Fresh Food Door Gasket

I pulled off the old door gasket which came off really easy. I was hoping the new one would go on as easy as just popping it in place but it didnt work. I had to remove the inside door panel. The gasket wouldnt lay entirely flat in the inside groove so I used a bead of RTV around the entire circumference which helped to hold it in place while reattaching the panel back onto the door. The screws fit on the under side of the magnetic portion of the gasket. In order to access the screw holes the gasket has to be lifted which sometimes causes the gasket to pull from the lip on the back side of the panel making the RTV get everywhere. After every screw was in place and lightly tightened the panel had to be adjusted to allow for the proper closing of the door. This was the worst part, fortunatly the screws left a slight indentation of where they were before I removed them so it gave me a nice reference.
The hinge part of the new gasket requires a lubricant so it wont bind up when the door is closed. I didnt know about this until my order arrived and a part number was recommended for the type of lube. I just used Vasolene and it works fine.
The pin bearing was really easy. Just unload the contents from the door, mine was the freezer door. I popped off the cap covering the screws and removed the screws while holding the door so it wouldnt drop on the floor. Once off I used a flat head screwdriver to pry out the old one and a light tap of a hammer to replace it with the new. I put it all together the way it came off.
Now my fridge runs much less and the freezer door doesnt sag.

1. turn off the refrigerator using the inside temp dial
2. take all food out of the refrigerator door
3. pull up the gasket along the door frame and loosen all
the screws starting with the bottom and the sides
4. loosen the screws underneath the gasket on the top of
the door (be ready to lower the door frame when you
loosen the last screw!)
5. pull the old gasket off the door frame
6. put the door frame on the floor insulation side up
7. lay the new gasket out on the floor and use a blow
dryer to heat the new gasket to make it flexible
8. put the new gasket on the frame by fitting the crease
of the gasket over the edge of the frame making sure
that the magnet side of the new gasket is facing the
refrigerator when the frame is re-attached
9. apply RTV Silicone sealant along the entire lip of the
gasket (on the insulation side of the frame) and press
the gasket to the frame to form a bond ( I got a tube
of RTV silicone at Wal-Mart in the automotive dept. near
the motor oils)
10. wait 5-10 minutes to let the silicone bond to the frame
11. lift the frame up and re-attach to the door starting
with the top middle screw first, the side middle screws
next, the bottom middle screw last (you may want to get
a second person to help hold the frame while you are
attaching these initial screws)
12. go back and re-attach all remaining screws
13. close the refrigerator door and check for a good seal
all along the gasket
14. your done!

Note: you may want to close the refrigerator door and block
it with a chair to keep in some cold air after you
remove the frame to install the new gasket

a handyman made the repair. It went fine.

Our old gasket was shot to hell, so we figured we'd replace it to see if that would solve the problem. We followed the instructions of another customer. We realized it was better if we removed the entire door in order to attach the gasket. That took a little doing, but it was totally the way to go. Miracle of Miracles, the leaking has stopped, the food is super cold, and I couldn't be happier.