

 

[curmudgeon]

Could try the plastic shop for a glue, can't remember the name of the place but it will come to me,,,,, some day.

Industrial Plastics and Paint on Cloverdale?

 

[jcdammeyer]

I would use one of the high temperature epoxies.

 

[jcdammeyer]

I wouldn't 3D print. The layers are where that stuff usually breaks and you already have that problem with tops missing.
Ultimately you could screw it all together but I'd start with Epoxy.

 

[YotaBota]

Industrial Plastics and Paint on Cloverdale?

That's the one, thank you.

 

[jcdammeyer]

My wife has a habit of dropping things. This was/is one of my favorite coffee cups. I searched the internet and the epoxy I used is considered food safe. I can also use the cup in the microwave to rewarm the coffee. It's been repaired for almost a year.

 

[curmudgeon]

Thanks @jcdammeyer, that is what I had planned to use, but it might wise to stop in at Industrial Plastics and Paints like @YotaBota suggested, and get their advice on a solvent based, plastic cement.

Or, I could go epoxy for repair attempt #2, plastic cement for #3, and stainless screws for #4...

 

[jcdammeyer]

Thanks @jcdammeyer, that is what I had planned to use, but it might wise to stop in at Industrial Plastics and Paints like @YotaBota suggested, and get their advice on a solvent based, plastic cement.

Or, I could go epoxy for repair attempt #2, plastic cement for #3, and stainless screws for #4...

Depends on the type of plastics. Solvent based would be fine if they are they are the same plastic but I doubt it. If you can rough up the pins enough to have ridges and then the cup depression will serve as an anchor to not allow the pins to pull out. Unless they shear closer to the impeller fins. Likely not for another 11 years.

 

[RobinHood]

You could always make a new one using the RT… Joe Pie shows how in this video (I know he rubs some of you the wrong way, but I think he does know his stuff)

Or copy it using a 2-D (or 3-D) pantograph.

 

[Tecnico]

Not sure if you've tried these sources:

Fruugo claims to have stock

Parts of Canada (Calgary) show it as add to cart on their web site so it may be available from them. UPDATE! I just got a chat message saying your impeller is STOCK! I'm curious to know if it's OEM or their house brand, Invertec.

Comments below about screws are mostly overtaken by events!

If not I'd lean toward the flat head stainless steel screws + Loctite in that environment (hot water + caustic soaps). Put them in all post locations to avoid unbalancing the impeller. EDIT: Might as well use epoxy + screws, epoxy fills the gaps and keeps the screws in place. One complements the other.

How is your motor bearing? Not a bad time to replace it if it shows any signs of wear and they're cheap in the big picture.

That you're where you are is disappointing. It's just another case of the manufacturer assuming you'll just go out and buy a new dishwasher instead of fixing a perfectly good machine with a minor part. I think I got lucky with my Whirlpool made machine, I was able to find a pump on the shelf at my parts supplier. I eventually replaced the bad bearing and put the pump on the shelf as a spare. Parts seem easier to find for them because Whirlpool seems to make most of the domestic dishwashers and sells them under many names - Kenmore, GE, Hotpoint, Whirlpool and have been using the same foundation parts forever so repair parts are available.

Down off the soapbox....

D

P.S. Keep the old one and have it in hand, repaired just in case.......

 

[BMW Rider]

I think I'd go for a combo of epoxy and maybe a few SS screws to help secure it. Perhaps one screw per vane.

 

[Tomc938]

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us! Amazing how something that kind of depends on water being moved has such a weak link in the chain. Especially as I'm sure they could have substituted a better component for $0.50 or less per machine.

 

[Tomc938]

Looks like a 3D printer job. Then I'm guessing the "mushroom heads" are done with a heated iron/soldering gun to soften and rivet the two parts together.
A bit more tedious would be to to drill and tap holes for countersunk stainless screws.

Just for future reference: I printed a feeder for one of my beehives out of PLA. Was very happy with the results. (and saved $25 in the process)

Then I thought it would be a good idea to sterilize it one time when I replaced the syrup. Tossed it in the dishwasher. When I took it out it was all out of shape. I guess the water was hot enough to soften the plastic and it slumped.

 

[YotaBota]

I guess the water was hot enough to soften the plastic and it slumped.

I don't have a 3D printer (yet) but this is good for future reference, not that I'll remember but you will have the right to the "I told you that" line. lol

 

[curmudgeon]

You could always make a new one using the RT… Joe Pie shows how in this video (I know he rubs some of you the wrong way, but I think he does know his stuff)``

Cool! That would be fun, and a perfect rational for buying a mill.

 

[curmudgeon]

Not sure if you've tried these sources:

Fruugo claims to have stock

Parts of Canada (Calgary) show it as add to cart on their web site so it may be available from them. UPDATE! I just got a chat message saying your impeller is STOCK! I'm curious to know if it's OEM or their house brand, Invertec.

Thanks @Tecnico ! I had found the Fruugo source but I don't think it fits. A search of part no. and model no. on their site resulted in no hits.

Thanks for the Parts of Canada link; I ordered a kit from them (free shipping) and they've already created a UPS shipping label; might even arrive this week.

I will do a temporary fix and with luck, the new parts can stay in their package for another 11 years. We replaced our very good Whirlpool when we had the kitchen cabinets redone 11 years ago so that we could have wood panels on the fridge and dishwasher. We liked the Whirlpool, but this Bosch is much quieter and consistently does a better cleaning job. I don't know if it is more or less energy efficient but we really like it.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Tecnico]

Glad to help @curmudgeon !

I had the whim thought that AliExpress might have the kit and those other links popped up in Google.

Now that I look closer you're right, the impeller on the Fruugo page is different, fewer heat staked pins, might be a bit smaller too.

Funny about your comments on the Whirlpool, we have a (premium.....) Kenmore Elite which is just a fancy Whirlpool customized for Sears. It was supposed to be quieter too and maybe it is but ever since we chose it I keep hearing about how quiet my sister in law's unit is. That'll be my last Sears buy, because of how Sears doesn't support their equipment in Canada too.

Anyhow, good to hear you have parts on the way, no more dishpan hands and cross fingers for many more years from the Bosch!

D