Evaporator Fan Blade

Our 48" Built-In KitchenAid Frig (1999 model)started getting very noisy about 3 years ago. Two different repairmen plus KitchenAid said 'that was the way it was'. I figured out the noise was coming from the evaporator motor/fan but the repairmen said it was just because moisture was freezing on it and replacing the evaporator motor/fan probably would not make a difference plus it would be very expensive. When I discovered PartSelect and that I could order the parts (about $80) myself I thought why not. It was simple to replace. Removed cover inside freezer compartment - detached bracket and electrical wires - replaced with new motor and fan. Now you can hardly hear the frig running and it runs half the time - more efficient. I can't believe we lived with that noise for so long. Thanks to PartSelect I proved KitchenAid and the repaiirmen wrong and did it myself! Thank you PartSelect!

Removed Freezer drawers.

Removed the 4 screws holding the freezer back cover.

Removed plastic cover off Temperature sensor and the cover that directed the airflow.

Unplugged fan and disconnected the clip holding the motor.

Removed grommets from motor and installed on new motor.

Attached new motor and clip to fridge and reconnected.

Reinstalled back plate and out all 4 screws back in.

Plugged fridge back in and new fan motor was working, and there was an immediate difference in the temp in fridge.

4 days later fridge is working fine

about half my time was spent figuring out how drawer front and back panel were held in:
remove wire baskets
lift freezer drawer front to remove
remove ice maker...held in by 3 screws,then unplug
remove back panel screws
then on this model, there is a vent towards the top of the panel that is held in by unseen plastic clips on the top left and top right that had to be pressed in with a screwdriver to remove
unplug freezer evap motor also held together by clips
remove and replace motor (old fan blade pulls off and slides on new motor shaft)
plug motor back in
reinstall back panel
reinstall ice maker
reinstall drawer front and baskets

Removed six screws from cover in the back of the freezer. Removed old fan . Removed power wires from old motor. Unclipped old motor from the mounting bracket. Replaced old motor and reversed the rest of the parts. Done

simply removed wires from the old motor and gently lifted it out by by the metal clips - put the old bracket on the new motor, snapped on the new fan, replaced the wires, reinstalled the shield. All done in about 15 min.

remove shelves in freezer compartment incl.holders(slide up to remove)
Remove lamp/shield
Remove panel (six phillips screws)
disconnect motor
pull off fan blade
squeeze bracket holding motor to remove
remove motor.
Re-assemble (in reverse)

Power down the refrigerator with the disconnect switch under the upper panel. Empty the freezer. Remove the bins and shelves. Use nutdriver to remove the screws holding the back trim panel in place. Remove the panel. Take picture of the wire connections going to the motor. Remove the motor mounting bracket. Remove old motor/fan assembly from bracket. Press new fan blade onto new motor. Transfer each wire from old assembly to matching location on new motor. Mount new motor to bracket. Remount bracket to freezer. Reinstall back panel. Turn power back on. Enjoy quiet refrigerator.

Take pictures of original setup in case you need to refer back and turn off power at the panel. Remove the White panel in the back of the freezer ( 16 screws). Unscrew two screws holding the motor / fan blade and remove. Remove the hot/neutral and ground wires and remove the motor/fan unit. You will have to use the old brackets as the new motor does not come with them so don't throw the old motor just yet. The brackets will have to be removed from the old motor by removing two 1/4 screws and placing the brackets onto the new motor in the same fashion. Once this is complete, just reassemble new motor in reverse order. since the fan has to fit into a tight opening and the mounting brackets have to line up to screw the whole unit in, I assembled everything lightly tightened and mounted the unit to make sure the screws lined up and the fan blade had clearance in the fan opening so that it did not rub. Since the bracket screws are not 100% tightened, this allows some wiggle room to adjust. Once everything is lined up, tighten all bracket screws 100%. Insert the wires and your ready to go. Reinstall the White panel and 16 screws. Motor has been working great since installation.

Steps to replace Whirlpool evaporator fan motor
1. Watch numerous DIY Youtube videos
2. Move frozen food to refrigerator section, close refrigerator door
3. Cut power to refrigerator
4. Remove all shelves and bins in freezer section
5. Back panel has two parts, a top and a bottom section
6. Unclip small shroud covering screw bolt in upper left corner holding top panel. Remove screw bolt
7. Gently pull and work top panel out
8. Remove screw bolts from all four corners in lower panel and remove bottom panel
9. Verify power has been turned off
10. Unclip grounding wire
11. Unclip evaporator fan motor from power
12. Remove whole cradle holding evaporator fan motor. Note orientation of cradle. Fan blade is slightly angled toward the back of freezer. In other models, the cradle may not be removeable.
13. Remove plastic fan with firm pull
14. Unclip bottom brace to remove evaporator fan motor
15. Replace old grommets in bottom brace and on top of evaporator fan motor with the new grommets
16. Install new evaporator in cradle and clip-in the bottom brace
17. Install new fan blade on motor
18. Place cradle with new evaporator fan motor back in freezer
19. Reclip power and ground wire
20. Turn on power and test if working correctly
21. Turn off power
22. Complete steps from 8 to 2 in reverse

Removed all drawers in freezer. Removed screws from slides for drawers on left side of freezer. Removed evaporator coil cover screws from behind where freezer drawers and shelf’s are. Removed wires from motor. Removed blade. Pressed black clip on both sides and removed motor. Reverse this process and put unit back together. Now fridge works great.

On the door cams. Just remove the top hinge on door. Replace upper and lower parts and replace door.