TFG28PFBABB General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

First of all, the larger white plastic tubes in this thing are 5/16" OD, which no plumbing store seems to stock. At the lower left rear end there are 2 tubes, one for water and one for ice, that are doomed to fail being in proximity of a heat source - they essentially get cooked to the point of becoming brittle and cracking. The smaller tube and union can be easily found, but do yourself a favor if the larger one cracks and order the plastic tube and water tube union here, and just cut off the brittle part and amend the old tube using the union.

Ordered parts from another vendor - got wrong parts (1/4 in parts instead of 5/16 in parts). With your parts, I just cut out the bad portion of the tubing, and replaced it using the 2 union connectors. Thanks.

The problem is the common issue that the proximity of the plastic water lines that leave the electrically controlled valve near the compressor in the bottom back corner of the fridge, means they become brittle and crack/break. Both the line leaving to the ice-maker that runs diagonally across the outside back of the fridge, and the line that runs under the fridge to feed the water dispenser failed at the valve, breaking off just where they start at the valve.

The result was I noticed a big puddle coming out from under the fridge (too late for the poor wood floor).

The solution, replace the parts. For the ice maker line, it is one thin line - its easy to replace other than taking care to uncrimp and recrimp the connection up at the entry to the freezer.

For the thicker tube, the one that goes to the water dispenser, you replace the reservoir tank that sits inside the fridge. It has the two lines leaving it permanently attached to the tank, hence you replace the whole thing. There are separate lines and a splice/union that can be used to replace just the last 6 inches near the compressor, but I chose to replace the whole unit. This describes replacing that water chill tank unit.

The tank sits behind the bottom 2 drawers in the fridge.. you see it when you pull out the drawers. It has two lines permanently attached, one runs out of one hole in the bottom of the fridge and to the back of the fridge where it attaches to the exit on the electrical valve. The other runs out of the other hole in the bottom of the fridge and runs along the side, then along the front from the fridge to the freezer side. There is a union that connects that line to another line that then runs up the freezer door. Remove the front cover under the fridge to see this line and the union.

To replace the tank, you have to disconnect it from both ends, where its held in by plastic nuts/unions. Water remaining in the lines will drain out when you disconnect them. I unscrewed the valve assembly from the fridge body and then unplugged the plugs to the valves to do the work (but left the fridge plugged in).

To do this work, I needed to raise the fridge side edge of the appliance, since the hoses route along the underside of the fridge. After you disconnect the two ends (at the union on the freezer side bottom front egdge, and back side at the valve) you can pull the hoses up into the fridge. Routing the new hoses will require you have at least that one side off the floor to get your hands under it. I got two 6" tall 4x4 wood blocks and tipped the fridge slightly, raising the right (fridge) side off the ground and slid the blocks under the fridge rollers.

To remove the tank, before you raise the edge of the fridge, there are two screws that you need to remove (top side and left side) from the storage tank.

I recommend that in addition to removing the bottom two drawers, you remove all the bins hanging in the fridge door, since you need to work in there with gravity wanting to shut the door on you. Once you have the tank unscrewed (and the hose ends disconnected) note which hose(based on where it connects to the tank) goes to which hole in the bottom of the fridge. Pull up the hoses from the inside the fridge. The tank is free..go put it in the sink and drain the water out.

Installing the new tank, remove any hose end caps and route the hoses back through the lower drawer support frame you pulled them out of, and feed the correct hoses back through the holes in the bottom of the fridge. I found it better to feed the longer one first, which leads to the water dispenser/front. I could then pull that one up front from under the raised fridge and clip it in place and then route the other hose fully though its hole and route it to the back of the fridge to the valve. This way I ensured I was sending the right hose to the right destination.

You will likely have to trim the hoses once the tank is reattached as they are slightly long. Be sure

The repair is easy, just pop the grill off around the ice and water door, then there are 4 screwws to take out so the touch pad can be moved out of the way to unsnap the old door assm. and snap in the new one and wait about a year and a hald to order another one!!!!!

bought an push in, in line connector and a new 5/16 plastic hose. I just replaces 2 feet of plastic hose from the selonid up an splices the hose using the connector. Worked perfect.

Followed previous instructions from a previous post. Inserted small screwdriver in the 2 outer holes up under the face plate to remove it then removed 4 screws holding the inner assembly which allowed access to the flapper assembly. Replaced it and reassembled everything. Problem solved

We couldn't get the other connector loose from one end of the tubing so he said just cut it and so we did and attached the connector. I now have water again in my fridge and took the sticky note down "don't use the water" as it had leaked for a year...... Thanks!

Plastic water line gets brittle from compersor heat over time and eventually brakes. I tried to fix with 5/16 line from a locel hardware store but outter diameter was slightly smaller so connection to valve leaked. This OEM part fit perfect. I cut the line beyond the brake and connected it with the tube union part, Easy fix. Everything works fine with no leaks

Replaced flapper

Remove lower front panel, disconnect damaged union from water hose under freezer door, replace with new union, tighten and reattach front panel. No more water coming from under the unit. Ice maker and dispenser features returned to working order!

Unfortunately, the replacement part didn't come with instructions. The repair, nevertheless, was fairly straightforward. After removing the plastic parts that guide the ice through the door (by removing a few screws that attach the parts to the inside of the door), I was able to slip my hand into the ice maker dispenser and remove the old part. The part clips on. It is a tight fit through the funnel (from the outside of the freezer), however, and requires that the gasket first be "flipped" open wherein it unfolds 180 degrees. Doing this will make it easier to clip the new gasket onto the assembly.

This part (plastic tubing) does not show up under my model of refrig...so I had to look thru the various water lines and pick the one that "looked" right. Luckily, this is the exact replacement part and works perfectly. I removed the lower back panel from the fridge, removed the bracket holding the water line connectors and pressed the outer ring of the coupler up until it released the old water line. I pushed in the new line, made sure it was snug with a gentle pull and ran the line under the fridge up to the existing coupler. I removed the old line from the existing coupler under the front left of the freezer door, and pushed in the new line. I did not need to use the new coupler. If my old line would not have been so brittle and cracked in several places, I could have just cut out the leaking portion and popped the new couple in to mend the line back together. Easy job and we can stop buying bottled water at the store now!

There is no access to the inside of the door to replace the water line. I was able to insert a 1/4" drip line barbed connector into the old line at the base of the door and then connect that to a piece of the plastic tubing which I then connected back to the original water supply tubing with the 5/16" union. It took three attempts to get the tubing through the bottom hinge without a crimp in it. It's best to have a second person to hold the door while you "fish" the tubing through the hinge.

Tube was too short so I used the union to attach additional tubing to reach the valve at the lower rear of refrigerator

Pulled new tubing to the tank and put a union about 8 inches down from tank to new tubing. Great repair. Parts not readily available locally.