How do you remove the microwave?

[Goodturn]

We have a 2007 MACA 3991 (Mountainaire), and the magnatron tube has blown in the GE convection microwave. GE will cover the part under warranty and we will pay the labour, however, the GE tech will not remove the panel above the microwave to access the hardware necessary to remove the oven for repair. It seems to have quite strong double sided tape holding it on. Does anyone know how to remove this panel without breaking it?

[skipwil]

Yours may be like my Georgetown was. It had lag screws down from the storage area above the microwave. The screws; had over the 5yrs. I owned it; viberated loose and the microwave had dropped down in the front. I had to pry up the bottom of the shelf to get at the screws to tighten them. It was a problem but the panel did come up. The factory used small brad nails to secure the panel. There was some chipping of the wood but shelf liner covered that. Hope this helps...
Safe Travels...

[Route 66]

I just looked and mine is held on with double faced tape also.

I had removed a smaller panel attached with silicone caulk.

I used 2 putty knives and gently but firmly pried and pried in several places until it came loose.

The gap is too small to get a knife in there.

[Richard S.]

This may help.
http://products.geappliances.com/Mar...e=49-40538.pdf

[DonnaB]

Hi Goodturn,

On our 2007 DSDP we had to replace the GE oven and the panel is held on with double stick tape. Very strong stuff, I might add. That took a while to get it off without marring the finish. Once off, there were screws holding the oven in. We then just spent some time removing all the adhesive from the panel and surrounding opening. While in Nappanee last summer we had Gene Miller add hinges and a door pull (found the panel is too short to add one of those little pneumatic things to hold it open) and we now have access to the very small space. and use it to store our griddle and a couple of little things we don't use often. Good luck!

[TandW]

Use a hair dryer or heat gun to loosen the grip of almost any tape. Use WD40, mineral spirits or similar to remove remaining adhesive. Good luck!!

[Goodturn]

Thanks folks. I have got the cover off, which was held on with double sided tape, and I removed the 4 screws that held the board behind it. Now I see 4 screws, two at each top corner of the oven. Does anyone know if there are more screws elsewhere? The GE tech will be here Saturday morning, and I'm hoping it will be straight forward for him. Thanks again.

[DonnaB]

Although I would love to give you a definitive answer, I'm not sure there is one. Our GE Advantium that broke had 5 large screws holding it in. The GE Advantium that we used as a replacement came out of a MADP of a friend that was changing out to a different oven. Hers only had 3 screws holding it in. We put all 5 in when we put the new one in.

[Goodturn]

The GE tech removed the 4 screws, unpluged the unit, and lifted it out to do the repair on the kitchen counter. It was pretty straight forward after getting the front panel off. The double sided tape was the most difficult, and I did use WD40 to remove it. Thanks for the tips. The magnatron (made in Korea) was covered under GE warranty, and the labour charge was $101.00. We didn't realize how much we used the micro-wave until it was not working.

[Route 66]

Quote:

I have got the cover off, which was held on with double sided tape

How did you get it off?

[Goodturn]

We bought a triangular shaped scraper at Walmart and worked it around the edge of the face board to seperate the tape.. We removed the cupboard doors to allow easier access to the ends. Also, there were 4 brad nails fastening the crown molding at the top of the rear board. We used the same tool with some hammer persuassion to cut the nails, and then pried the board out from the bottom. The back board has a veneer, so be careful not to crack an edge.