GLRT218WDZ5 Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

I removed the drawer from the support rails and placed it aside. I then removed the entire shelf that the rails were attached to. Each rail contained one (1) screw. I removed the screw, slid the support rails back approximately a 1/4 inch and they popped out. I replaced with the new rails, sliding them into place in reverse of how I removed the damaged ones & attached with the screw. I cleaned the shelf off and placed it back in the refrigerator, and placed the meat drawer onto the new rails. It actually took longer to clean the shelf than perform the repair.

turned off water supply at water line to fridge. removed two hex head screws @ bottom of rear of appliance that hold the water valve in place.
Simply moved color coded elect. plugs from old one to new one, same with water lines. Only difference is, the replacement one I got uses push in water lines and my original was compression fit. No problem though, just cut the nipple off of original line going into new valve and you are good to go. Might want to have an extra 1/'4" brass compression washer though for the one remaining line. Whole process I did on my lunch break at home less than 30 minutes.
Only problem though was nothing changed. Spoke with service man over the phone and he said MOST of the time it is water freezing up in the inlet tube top of machine, inside. Remove water line from rear outside on top behind freezer and with a straw try to blow through, if it is froze it will not go through. Mine did not go through. Used hair dryer inside freezer in back on incoming line 5-10 minutes,thawed out, makes ice. Go figure. Changing valves was easy and well described as stated, just not necessary in my case, but now I know. Thanks, Warren in Iowa

First I removed ice maker and tested the micro switches and motor individually. Then checked the resistance of the heater element, and the thermostat. All components tested okay and worked individually. However when installed in the freezer the motor would not turn. and if you manually turned the gear in front, which should cycle everything,nothing would happen. Finally, I found one part that I had not checked, the thermal cut-off, and upon removing it, one wire fell off the small square piece. This wire was corroded. I replaced the unit in about 10 minuites and ice maker is working perfectly again.

OK, what I really want to talk about is the really poor quality of the fan motor. This is the third time that it has failed (about once per year). Local maintenance shops do not stock the motor, hence the frozen food thaws before they can get a part. I always keep a spare motor so that I can immediately repair the fridge.

The repair is very easy - remove all racks in the freezer and then remove their slides. Then remove the screws in the back plate. Due to the ice maker, the plate will not come out, so just pull it up and tie it off. Remove the screws to remove the motor fan assembly. I did the repair with the power on, BUT BE CAREFUL if you do so. Uplug the power from the motor, and remove the assembly from the freezer. Disamble and replace the motor. Then revese the above and you're freezing again.

Unplugged fridge, removed all screws from inside freezer panel. Removed bracket, fan blade and wires from evaporator motor and swapped motor with new one. Very easy. Professional repairman wanted almost $200 to fix it. Total cost for me was $35 and 25 minutes on a Saturday afternoon. Thanks PartSelect for the quick delivery, low price and tips on the replacement.

Ice build up to back of freezer. Fridge way too warm for preserving food/drinks. Unplugged fridge and de-thaw freezer with a hair dryer. Removed and replaced defrost timer in the fridge area which simply unscrews and plugs in. The video supplied by PartSelect worked well for this.

The Defrost Thermostat required a bit more work as it is accessed through the freezer compartment. I had to remove two screws to get the back cover that houses the fan removed. Then you cut the wires from the old Thermostat and remove it before splicing in the new Defrost Thermostat using the supplied crimps and matching the wire colors. It is useful to have a good wire stripper/crimper ready to make the job simple (I bought a pro one for $28 at Home Depot but they can be found cheaper). Also, there is a bit of heat shrink material included to protect the wires from moisture so a heat-gun will do the trick or Good quality electricians tape will also cut it.

I then sparked it up and it works as new. :)

After unsuccessfully trying to change the blown light bulb I discovered that the plastic light socket had gotten so hot that it melted and permanently fused with the blown bulb. After my new socket arrived in the mail I just popped the temp control assembly out with a screw driver and removed the old socket and placed the new one in. Whole operation to 5 minutes.

