WP SxS door issue

[mattl]

My Whirlpool side by side is about 16 years old. Something changed in the last week and the door no longer closes itself when pushed.  Used to be at 3/4 closed it would automatically close, I'd hear the seal closing.  A few days ago I got up in the morning only to find the door was partially open- all night.

 

Is there a nylon washer at the bottom of the door that might have worn down?  Nothing has changed, the contents of the door - a lot- have not changed, I have not moved the fridge in a year or so, installed it with a slight tilt back can't think of any other variable.  What happened?

 

[circlew]

Could there perhaps be a buildup of dirt or food particles stuck in the hinge?

 

[wiskybill]

Hi Matt...

My Whirlpool SxS just turned 20 years old. There is a cam on the bottom of the
door that closes it. Yours my be worn or broken. Not an expensive part and still available for mine, probably the same for yours.

Look it up on Appliancepartspros.com. There is also a video showing how to replace it without taking the door off.

Hope that helps,
Bill

 

[mattl]

Thanks, I vaguely remember  something at the bottom of the door, thought it was nylon, I'll check out appliancepartspro.com

 

 

[rp2813]

We had this happen on our '85 Whirlpool SxS.  We got it used, and I was fairly certain its compressor had been replaced.  It used to vibrate the floor and sometimes make other noises associated with that vibration, inside (door shelves) and out (front grille).

 

When the door stopped closing on its own due to that nylon cam's failure sometime in 2006 or so, we used it as an excuse to finally chuck that old dog buy a new fridge.

 

[mattl]

I did by a back up last year, it's sitting in the garage as a secondary unit at the moment.  It's stainless where the WP is bisque and all the appliances are now stainless.  But--- I really like the WP much better than the Samsung I bought.  The shelving is fully adjustable in the WP where the Sammy is not.  The Sammy does have door in door so all the indoor stuff is easily available. 

At some point I'm going to update the countertops and perhaps paint out the golden oak cabinets I put in in the late 80's along with new hardware but that is down the line, then I'll swap out the fridges.

 

[mattl]

Part on it's way-

Ordered the part from Amazon, $6.99 should be here Sunday.  Looked at various videos not sue if I want to pull the door or not.  With the door in place looks a bit more difficult.  Luckily all the bins in the door are easily removable with out emptying them.  

think I'll opt for that method.

 

I'll have to mention this to my brother, he has the exact same fridge and whatever goes wrong with mine happens to him 2-3 months later.

 

[yogitunes]

probably best, or easiest to remove the top hinge and take the whole door off...

be thankful its not the freezer door with the water line going through the middle of the bottom hinge....

the new cam should fit in place with a screw....depending on your model...

apply a little grease or vaseline to both top and bottom hinge for better operation.....

keep us posted

 

[combo52]

Replacing Lower Hinge Cams On Ref Doors

I always remove the door, you need to lubricate the top hinge post anyway as well as replacing the worn out- broken cam pieces on the bottom hinge.

 

John L.

 

[mattl]

About a 10 minute repair.  Wish all repairs were this quick and easy.

 

Never payed too much attention to it but this door system holds a MASSIVE amount of stuff.  Got to say it's one of the best designs I've seen. Luckily all the bins are lift off so no need to unload anything, but I do need to go through the stuff and toss a fair amount.   That's for a later day.