Dometic Refrig Door Hinge Repaired

[roknjohn]

I just thought that I would share my experience and repair technique when the door broke off of my Dometic RM7732 side by side refrigerator in my 98 Discovery MH. Basically, the lower hinge piece on the left door broke off. This piece is all plastic and is molded as part of the door, so it is not really replaceable. After researching, my best option was to glue the broken piece back on using JB Weld epoxy. (Replacing the whole door was over $250.)

With the door removed and on a table, I cleaned off the area well. I mixed up a nice batch of epoxy and applied a liberal amount, making sure that I filled all of the hollows in the hinge piece and where it attached to the door. It so happened that the position of the door provided the perfect pressure to the joint as it rested on the table so no clamping was necessary. I did have a problem of the epoxy running, so every 10-15 minutes I would use a plastic knife to lift the runs and spread them back into the areas that I felt would provide the best strength.

The next day, I reattached the door. This was the hardest part, because it appears that you would have to remove the unit in order to do it. But luckily, I found a way to do it.

The bottom metal hinge bracket (on the unit) has a steel pin. This pin is threaded into the metal bracket that is attached to the cabinet. You can unscrew this pin by hand, or use a small flat screwdriver from the bottom. Next, I removed the eyebrow board on the top (one screw in each corner). This gave me access to the top hinge. The top hinges are metal brackets are attached to the unit by three screws. Two are easily accessible from the front. The third is screwed in from the side. (This is where it looked like I'd have to remove the whole unit.) But with only the two screws out, the top hinge would rotate up slightly. This provided enough clearance to get the job done.

Sliding the door onto the top pin first, then inserting the loose bottom pin into the repaired hinge by hand, hold the pin in place with your finger while lifting up on the door. There should just be enough room to allow you to align the bottom of the bottom pin into the threaded hole in the metal bracket. A small screwdriver will let you screw the bottom pin from underneath. (You'll have to turn the screwdriver counter-clockwise instead of how you would normally screw in a screw. You'll see what I mean.)

Replace the top screws and the eyebrow board and you're done. So far, my repair has worked perfectly. Knock on wood.