Dishwasher making grinding noise - fix or replace?

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Our dishwasher has started making a grinding noise and not cleaning the dishes very well. Anyone know what could be wrong and if it would be more economical to try to fix it or just buy a new one?

 

[Vette73]

If it is less than 3 years old and not a economy model then try and fix it, if not then get a new one with a warrenty. Check out Lowes, sears, etc... good sales on Sunday

 

[Zenmervolt]

If it's 15+ years old, it's probably better to get a new one. If it's under 5, repair it. If it's between the two, then it's a grey area.

ZV

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

I have no idea how old it is, it came with the house. I checked the turning sprayer thing and it turns a little too easily, I think whatever drives it has broken. I'm guessing it's a gear out of place or a belt that's slipped off or broken but I know nothing about these things. I took the front plate of but it's so crowded under there I can't see far back enough to get an idea of what's going on. BestBuy has a Frigidare on sale this week for $188, would that be much more than getting this one fixed? It looks like a cheaper GE model.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Gonad the Barbarian
I have no idea how old it is, it came with the house. I checked the turning sprayer thing and it turns a little too easily, I think whatever drives it has broken. I'm guessing it's a gear out of place or a belt that's slipped off or broken but I know nothing about these things. I took the front plate of but it's so crowded under there I can't see far back enough to get an idea of what's going on. BestBuy has a Frigidare on sale this week for $188, would that be much more than getting this one fixed? It looks like a cheaper GE model.

IIRC the spinning sprayers are not driven. They spin because of the water pressure, so they are supposed to spin very easily.

ZV

EDIT: Spelling.