WRT18CVAD1 Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

I pulled off the old door gasket which came off really easy. I was hoping the new one would go on as easy as just popping it in place but it didnt work. I had to remove the inside door panel. The gasket wouldnt lay entirely flat in the inside groove so I used a bead of RTV around the entire circumference which helped to hold it in place while reattaching the panel back onto the door. The screws fit on the under side of the magnetic portion of the gasket. In order to access the screw holes the gasket has to be lifted which sometimes causes the gasket to pull from the lip on the back side of the panel making the RTV get everywhere. After every screw was in place and lightly tightened the panel had to be adjusted to allow for the proper closing of the door. This was the worst part, fortunatly the screws left a slight indentation of where they were before I removed them so it gave me a nice reference.
The hinge part of the new gasket requires a lubricant so it wont bind up when the door is closed. I didnt know about this until my order arrived and a part number was recommended for the type of lube. I just used Vasolene and it works fine.
The pin bearing was really easy. Just unload the contents from the door, mine was the freezer door. I popped off the cap covering the screws and removed the screws while holding the door so it wouldnt drop on the floor. Once off I used a flat head screwdriver to pry out the old one and a light tap of a hammer to replace it with the new. I put it all together the way it came off.
Now my fridge runs much less and the freezer door doesnt sag.

Located the many screws which hold the inside surface of the door on. The screws are located between the seal and the inside surface; you have to hold back the seal to find the screws.

The seals are attached to this inner surface by a snug fit, and clamped in place when the screws are tightened again. Its simpler than it sounds.

Finally, it is wise to get a food safe RTV sealant to glue down the corners of the door seals to make they don't scoot around during the life of the seal.

First, I unplugged the appliance. Safety, first.
Than I removed the shield which was held in by screws. This covered the fan, thermometer.
The defrost thermostat was taken out, with a little extra force. The wires on the defective part were no longer attached to the part. The instructions were easy to follow in replacing the defrost thermostat. I stripped the coating on the wire, attached it with the enclosed electical bugs. The assy was able to follow, and the part went back on. The refrigerator is working perfectly. I couldn't have done it without the help in diagnosing the problem and with the speedy delivery of the new part. Thanks for all your help and the ease of the installing the new part!

The BIG problem was getting the old drip pan off. The bolt on top of the compressor was too long to allow the removal of the old drip pan. I removed the old drip pan by cutting most of it away with tin shears then cutting the remaining part of the pan around the bolt with a hack saw (taking care not to damage freon lines and raising the pan above the threads of the bolt so as not to damage the threads). I still had to cut half the bolt away with a hack saw by replacing the nut and cutting a third of the bolt away (above the nut), so the new pan would fit. Putting the new pan on was a breeze after that. It may be easier to just cut the bolt off altogether on top of the compressor and use the wire clips per the instructions supplied with the kit to install the new one.

Simple switch repair: Unplug fridge, pull down to remove switch assembly, slip contacts off. Reverse with replacement switch. HOWEVER, check first to see if the bulb filament might be broken, as this could cause the same symptom. OR in my case, the light socket connection was the culprit. Check that too before ordering a replacement switch.

1. turn off the refrigerator using the inside temp dial
2. take all food out of the refrigerator door
3. pull up the gasket along the door frame and loosen all
the screws starting with the bottom and the sides
4. loosen the screws underneath the gasket on the top of
the door (be ready to lower the door frame when you
loosen the last screw!)
5. pull the old gasket off the door frame
6. put the door frame on the floor insulation side up
7. lay the new gasket out on the floor and use a blow
dryer to heat the new gasket to make it flexible
8. put the new gasket on the frame by fitting the crease
of the gasket over the edge of the frame making sure
that the magnet side of the new gasket is facing the
refrigerator when the frame is re-attached
9. apply RTV Silicone sealant along the entire lip of the
gasket (on the insulation side of the frame) and press
the gasket to the frame to form a bond ( I got a tube
of RTV silicone at Wal-Mart in the automotive dept. near
the motor oils)
10. wait 5-10 minutes to let the silicone bond to the frame
11. lift the frame up and re-attach to the door starting
with the top middle screw first, the side middle screws
next, the bottom middle screw last (you may want to get
a second person to help hold the frame while you are
attaching these initial screws)
12. go back and re-attach all remaining screws
13. close the refrigerator door and check for a good seal
all along the gasket
14. your done!

Note: you may want to close the refrigerator door and block
it with a chair to keep in some cold air after you
remove the frame to install the new gasket

I pulled out the old pieces and poped what I couldn't into the foam insulation behind the support. Then I placed the new piece in the hole and popped the plastic pin to seat the support. bang. the only problem I had was knowing if it was the right part by the picture. The little pin that had to be pushed through kinda threw me.

Removed old thermostat and replaced. really easy.

followed documentation from Frigidaire website.

Wasn't sure if it was the derost timer or the heating element. Since the timer was much cheaper, I bought it and crossed my fingers.
My story is like the others. Unplug the refrigerator, snip the old wires, strip back the wire insulation, use the supplied connectors to attach the new defrost timer to the existing wiring.
Success! My coils no longer freeze up.
Only difficulty is I am a large guy, and fitting my upper body into the freezer was challenging.

You lift the old seal and unscrew the nut, being careful not to break the plastic holding the seal down, do not remove the screw the whole way. If you take your time and be methodic it is not difficult, just time consuming. Remove the old seal and start putting the new seal in. I would advise finger tightening the screws every 12 inches or so as you go. Then go back and tighten each side as you complete it.

From discussions with friends, I determined the problem might be easy to fix. The fridge made a lot of noise, but the compressor DID come on, and inside the freezer was cold, but the main fridge was warming.

After unplugging the fridge, I removed the fan assembly in the freezer (there were about 4 nuts and a couple of plugs to uncouple.

I could see right away the fan blades has broken off, but the motor looked good. The new new fan pushed easily onto the shift and fit perfectly in the housing.

I reinstalled the fan assembly, plugged in the fridge, and right away heard the new fan come on - very quietly. What was a roar became a whisper and the fridge was down to 38 degrees with a few hours.

First I remove the back panel which had 4 screws. Then I removed the ice maker. The icemaker is held in place by the 2 screws that requires backing the screws out just a litter, than lift up and remove the electrical connector. Used a volt ohm meter to check the resisitant in the heater element and the defrost timing switch. Both tested good and that left only the thermostat. Removed and replaced the thermastat swich. I cut the ends of the old switch and crimp the ends of wire with the crimps that came with the swict i purchased from parts select. My refrigerator is working properly and making ice like normal.

tested defrost timer and heater. And then tested defrost timer with ohm test($6 at hard ware store) Closed and would not open replace and tested freezer take 30mins to get switch cold and retest.

1. I took out one screw on the ice maker and loosened the other two screws and unplugged and removed the ice maker.
2. Next I took out 2 screws from the bottom of the auger drive box and unplugged the wiring harness and removed the box. The wiring harness was a little tricky. The lock on the plug pushes in to unlock even though it looks like it pulls out,.
3.next you must remove 2 screws from the left side bracket that holds the auger box and remove the bracket.
4.Now take out 8 screws that hold the back panel in place and remove the back panel.
5. now your looking at the evaporator fan blade and motor. The simple way to replace the fan blade is to unplug the motor and remove it from the freezer. It just sits in with nothing holding it. The fan requires a little pressure but should pull right off. Install new fan blade and put everything back in the same order it was removed.