CST26GRDAWW Hotpoint Refrigerator - Instructions

The only difficult part was not knowing which parts had to be removed to gain access to the flapper to replace it. It appeared as if the frame around the control panel would have to be removed as well as the door handle; we tried but were not able to remove the frame. It turned out that the panel just popped out with the frame in place. Once we had access to the flapper, it was easy to replace it. The repair fixed the problem.

Let me start by saying, I usually hire something like this out but figured I would give it a try. The install was fairly straight forward, however it would’ve been nice if the instructions would have been more useful. Instructing me to remove one screw to release the auger and solenoid enclosure wouldve been nice. There were 3 other screws that I didn’t need to remove and they were the ones holding the auger in place, which made assembling that much more difficult. Once to enclosure was removed, and the solenoid was exposed, it was a seemless process. I would however, recommend paying attention to or taking a picture of the connections on the solenoid. I was lucky to remember or got lucky. Regardless, I was able to complete the project successfully. If I had to do it again, I believe it can be done in 30 minutes or less.

Unplugged refrigerator and turned off water valve at wall. Removed the entire back, lower cardboard panel (turns out I didn't have to do this...could have just removed the screws from the right side and folded the cardboard along a perforated line designed for that purpose). Removed screw holding water control valve to back of refrigerator. Took new control valve, and slipped on adaptors for electrical connectors (in bag) to the two smaller of the four electrical prongs). Removed electrical sockets from old connector and placed them over appropriate prongs on new connector. Unscrewed the two old water out lines, cut the old fittings off and slipped the lines snugly into the new outlet valve (new valve had slip on connectors not requiring lines to be screwed in). Keep straight which line goes to which outlet port! Then removed water line going into old fitting and screwed it on to new valve inlet fitting (after removing black plastic protective cap). Turned wall water valve on, checked for leaks (none), and plugged refrigerator back in. Water restored to both icemaker and water dispenser!

By the way, the first valve came damaged, but one phone call and the people at Part Select promptly sent out a replacement which I had the very next day (and this was two days before Christmas!). Great job!

At the front of the shelf there is a Phillips metal sheet metal screw that holds the front of the shelf in place. Its removal was fairly set straight forward but removing the pop rivet was awkward and took some time to drill out from the rear metal shelf. Once the rivet was out, it was easy finding a small screw that would hold the shelf in place since I didn't have any pop rivets that would fit sufficiently tight or long enough.

I Took the six screws off the back panel to get to underneath the refridgerator. took the 2 screws out of the bracket thast holds on the water valve took the 2 lines off and then put everything back

I cleaned out the door and removed the top hinge. Lifted the door and layed it on the floor. Removed bottom hinge from refridgerator installed new hinge. Replaced plastic stop on door. Used broke hinge to align it and tighten. Lifted door onto new hinge and installed top hinge. Instead of buying $35 dollar hinge buy 2 plastic stops. You'll have to drill out a rivet on bottom hinge but it will save over $30.00.

After easily finding the lower hinge here through Google, I paid about $30 w/shipping and had the part in 2 days. My Hotpoint fridge was made in 1987, but it still runs well...why not fix the door?

Part repair couldn't be easier. No instructions needed...just empty the fridge door of food, remove top hinge, replace bottom hinge and plastic bushing, and reverse order to button everything up.

PartSelect.com did a great job supplying a high-quality replacement hinge for my old fridge, and it's got a new lease on life now!

My right door (food door on side-by-side) stopped closing - I found pieces of the plastic washer (cam riser) on the floor. After reading the stories on the web I decided to order the new part - and YES there are many universal parts that work for Kenmore/GE. The part comes with two parts (hinge and cam riser) - you should install both to insure a good fit. I took 3 blocks of wood and a shim and supported the bottom center of the door, unscrewed the hinge off and dropped it out (3 minutes). The "only" tough part was unscrewing the cam riser from the bottom of the door - it required a very small socket and you will only have about 6-8 inches of work space. Be sure you have a socket that fits before you take the hinge off. The entire repair took less than 30 minutes and contrary to some of the posts, you DO NOT need to take the door off. Good as new again!

I unloaded the door and took the cover off at the top of the upper hinge (1 phillips screw) I then unbolted the upper hinge (2-28mm bolts) and lifted the door off. I was surprised how light it was. I laid the door down and installed the new cam riser on the door. I then unbolted the lower hinge (2-28mm bolts)and installed the new hinge.
I lubed the 2 hinges with vaseline and put the door back on the lower hinge. I then reinstalled the upper hinge and cover. It took about 15 minutes, and a lot of that was cleaning up. Oh yes, to get at the lower hinge you have to pull off the lower grate that covers the coils. It just snaps off and on. It was a very easy job.

Emptied refrigerator door shelves. Supported door with 4x4 blocks. Removed old door hinge and replaced with new door hinge and cams. Pleased with end result and dealing with PartSelect.

First I placed a 2x4 under the frig door to keep it in place while I removed the hinge on the bottom of the door. I removed two screws holding the hinge and one screw holding the washer in place. I also loosened a screw adjacent to the washer so that I could more easily remove and replace the washer. The parts went in easily. The repair took much less time than I anticipated.

Disconnected the power and then the water line. Removed the cardboard shield on back of the refrig. Then removed the faulty solenoid which was held in place by one bolt. Removed the two plastic water hoses and two sets of electrical connectors. I then reversed the process to install the new solenoid. I encountered two challenges. The new solenoid had a plastic housing that had to be removed and one set of the electrical connectors required an extension. The extensions were included with the solenoid, but there were no instructions.

Used the parts diagram from PartSelect.com to locate the valve. Removed the old valve and disconnected inlet water line and the 2 outlet water lines(one for ice maker & one for water dispencer). Reconnected water lines to new valve and positioned it back in place on the refrigerator. Problem solved -no more drip, drip, drip.

I removed the top hinge by removing three screws, I then lifted the door off the bottem hinge and set it aside. I then removed the two screws holding the bottom hinge,removed it and installed the new part. I removed the broken part from the door by removing one screw-installed the new part and set the door in place and reinstalled the top hinge. The door is now properly aligned and working like new. I spent as much time writing this as I did on the repair

My husband took out the old icemaker in about 5 minutes. The new icemaker was a perfect fit even though the refrigerator was >10yrs old. The only difficult part was the plug extension that was needed so that it would fit into an older appliance. The part was included, it just made the cord about 3 inches longer than it needed to. After working with it for about 20 minutes we were able to fit it on the back side of the icemaker. Now it works great!!