Once the dishwasher is removed and access to the back is achieved, it should be obvious if the high pressure side of the pump has seperated from the rest of the dishwasher:
While you are observing this area, note that the motor mount provides no support at all to help hold it in place against the forces involed. The entire holding force comes from the hose clamp. However that hose clamp holds, poorly, against a very very smooth plastic surface with no ribs or features to help it hold.
Overview of the rear view of the dishwasher: (note the motor has been re-installed on the motor mount in this picture.)
First look at high pressure side of pump. It seems to have separated.
By pulling ever so lightly on the motor/pump assembly, it can be quickly observed that indeed the hose has come off.
Note the smooth plastic surface with no ribs or flange or any feature to assist the hose clamp in holding the hose to the pipe. This is extremely poor design.
Note also the poor hose clamp. It goes to a size and that is it. It should go to a force.
A few views of the pipe after I roughed the surface with emery cloth (sand paper would have been just as good):
I applied a thin layer of Gasket & Joint sealing compound. (It is debatable if that was a good idea or not. Note that I ened up using a much much stickier Gasket compound later on.)
I could not find a hose clamp that would fit. I tried to use tie wraps. They did not hold, failing on the third or fourth test wash cycle. The point here being, the tremendous forces involved. The resulting connection seemed to be O.K., as judged by hand, but it failed. (O.K., O.K. the tie wraps were a dumb idea, which I paid for with another water leak clean up)
O.K. so how can I clamp this properly and with adequate holding force? How about ganging two smaller diameter hose clamps, which are also the correct width, together?
The dishwasher was partially re-installed, such that power and water could be connected. A test wash cycle was started. However the dishwasher was complaining and showing flashing green on the "clean" indicator. All the manual says is "call service". Searching on internet suggested to depress "normal wash" followed by "hot dry" three times or four or five times. All the panel lights should light up as the diswasher does a complete reset. It might take a few minutes. This worked for me, and the dishwasher cycles then ran fine. Why does Kenmore not list this information in the manual? It is very annoying that such information is not readily available. Anyway, several cycles were run while I constantly looked for leaks or migration of the hose with respect to the pipe.
Since everything seemed to be O.K. the dishwasher was fully re-installed. However the lower front covers were not replaced so that the hose to pipe connection could be observed for a few weeks. It is pretty difficult to observe, but I was able to with a dentist mirror and flashlight:
One single drop of water was observed on the floor after the first normal wash cycle. The hose pipe connection had not migrated at all. On the next use of the dishwasher, the single drop of water became a steady drip when the pump was not running and a steady trickle when it was. I had probably overtightened the worm type hose clamp and it had cut into the rubber coupling. Of course I had tightened it a lot, as it is the only thing absorbing the forces trying to blow the connection apart.
So now we move on to part 2 of trying to get the dishwahser fixed, which turned out to be another interesting, but frustrating, saga.
On the parts diagram below, notice that many many single parts are available, but not the part needed. Why not? The entire sub-assembly costs $261.99 ($CDN September, 2012)(Part number: W10164292 (Pump motor assy)(substitute: W10168823)).
As a side note, the pump low pressure side hose is available as a kit, but even that is a rediculous $180 ($CDN September, 2012). (Part number: 8579311)
O.K., so can I find something that will work? This might work:
However, when I took off the damaged rubber coupling I found that the pump side of the coupling had a proper bib, and that the coupling was specifically shaped to include that bib. Why doesn't the other side (the washer tub diverter side) have the same feature?
I ended up re-using the existing rubber coupling. I cut a bicycle inner tube to make bands to both cover the cut in the rubber and to dampen the edges of the clamp so they wouldn't bite into the soft rubber of the coupling. I also did not tighten the clamp as hard as the previous attempt, which increases the worry that it might not hold.
The re-assembled coupling with the bicycle inner tube band under both clamps:
As of 2012.09.03 two quick rinse, one 1 hour wash cycle, and one full high temperature wash cycle have been run without any leak or migration of the fitting.
As of about 2012.11.15 (mid November) my fix failed. I bought the entire sub-assembly and replaced it. It was easy to replace, but remove the interior spray stuff first, as the unit goes in and comes out from the interior. It is a tight fit for the new unit, I needed more hands to help push it into place evenly. I also used a bit of oil to lubricate the rubber seal to help it "slip" into place.
Comments:
I have searched the city for a proper clamp. I did find what might be the proper clamp as a single available part for another dishwasher model type (665.13272K112) (~~ $23 CDN):
I get it with cost of manufacturing and desire to have a quiet dishwasher. Any motor mount that provides more holding force would also couple more noise into the washer tub, which would in turn propegate to the surrounding area. However hose to pipe coupling manufacturablity verses reliability trade off is too severe. The user must have confidence that they do not have to worry about water damage to their house using the dishwasher unattended, either overnight or when not at home.
Example 1 of a better hose pipe coupling. Ribs for the hose to bite into when the hose clamp is applied:
Example 2 of a better hose pipe coupling. In this case, once attached and clamped, the hose clamp would have to expand significantly to come off the end of the connecting pipe (Similiar to the pump high pressure side):
I did try to get help from a parts specialist at Sears. It was a waste of time. Read the transcript for yourself.