[This post was copied from a thread in the Appliance section.]
My freezer door lost its closer a couple years ago, and I didn’t do anything about it until today. Once I discovered the proper technique, fixing it is not difficult, but it is an annoying job. Annoying first because you are working with small spring-loaded parts. And second because you have to work while lying on your back. Not only is this uncomfortable, but it means that left becomes right, and right becomes left, so instructions can get confusing. Sorry I don’t have better pictures.
You will need two tools, shown in the first picture - a ¼” nutdriver, and a block of wood an inch or two square, and 3/8” or 7/16” thick. The length and width don’t matter, but the thickness does. I didn’t have a block of the right thickness, so I taped two thinner strips together. Here are the steps that worked on my door.
Underneath the bottom edge of the freezer door are four screws, two on each end as shown in Picture 2. Remove them. The door will fall out of the opening, along with the metal bracket pieces that held the screws. As you can also see in Figure 2, each piece consists of a flat area with the two screw holes, and a round area at one end. Left and right brackets are not interchangeable.
Notice that the round area of each bracket meshed with a white nylon toothed wheel on the side wall of the refrig. The reason the door won't close is that the nylon wheel slipped a cog on the bracket. Notice also that the nylon wheel on the left is longer than the wheel on the right. Furthermore, the wheel on the right is solidly mounted, while the wheel on the left can move left and right against a spring.
Now set the door back in the proper closed position in the frame. Insert the wood block into the gap on the left end of the door (Picture 3), to force the door to the right and hold it there.
Get on your back, looking upward. Position the right bracket under the lower edge of the door, at the place it fell out of, but with the screws pointed inward toward the back wall of the refrigerator. Slide the bracket to the right, so that the round part of the bracket slips over the white nylon wheel and the teeth engage. Now the fun part. While you continue to push the bracket to the right, twist it ¼ turn to make the screws point upward. Don’t let it disengage the white nylon teeth! When the screws are pointed upward, hold the bracket in place while you insert and tighten the two screws.
Now do the same thing on the other end. Hold the bracket with the screws pointed at the back wall of the refrig, push it left to engage the white nylon teeth, then twist ¼ turn to make the screws point upward. Insert the screws and tighten them. At this point you are done. You should be able to remove the wood block, and the door should close normally. Mine does. But if you choose to stay with other solutions rather than taking on this annoying job, I certainly understand.
The door and brackets are shown on Page 8 of the downloadable PDF Parts List referenced here.
http://www.thetford.com/HOME/PARTS/N...0/Default.aspx
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EDIT: After I developed this fix, another member pointed out that there is a You-Tube video that offers a different method. Five months later, having done both, I find that the method in the Youtube video is simpler. I will leave my original in place, only because videos tend to disappear after while.
Bill
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