3638400482 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

I took the top over off the pivet bracket and used a nut driver to remove the screws on the pivet. Lifted the door off and put on some saw horsess. I revoved the pieces of the old cam on the door by taking out the screw and put the new cam back.
I then drilled out the rivet on the bracket on the door and removed the broken cam. replaced it with the new one and used a screw and nut to replace the rivet. Put the door back and works great now.

The old plastic door closer cam on bottom of the the door had broken. What was left of it was held on by a hex head screw. There was also a fiber spacer under the cam that was broken. I made a new one out of a piece of aluminum, but cardboard probably would have worked.

Forgot to mention you have to take the door off first--loosen the two screws on the top hinge and lift the door out of the bottom hinge.

I found the self-closing sometimes won't work well until there is some weight in the door.

I Supported the door with wood blocks. Then used a socket wrench to remove both parts of the lower hinge. I had purchased 2 of these plastic closers as recommended. One of them must be cut off with a Dremel Tool or small grinder. A small bolt and nut replaces the rivet that was cut off. Reinstall it just as it was removed. Job complete.
Parts were delivered on time, web site instructions were excellent. I highly recommend PartSelect.com

completely removed door, then replaced worn-out cam on bottom of door-simple enough; then removed hinge from bottom of refrigerator; removing old cam required drilling out the rivet that fastened cam to hinge; secured new cam to hinge with small machine screw and nut. This procedure is relatively easy but does require minor mechanical ability and having a small drill and bit set. However, replacing the two cams totally fixed the problem.

i'm glad I read this forum before ordering the part because you need two of the door cams. They're sandwiched together on the lower hinge.

I removed the top door hinge, lifted the door off from the lower hinge and layed it on the counter.

I then removed the lower hinge using a nut driver.
I had to grind the rivot head off that holds the door cam onto the hinge and use a nut & bolt to replace
the rivot.

Removed screws holding top door hinge. Lifted the door off bottom hinge. Unscrewed cam from bottom of door. Drilled out rivet holding the second cam in the bottom hinge. Replaced both cams using a flat headed bolt to hold the bottom cam. Dropped door into bottom hinge and replaced top hinge screws. Job done.

Make sure you buy two cams and have a bolt to replace the bottom rivet.

Not a difficult job as long as you have a drill !!!

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.

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

Took the hinge of the top and lifted door of the bottom. Replaced cams and reinstalled

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!