Home refrigerator lower hinge replacement

[wagonmaster2]

Posted this in a different Forum, but wondered here if anyone had replaced the riser shim in the lower door hinge of their home refrigerator? I have a GE side by side frig that the plastic riser shim/bushing broke which lets the door set lower than the freezer door.
Is it hard to hold the door in place with the lower hinge taken apart to replace this little piece? Looks like there's two small bolts holding the hinge part to the box and two other bolts holding this piece to the bottom of the door. Does the "L" shaped hinge part have to be removed from the box in order to get to the piece on the door?
Appreciate any first hand experience.

Wagonmaster2

[InPursuit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wagonmaster2 Does the "L" shaped hinge part have to be removed from the box in order to get to the piece on the door?

Go to almost any appliance PARTS store and they will both have this little item and be able to show what is involved in replacing it.

in general... refrigerator hardware is designed to have door swing reversed and when doing so you remove the screws holding the hinges to the box... as well as those on the door. A side by side (never had one) probably uses the same hardware the company uses in all the other gazillion reefers they build.

[wagonmaster2]

Ordered the part from an appliance store, they had it in stock for Ropers and Whirlpools but not GEs. Afraid to ask them for any suggestions since if I run into trouble I'll have to have their repairman come to the house and do the job. Be kind of like asking your auto mechanic how to fix the alternator but maybe he'd have to finish the job. Don't think either place would be very anxious to offer any help with suggestions. I've had very little luck getting any information from repairmen unless I knew them personally.
I posted this under General Discussions since its a home refrigerator and has nothing to do with an RV.
There's 2 pieces to the hinge, one is an "L" shape that bolts to the box and the other is just a flat piece that fastens to the bottom of the door. Each piece of the hinge has a plastic spacer (the broken part on the door) with a curvature end that lets the door rise a fraction when opened but drops down as the door closes, kind of acts as an automatic door closer.

Wagonmaster2

[cj5 jeeper]

Very simple, I have replaced many door cams. Take off the grill, and close the door,lay on the floor and use blocks in the center of the door to lift the door off the hinge. (the door gasket will hold the door closed) Mark the location of the hinge, pull out the screws, take the hinge off, replace the cams, install the hinge using the marks as a guide, take out the blocks, test the door then send me a check.

[wagonmaster2]

Thanks Jeeper - I hope its as simple as you make it sound, not particularly looking forward to doing it. Do you charge by the hour or by the word?

Wagonmaster2

[RV Wizard]

You will need a new hinge as well as one cam riser per door. Remove and reinstall as Jeeper has mentioned. Tip: dont't tightened the cam riser on door until door is installed on hinge.

[wagonmaster2]

Thanks for all the encouragement Guys. I ordered the door cam riser from the appliance store but he talked me out of ordering the hinge part that bolts to the frig box. He said it generally wasn't damaged and didn't need replacing. The cam riser was $14.95 and the hinge part was $34.95 so guess I thought no sense throwing money away unnecessarily.

Did I make a mistake letting him convince me of this?

Door is working fine the way it is now without the new riser but just a little lower than the freezer door.

Wagonmaster2

[InPursuit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wagonmaster2 ...so guess I thought no sense throwing money away unnecessarily.

in that case...
you could also have gotten everything you needed at most any county landfill by scavenging off a junker

[RV Wizard]

Take the hinge off and inspect for ware or cracking.

[cj5 jeeper]

90% of the time the hinge is good. Most brands the cam would cost $2-$5. Ge never sold just the cam before, and you paid dearley for any of their parts. (Groasely Expensive)