3638400482 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

Remove screw at hinge cover, top of door.
Remove two screw/nuts at hinge and remove hinge while holding door in place.
Lift door off of lower hinge
remove two nut/screws at bottom of door and replace closing cam. Be sure the pivot pin hole in the cam is lined up with the hole in door.

Next drill out rivet holding cam to lower hinge on the refer. Install cam with a pan head screw and nut (to replace rivet). It will help if you remove the plastic grille cover at the bottom of the frige.

Set door back on the lower pin and shut so the the magnetic strip holds the door in place. Re-install the upper hinge loosely. Adjust the door for an even gap and tighten the screw/nuts. Re-install the cover.

A very easy fix.

First of all, It was Christmas and no extra money to pay a repairman.
i got on the computer and started looking for a parts breakdown for an older GE side by side.
I finally found it and located the part I thought we needed.
I looked at several parts dealers and yours had the best price.
anyway it arrived in just 2 days. My son helped me remove the door and we put the new part on and I just saved the cost of a service call.

Thank You

Door needed to be supported before hinge assembly was removed. After replacing broken cam doors aligned and doors closing properly.

I removed two screws at the top of the door, lifted the door off. I got lucky: the broken cam was the one on the door (easy to remove), not the one on the body of the refrigerator (tough to remove).
There is a shim which was also broken - no way to know that ahead of time. I bent a 5/8" lock washer flat and it served acceptably as a shim.
It would be helpful if PartSelect.com could include with its listing of the cam, the fact that (1) the shim will probably be needed, and (2) there's a very good chance that you'll need TWO of the cams as well.

removed top plate and raised the door off. I removed the L bracket from the fridge then noticed the part was rivited onto the L bracket. I cut the rivit and replaced the cam and used a small bolt and nut to sdecure it. Replaced the L bracket, the door, and the upper support. Only problem was the surprise rivit

Removed refrigerator door and replaced bottom door pivot with the included mating cam and the door closing cam on the bottom of the door.

I didn't know that there were two mating cams and only ordered the door closing cam which I read online was the problem. It was the number one part on the part select list. The number two part was a kit including the door closing cam and the pivot with mating cam attached. It would have been helpful if there had been some notes that said check condition of both cams before ordering the part. So I have a spare door closing cam and paid an extra $19 including $8 shipping which negated a return.

The repair is easy - getting the right parts the first time is the trick.

I did not realize I needed 2 cams to complete repair. Door cam was riveted in. I had to drill out rivet and replace with nut and bolt. Otherwise it went quite sommothly. At first I just replaced the cam on bottom of refridgerator but door was not quite right when closing. Further inspection showed the door had the other half of cam that also needed replacement. Needed 2 orders. Paid for 2 shippings.

Why don't they just tell you that you have to buy 2 cams. I have now replaced the cams on both doors. The other door broke about 4 years ago. Fortunately the first time I read the user commetns or I would've bought just one. It is a quick easy fix. The longest step is drilling out and replacing the rivet. Everything else is done with a nut driver.

Replaced the old cams with new ones, door works perfect now.

Followed step-by-step instructions in previous post. Note that there are TWO approaches, both of which work.

Option 1) Order TWO cams (PS297995), drill out the rivet holding the frame's cam, and replace it with a nut and bolt. (See post on 07/19/09.)

Option 2) Order the entire hinge assembly (PS290199), which includes the door's cam and an assembled frame hinge and cam. (See post on 10/29/08.)

We opted for Option 1 which was pretty easy. Option 2 would be even easier and take less time but costs about $9 more.

Thanks to previous posters for excellent instructions!

Buy ( 2 ) cams !!!! removed hinge cover and hinge on top of the door, ( 2 screws )...lift door off of the bottom hinge and lay door on the floor, remove broken cam on bottom of door with nut driver, ( 2 screws ) , install new cam..... remove the bottom hinge off of the front of the refrigerator with nut driver, (2 screws ).... saw rivit off and remove old cam, install new cam and secure with new bolt and nut,... reinstall hinge back on bottom front of refigerator.....replace door back onto the bottom hinge.....install top hinge back onto the top of the door....replace hinge cover......done !

We taped the door with 3 pieces of duct tape, then put boards under it. Used socket set to remove cam and then cut off rivet so we could just use a screw to keep in place. . . Just for your information, I ordered 2 cams, and was glad I did as I need 2 to make the repair. . . Didn't read about this online or on order recommendation. The cams go 1 up and 1 down thanks for the installation repair stories, it inspired us to "do it ourselves " and we saved about $75 to $100. 00

Checked the defroster coil which is located behind the rear panel in the freezer compartment, it was still working. Followed the schematics down to the defrost timer, which is located in the lower front of the refrigerator and tried that. Plugged in the new part and the problem is solved.

Took door off. Replaced two cams at bottom of door, referencing those on the bottom of the freezer door. Also followed a video on the net. Worked like a jewel!

the door closing cam works fine.