1950s dishwasher? 1960s? 1970s? 1980s? 1990s? How old is old? Maytag? KitchenAid? Whirlpool? General Electric? Tappan? Waste King? Westinghouse? Something else? Also must state the model number. All manufacturers produce multiple models and change the design across progression of years.

You might try to repair the rusty racks.

@Quercus Virginiana Thanks. Are vinyl racks good ?

Nylon racks are better. They won’t rust the way your vinyl-coated metal racks do. But I don’t know that I would recommend buying nylon racks for your old dw. They would be better than the machine you put them in.

My dw is a 25+ year old KitchenAid and I don’t plan to replace it until I have to, so I understand holding on to a classic. But your dishwasher is starting to fall apart, so It might be telling you it’s time to buy a new one.

R J you might get some good specific ideas if you mention the make and model of your dishwasher.

You can often find used dishwasher parts on eBay. Pay attention to item description.

Thanks all. It's GE Nautilus. Model: GSD4260J00SS, SN: AH923530B.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/114066701532

Serial nbr indicates manufacture in January of 1993, 2005, or 2017. I'm guessing 2005.

Lower rack = P/N original WD28X0305 substitutes to WD28X10284

Upper = P/N WD28X10006 ---> WD28X10210

New replacements are available. Search the numbers for best price. PartsDr.com is typically among the lowest of the various sources I use. eBay for used offerings (and new) but as mentioned above beware of photos that don't clearly show the condition of used.

You could find out if any of your neighbours are renovating their kitchens or getting new appliances. I am sure they would be happy to give their dishwasher racks if they fit. You could also call some plumbing supply stores to see if they have any racks. Also, try some appliance stores to see if they know where you could purchase.

My dishwasher is 17 yo (bought in 2003). I did a few DIY repairs between 2015 and 2017. I expect it'll run another 12+ years.

That old GE model is well past it’s life expectancy.

Ebay has both the lower rack WD28X10284 and upper rack WD28X10210

The dishwasher may be old but my 2005 Whirlpool is still running and washes well. It's worth a few bucks to keep it running, in my opinion, since you KNOW it works.

Buying used racks in better condition than your current racks would be a fine idea if they were inexpensive. The racks are about $100 each. Buying two brings you half way to a new Frigidaire or Samsung.

Check your area Habitat for Humanity for a used dw. Maybe you'll see one with racks that can work.

Thanks all. After some more thoughts I am also having the idea of perhaps just getting rid of the D/W and putting in something else instead. Any ideas ? I thought about a small fridge(or small wine cellar for those who want even though I don't drink any)

@dadoes @wdccruise @eam44 I was looking on ebay and I guess there were a couple I felt comfortable buying based on the condition and price.

I was also looking between partsdr.com and partselect.com, while I can't really compare the height of the upper rack between the two websites due to the pictures, the lower rack's height seems shorter on partsdr.com than partselect.com. Also partselect.com is a lot more expensive where both upper and lower cost about 150 each, while upper and lower cost about 100 each on partsdr.com. I wonder why such a big difference. Quality ? The confusing part is they have the same Manufacturer Part # but they seem different.

I wish I could tell you where to buy what you need; I wouldn’t worry about the pictures if the part numbers are correct. Maybe make sure wherever you buy them, you can return them if they don’t fit properly.

Photos can be different from one website to another. Prices also vary for the same item, that's the point of shopping the part numbers to different sources. I typically (but not always) find the best prices at PartsDr.

A recent order for several items, PartsDr wasn't the lowest. I ordered from what was the lowest (which I had used a few times previously). I went back a couple days later to check the order status and it was tagged as canceled, although it had been charged to my ccard. I got no reply from the vendor via email. Took almost a week of telephone calls to the contact number to get an answer ... was told the items are all NLA so they canceled the order and refunded the charge, *without* sending an email about the situation. The refund did process a few days later, transaction dated the same as the original charge. PartsDr had all the items.

Checking your lower rack ...

PartSelect has a image that can be grabbed with the mouse and rotated around (and tilted slightly, although that seems tricky to do) to see all sides of the rack.

PartsDr has static images of the rack from the top and one side.

It is the same rack at both.

I was just reading you can repaint your racks with vinyl repair paint. Check out FamilyHandyMan.com. Hope this is helpful.