My freezer was frozen but my refrigerated side was not cooling, the temp was actually around 60-degrees. After inspecting i noticed no air was flowing through the vent from freezer side to fridge side. I removed everything from freezer and took the back wall panel off inside freezer section and immedietely noticed alot of ice on coils etc. After researching i found the defrost timer was not working and thus allowing frost and ice to build up on coils and block air flow. My defrost timer was located on the front bottom left behind kick panel, using a phillips screwdriver i removed 2 screws and then disconnected wire harness to the defrost timer. Then i inserted new defrost timer and connected wire harness and then put the 2 screws back in. My fridge is now working great and the ice build-up is gone and i am getting good air flow .. temps on fridge side are now between 32-34degrees. This was an easy project and saved me alot of money doing myself

The repair for this was very simple, although it was a tight squeeze. The model I replaced the ice maker on was a side by side. First I removed the ice bucket so I could have more room to work with. Then I unscrewed 2 screws on the left side wall holding the ice maker in place. These screws had a 1/4" nut top on them so I used my socket driver for this. Then a quick disconnect of the wiring harness. Very Simple. I did the reverse to install the new unit. Total time was around 5 minutes or so. I now have ice again.

I simply snapped in the new part. It took a few seconds. I would like to say that I found the part using the model number of the fridge. When I went to look at the description it said the part was 26 inches. The one I had was only 24 3/4 inches. I called you guys and was told that this was the correct part and to ignore the measuement.
You were Right! the part fitted perfectly.

My evaporator fan was not working. This fan is located in the freezer section, (top), behind an access panel at the rear. Part of it's job is to blow cold air down into the fridge. At first I wasn't sure if it was the fan itself because after the fridge was unplugged an plugged back in, the fan would run for about 5 seconds then quit. So..I tested the auto defrost timer by manually cycling it with a screw driver, it was fine. I bypassed the defrost thermostat switch, no difference. Finally, I cut an old extension cord and connected it to the fan, it was the culprit.. It didn't run on 120. It did spin for a few seconds on initial power up only. After reading that this model may also have a flakey defrost thermostat switch, I ordered both the fan & new defrost thermostat switch. It was a very easy install for both items. No directions are needed, it's obvious when you get in there. Mine is runnng like a champ again.

1.Unplugged appliance. Removed rear access panel, turned off water supply valve, removed two screws holding water valve assembly in place.
2. Removed and drained all water lines.
3. Removed three electric solenoid wiring connections.
4.Cut and marked all water lines to facilitate new connecting procedure (instructions provided with the new valve assembly).
5. Inserted the water lines into the new valve by applying a bit of vaseline on tubing end prior to pushing lines into O-ring fittings.
6. Clean the embarassing dust from under the appliance!!!

Note: All lines, wiring, and valves were color-coded to prevent connecting to wrong lines and electric solenoids.

Note: Be sure to remove water inlet supply trough to rear of ice-maker. This tube may freeze solid and prevent water from filling freeze tray. This is done by turning the inlet pipe on the back of the cabinet 1/4 turn and retracting from cabinet.

The repair was super easy. There are no retainer screws to deal with. You just pull the old gasket off of the door and press the new gasket on. I used a large flathead screwdriver to help start the removal by prying the first corner out of the groove. Once you get it started, the rest comes out easy. To put the new gasket on, you just firmly press it into the groove on the door.
I've read other instructions that say to soak the new gasket in warm water before installation. I didn't do this. Instead, I just used a hair dryer to heat the gasket once it was on the door. Then I closed the door and ran a finger between the fold in the gasket to make sure there was a good seal between the fridge and the door. Don't open the door for an hour so the gasket will form to the shape of the fridge opening. That's it. It works great now. Problem solved.

I removed the filter casing containing the casing, removed the filter and replaced it with the new filter and screwed the casing in place tightening with the wrench.. It took less than 5 minutes and was the easiest replacement Ive ever done.

Useing 2 fingers pulled old one out from its seat grove in door and started at one corner pressing the new one in groved slot the old one came out from. Auctually took less than 5 minutes