36348252891 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

Symptom: Door did not close automatically. Also had found small chunks of black plastic on the floor. Refrigerator door was slightly lower than the freezer door.

One false start because I did not realize both of the door-closing cams had disintegrated and I had only ordered the cam without the hinge.

Purchased part ... Read more 290199 Hinge Assembly. It came with matching door-closing cam. (Had not known so I also purchased the cam 297995 separately). Next time I will know to only purchase the Hinge Assembly.

Replacement procedure took about 20 minutes including removing and replacing door shelves and their contents. Two people involved.

1. Remove all door shelves with contents and other contents on door.

2. Remove the top Phillips head screw holding the decorative plastic on the top.

3. Remove the two top hinge screws on top of refrigerator using metric #8 socket wrench. Second person made sure door did not fall off.

4. Lift the door off the bottom hinge pin. Second person holds door on it’s side.

5. Take off the bottom refrigerator cover

6. Remove the bottom hinge assembly screws using metric #8 socket wrench.

7. Mount the replacement bottom hinge assembly and tighten the two screws.

8. On the door bottom, remove the outer screw and loosen the inner screw using metric #8 socket wrench.

9. Replace the door-closing cam (or what is left of it) with the cam in line with the door and cam bumps away from the door.

10. Place the door back on the hinge pin (one person holds while the other person maneuvers the door bottom).

11. Replace the top hinge and reinsert the screws on top of the refrigerator. Dress the door so that it does not press hard on the rubber door gaskets (or the door will fail to shut automatically). Tighten the screws.

12. Replace the decorative plastic over the top hinge.

13. Open the door and replace the bottom refrigerator cover.

14. Replace the door shelves and all contents.

15 Close the door.

Unplugged refrigerator, removed three screws to take out part, disconnected the wires and removed bad unit. Removed fan blade from old unit and attached to the new unit. Attached wires, placed the new motor back in. Plugged it back in, within 20 minutes panel between freezer and refrigerator was cool to touch.

Order 2 cams as recommended in other posts.
I didn't realize until the project was finished that the 2 cams fit together to tilt the door toward the refrigerator and force the door to catch.
1. Removed all items from door storage.
2. Removed top hinge cover held by single screw and top hinge plate held by two bolts.
... Read more />3. Lifted up door to clear bottom hinge pin and removed door.
4. Turned door upside down and removed bottom hinge assembly held on by two bolts.
5. Replaced upper cam located on bottom of door and screwed the hinge assembly back on to bottom of door.
6. Drilled out the rivet that holds the lower cam to the bottom hinge pin.
7. Removed old lower cam and and replaced with new cam and secured to lower hinge assembly with pan head screw and nut (instead of rivet).
NOTE: The metal shim that goes between the cam riser & door was also broken, we used a small washer instead of the replacement shim.
8. Replaced door back onto lower hinge pin and secured upper hinge pin with original bolts.
9. Placed cover on upper hinge assembly and secured with original screw.
This is a project my husband and I completed together :)
Perhaps we will store lighter items on the door to lessen the chances of the cams deteriorating again.

I read over the other posts here and went with jacking up the fridge door and setting it on (2) 2x4 studs. A nut driver was used to remove the bottom hinge. I then drilled out the rivet that held the old cam in place and then used a 3/16 rivet to secure the new cam. A rivet is not necessary as you can also use a nut and bolt to hold the c ... Read more am in place. It took less time to order the part and install it than it did to drive over to the appliance parts store and pick it up. I ordered around 10 am and the part was here the next day at 2:00 (without special delivery costs). By 2:30 it was on my fridge.

Replaced several things: evaporator fan motor, defrost heater element & defrost timer. The motor was the key problem but did the other repairs because they are common failures and are easy to replace and are not that expensive. Changing the motor was tedious because of tight access to it. Took about 2 hrs for me. Fan is working properly b ... Read more ut not have a problem with water to ice maker not shutting off. I'm researching that problem. (I replace the water valve 2 hrs ago. That was a simple task - took 15 mins.)

Removed top hinge and electrical connector (freezer door has ice and water dispensers) then had to turn off water supply to unit and disconnect the hose to the door and remove the spring protector from the hose -- this required removal of the compression fittings in the water line so spring would come off of the tube. Then removed botto ... Read more m hinge from the door and used saw to remove the rivet that had held the cam to the hinge, used a nut and bolt to attach new cam. Put other cam (used two) in the hinge and replaced lower hinge unit on the door. Then reattached both hinges to the refrigerator and lined up the door put the spring protector and compression fittings back on plastic tubing and reconnected the water supply and electric fitting, turned on water to unit and prayed there were no leaks. Prayer was answered, the water dispenser worked properly and the ice maker filled with water so I then replaced the hinge cover on top of the unit and the grill at the bottom and had a pepsi. A few years ago I had replaced the cams on the other door which had no water/electic connections and was a much simpler job.

