WRF535SMHZ03 Whirlpool Refrigerator - Instructions

When I received the gasket I laid it out on the floor in a spare room not too far from a heat register to let it straighten out. (If it were summer or sunny weather here I would have laid it out in the sun.) My adult son did the repair - it was very easy to pull out the old gasket and to gently clean the edges with a scraper to prepare for the new install. He followed instructions and other tips but the first section took a while before it would stay inserted. Once it did though, the rest of the gasket snapped in very quickly. I am happy the seal is much improved.

just pop the old one out popped the new one in its replace.

A jar was dropped on the chef's pantry lid and cracked the lid. I unhinged one side of the lid from the pantry drawer by gently pushing outward on one of the hinge pins. The lid slid out easily. I then reversed the process using the new lid and it went in smoothly. Be sure to align the lid so it rests on the shoulder of the pantry drawer. Simple task, no tools, and less than 5 minutes effort. The replacement part was perfect.

I broke the glass in the frig and found partselect and ordered the new glass and had it in 2 days. Very fast shipping.

Loosen the top 2 screws, remove the bottom screw, unplug the wire harness, lift up the ice maker and remove. To install the new one simply reverse the removal procedure.
Note: You may want to wipe the inside of the new one to remove the protective grease or discard the first 2 cycles of ice.

repair was extremely easy.
Whether it was magnets weakened or seal getting stiff with age not allowing it to seal well, these gaskets improved it. Still not as strong a magnetic pull as it could be though. I will also say that the seals didn't pull tight at first. It seems the seals needed to flatten a bit before the magnets did their job.

Remove back cover
Remove drip thing from top to tray in the back
Remove fan motor assembly. This is squirrely. Top bends towards you, bottom pushes in to the unit. Not fun.
CAREFULLY remove copper tube that rests on drip tray
Remove tray - there are clips in the front that get released by screwdriver
Clean up
Replace new tray
Replace copper tube
Play with fan motor assembly till it fits. It doesn't look like it's gonna work until it does. See youtube videos on this.
Replace drip thing from top to tray - I forgot this one the first time.
Replace cover.

This is a simple, but squirrely, repair. Right on the border of easy (because so few tools and steps) and A Bit Difficult because of the patience required.

Watched video. Unplugged refrigerator and popped out switch. In plugged connector and pushed switch in place. Plugged in refrigerator and the light worked

I removed and disassembled the broken frame. I cut a six inch piece of coat hanger and folded in half and crimped together. Then I took pliers and made a hook that I hooked into the metal strip in the back of the refrigerator that holds the upper shelves. After replacing the frame, center rail and glass I bent the wire up under the back of the frame to provide a support. The back of the frame is weak and has no center support.

My son (who does HVAC, but not appliance repair) did some investigating by taking front and back panels off and determined that the evaporator coil was freezing over because the defrost wire was not heating up. He and his girlfriend did some real-time internet searching for diagnostic info because NO control diagram was included with the refrigerator. He determined the problem was most likely the electronic control board. Ordered and installed a new board and the refrigerator is back to working fine. Took about 2 hours to diagnose the problem and 1/4 hour to actually install the control board. Kind of disappointing that this control board failed when the refrigerator was less that 4 years old.

I initially tested the heating element and defrost thermostat using an ohm meter. the defrost thermostat was incased in ice, so I replaced it first. The refridgerator worked for about a week and then froze up again. I then replaced the thermistor and the unit is working as designed.

It was easier than I had anticipated. Just had to make sure that I was very careful in removing the old part so I did not break any of the good plastic that I needed in order to install the plastic temperature control to the new part.

I removed and replaced the right pantry end cap, as well as the drawer lid.

Talking with the service tech and youtube video it was a snap... Saved a service repair and a 25% parts mark up..

Don't try and remove the front/handle from the broken pan, you will break it and its double the price of the pan, just use the small hammer to break the pan into smaller pieces and remove handle from them then the handle will just snap onto the new pan. Piece of cake!