When good machines go bad.

We have this relatively new dish washer (a Maytag)...it was purchased last April.

Recently, I started it in a regular wash cycle and within a minute or two it was making so much noise, one could hear it from anywhere in this house even over the sound of the TV program that we were watching. It was the source of much aggravation for all of us.  It got so noisy that I was reluctant to use it again.  So...I called the service number we found in the owner's manual and arranged for a service call to have it fixed.

The Maytag service guy came last Saturday.  I couldn't understand why it took so long to get an appointment because on all those Maytag ads we see on TV, their repair guy is always bored to death because he gets so few service calls, hinting at how well Maytag products are built and the high quality they include.

I mentioned that fact to the service guy while he was checking things out and he replied that I shouldn't believe all the hype I hear and see on TV ads.  He assured me that Maytags require as many repairs as all the others and that figures when you consider that one manufacturer builds machines for a variety of customers and simply puts their name on the finished product before it is shipped out.

I paid close attention as he went about his work.  You never know when you might need to disassemble an appliance after it has gotten old and the service agreement has expired.  He found a good sized piece of hard, black...I'll call it plastic until someone else can accurately describe the material it was made of...inside the area that contains the "chopper blade" which is supposed to turn any waste left on the dishes into an emulsion before it is pumped out to the sink drain or disposal unit.

I was imagining several different possible causes for the noises.  We had "lost" a small paring knife recently and one other time we had found a broken glass in the basket after a wash cycle had finished.  Maureen felt around and found the missing broken piece, even thinking to try to fit it into the empty area of the broken glass, concluding that she had found all of it.  Still...one can't help but wonder in such cases as this one about exactly what could have gotten into the machines working parts, causing it to make unusual noises when in operation.  I even went so far as to imagine that the small paring knife was down in the pump housing somewhere, being slowly chewed up or causing some serious damage to the pump's impeller.  That piece of black plastic was all he found however. 

He put it back together and tried to run a cycle.  The machine was still making that loud noise.  He concluded that it was the main motor that was the culprit.  He checked the inventory he had on his service truck for a new motor.  He did not have one.  That's when he informed me that he would order the parts he needed right there on the spot using his handy dandy lap-top computer and have them delivered to our address.  I was to check them for damage when they arrived and then set them aside, awaiting the return of himself or some other service person.  If I found possible damage, I was to call the number on the receipt he gave me and they would immediately re-order the parts.  We made another appointment while he was here for the 26th of this month.  Someone would show up at that time to install the new parts. The new parts arrived yesterday.  I checked them...they were in perfect condition, so I set them out in the garage on my work bench to wait for the next appointment.

Here's the problem I am facing now.

I have run three full cycles of differing types since he was here.  It has not made one loud noise of any kind while doing it.  Both of us were witnesses to the fact that the machine still made noises AFTER he had removed the piece of plastic and put it back together again.  I dare not guess what might have happened since then.

I will continue to use it as often as I can between this time and the 26th of the month.
Someone will need to come here and at least pick up the parts I received even if it is determined that the machine is alright now.

Maureen says we should allow them to come and do the change out.  Sooner or later it will start making that noise again.  It's only a matter of time till it does.
She's probably right...she usually is.  Call it intuition...woman's special ESP.

I'm of another mind set.  Here's what I'm thinking:  If we say nothing and allow someone to come and swap out the motors, what if during the process, they don't do something right, like when installing the new seal kits that came with the new motor and when they are done and have left, we start seeing water coming out from under the unit?

There is a lot of disassembly work to be done when swapping out that motor. The whole unit MUST be disconnected from the counter-top, the power and the drain and supply hoses just to gain access to the motor that is located under the housing of this machine.  There are too many areas of potential problems involved.  I've seen this happen before.  In an attempt to repair a small problem, the intricate properties of certain elements of the assembly could be done improperly and then, after several call backs to fixed the next problem that pops up, something always remains that deems the unit unsatisfactory in our opinion.  It may turn out to be an endless process that will drive us completely bonkers.  Let me rephrase that last part...it would be a drive for most people, but for me it would be a putt.  (Please laugh at my feeble attempt to insert humor into this boring entry.)

So...allow me to ask you................What would you do if you were in my shoes?
I will consider all solutions suggested and let you know what I decide and how things turn out.  I offer no prizes for the best suggestion.