Condensor Fan not turning. I thought it would be an easy fix. I thought I could pull off the shroud and fan assy - no joy. Too many copper pipes and lots of tubing in the way. It took 90 minutes to remove and 30 minutes to install. The BIG hint here is to loosen the shoud, pull it back as far as you can and then remove the nut that holds ... Read more the fan blade in place. THEN you can remove the motor. Get the new motor back into the shroud, get the blade back on and then tighten the shroud back up.

Moved all items from door storage into refrigerator shelves. Removed top hinge cover held by single screw and top hinge plate held by two bolts. Lifted up door to clear bottom hinge pin and removed door. Covered open front of refrigerator with plastic wrap to keep cold in refrigerator with door removed. Laid door on kitchen counter to ... Read more p and removed bottom hinge assembly held on by two bolts. Replaced upper cam located on bottom of door and screwed the hinge assembly back on to bottom of door (helps to keep the three plates in same sequence and note the position of cam). Drilled out the rivet that holds the lower cam to the bottom hinge pin. Removed old lower cam and and replaced with new cam and secured to lower hinge assembly with pan head screw and nut (instead of rivet). Replaced door back onto lower hinge pin and secured upper hinge pin with original bolts. Placed cover on upper hinge assembly and secured with original screw. Removed plastic wrap from front of refrigerator and moved the items that originally were stored in the door back to provide weight needed for door to close properly. All done and the door works like new, and all in less than 45 minutes. Would have been a more difficult job without the pioneering of people on this site. Thanks to all!

Remove back cover, exposing fan motor. Turn off power, remove nut on fan blades. Remove fan carefully, do not bend. Unhook wiring harness. Remove three screws that hold the motor on the back frame. Remove old motor, install new. Carefully, reinstall fan blades, hook up wiring, and your ready for tryout. Also do some cleaning whil ... Read more e your there. Clean old fan blades with hot soapy water or contact cleaner. Everything runs better clean!

Get 2 "door closing cams" yep. Same as some others here. Found some black plastic pieces on the floor, when door wasn't closing right. I took the door off by taking off the top bracket. Very easy. Bottom bracket has the broken cam riveted to it. Need hacksaw to get this off then punch it through with hammer and a screwdriver. This ... Read more is the only part that took a little while. Replace the closing cam and find a small nut & bolt or screw to replace the rivet you just sawed in half. Replace the closing cam that is on the bottom the the door as well. Even if yours isn't broken. Replace it anyway. Put door back on and done. Not a diffucult project if you know about the rivet and needing 2 closing cams beforehand. Good luck

remove lower back cover - disconnect wires to fan motor - place 6" fan to blow on condenser - fridge began cooling & freezing again - ordered part - part arrived - removed fan motor & bracket - cleaned brackets & fan blade - cleaned lint & dust from condenser compartment (took longer to clean than anything else) - replaced fan motor - rep ... Read more laced cover - was hero with wife ... :-)

I weged a block of wood under the door to hold the weight then used a nutdriver to removed the two screws attaching the bottom hinge to the refrigerator. The plastic closing cam was broken and preventing the door from closing. I found some plastic washers in my junk drawer to install on the lower hinge as a temporary fix to keep the appl ... Read more iance operational until the correct replacement parts could be tracked down. I then called local appliance stores in search of the closing cam and learned that none of them had the part in stock. I then hit the internet and within minutes found a picture of exactly what I needed at PartsSelect.com and had it on order a couple minutes later. A couple days after that, the new hinge was delivered, Again, I proped up the door, removed the lower hinge and replaced it with the new the new one that included the new closing cam. I was very happy to have saved lots of time and money and my wife was even happier to have the refrigerator working properly again. :)

The fan was the correct part. It arrived one day after my well trained son-in-law had left for Texas. I had to install the motor myself. He had trained me well; it was not hard. the most difficult was getting the two tabs on the fan housing to fit back into the frame of the refrigerator where they belonged. Thanks. the part & deliver ... Read more y were overpriced, but I needed seed and convenience. Thanks for getting it right the first time.
John Moragues

Door cam disintegrated after 20 years. This was a terrific site for suggested repairs. My problem was not paying attention to how the door shim, cam and spacer were placed on the hinge. Most of the site's instructions did not forewarn the obvious...pay attention when doing repairs!!

Instructions from others were generally pr ... Read more etty good but as adept as I am at D-I-Y I still did not pay attention to how I took something apart so it could be assembled properly.

I don't think that ordering an entire door hinge set is necessary. It does not appear that shims and/or spacer come with the hinge assembly. Door cam was all that was needed. I thought about replacing the cam on the freezer side but won't do it until absolutely necessary.

This is a very good website and my thanks to all of the posts for the instructions!!

The door closing cam on the refrigerator door was a snap to replace. However, I'm still baffled on how to replace the freezer door side. The condensation tube from the door runs through the door pivot and joins to a compression fitting behind the bottom trim piece. The compression ring is behind a formed lip on the tube and won't slide of ... Read more f. I could cut the tube but I really didn't want to do that. If anyone has done this and knows the trick to replace it, I would appreciate it.

Ed. Please post your question at our repair forums, forums.partselect.com.