The pantry shelf lid pin on the left side broke off
I wanted to share this little bit of DYI advice because it is my first attempt at repairing a major appliance. Now, don’t get me wrong; this wasn’t like a replacing the motor or anything big like that, but it probably represents reapiring the kind of common, little annoying thing that can happen to anyone.
I have a nice KitchenAid refrigerator with freezer o the bottom and French doors on top. It has one of those little slide-out shelves with a lid on it that the maker calls a pantry shelf. Of course all of the parts are made of plastic these days and that little lid is held onto the slide out shelf by two plastic pins that it rotates on to open. One of those little plastic pins broke. I have no idea how or why, but it rendered the lid much less useful and pron to falling off.
So, I went on-line to search for a replacement part and got immediately to the site. I ordered the wrong part initially and had to return it. My fault completely. When I got the correct part I looked to see what would be involved to put it on. The part, called an end cap, is the whole left side frame for the pantry drawer and holds up the glass top too, which is below the two crisper bins above the pantry. Below is what I had to do to install that part. If you just get down and look at the whole thing before you start these instructions will make a lot more sense.
First remove the pantry lid and shelf and both crispers, so that you can get to everything.
Next remove the glass pantry shelf lid (just below the crispers) and the front and back cross pieces that hold that glass plate up. Both cross members just pull (upward) right out
Next remove the frame by pushing in on the catch that is in the middle of the part. The part is basically held in place by two prongs at the rear, the two cross members that you’ve already removed, and a snap catch in the middle. That catch is the only part in the middle of the part that looks like it has a place that you can push on to open it. Don’t be afraid to break that catch, since you won’t be re-using the part anyway.
Once you have the old part out, you’ll need to remove the metal slider bar that is attached to it, so that you can install it on the new part. The slider bar is held on by two snap on clasps that can be easily forced open (again, don’t worry about breaking those plastic catches, since old this part will be discarded anyway). Put that metal slider on the new part – it does not come with the slider bar included.
Now reverse the steps that you used to get the old part out. Snap the new part in place, pushing in the rear prongs first, then pushing to the side until you hear the catch snap. Next, put the front and back cross bars in place and then the glass lid. You may now put back in the two crisper trays and the pantry tray. Finally you’ll snap into place the plastic pantry lid, placing it on one side first and then bending it just enough to get ot on the other side.
