3638480681 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

My wife and I gave an old, but really good refergerator to our son (a Major in the Army). Upon taking it into his house he had to remove the doors of the refergerator. While he put the doors he lost the "cam" for the door, making if difficult to close (actually had to lift the door up and then close it). I ordered the replacement part, and unless I am mistaken, it arrived the same day. I still cannot figure out how this happened, but it was great!!

Replaced both upper and lower cam's. Removed door from refrigerator, removed bolts on door cam on bottom of main door and replaced cam, then removed bolts from door hinge assembly, drilled out rivet holding on cam, replaced with new cam and re-riveted.

Your vidio was Brilliant !!i just followed your instructions

I followed the directions on the computer and everything went just as the video said it would. This was one of the easiest repairs I have ever done. Usually, it does not go as planned.

Removed the door and loosened the bottom bracket and scraped the old cam off. Mounted new cam and tightned the bracket. Replaced door and it was a total sucess.

Removed the top cover using a Phillips screw driver to access the top 2 screws holding the bracket. Once the bracket was removed, lifted the door off the bottom hinge. Replaced the door closing cam, replaced shims and screws. Placed the door back on the bottom hinge, inserted the top bracket and secured.
This was the ultimate resolution to the problem. The problem I encountered was getting all of the correct parts. It took me 3 tries to finally identify and receive the parts needed to make the repairs. Using Part Select made it easy because they had the parts I needed. My 3 tries were partly my error and does not reflect on Part Select. I would recommend others use Part Select when choosing their replacement parts.

1st: Order (2) closing cams! One for the hinge pin / bracket and one for the bottom of the door.
The closing cam on the door was where the Dremel type tool is required, since you have to grind the head off of a factory rivet.
I installed the cam with an aluminum pop rivet.
Next, remove the bracket on the bottom of the door with sockets and install the second closing cam.
Re-attach the top door hinge pin and align visually; tighen all bolts. Job finished, but more important , my wife is not nagging me about the repair that I put off for over a year!!!!

Turned the wire protector to the side. Turned out the old bulb and replaced it with the new. Turned the wire protector back in place and I'm like new.

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 !

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!

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

Followed the instruction video. The price was high for a plastic part the size of a quarter.

Followed Partselect video on how to replace cam riser. Very, very helpful!

Best for 2 people on this repair as 1 person needs to hold the door and the other position the bottom pin in place on reassembly. On my side by side I was replacing the cam on the cold food side, not the freezer. But I got down and inspected both the broken cam and the cam on the side that wasn't broken to understand how the parts fit together. Each door has 2 cams that work/fit together. So be sure the one you are replacing is installed properly (flat side towards the door body). Remove all contents from inside door including the shelves. Use a phillips screwdriver to remove the cover plate on the top hinge. Use tape or a marker to mark on the refrigerator top a corner of where the bracket is positioned, for proper placement on reassembly. While someone is holding the door, remove the 2 bolts from the top bracket (or the back one is just loosened so bracket can be moved out of the way). Lift door off the bottom pin. Turn the door on its side to expose the bottom bracket. There should be 2 bolts here. The furthest one from the pin only needs to be loosened. The other bolt will need to be removed but as you do this be sure to not let the other 2 metal pieces fall out. Remove the broken cam and replace with the new part. Realign the parts and bracket over the pin rod hole and tighten both bolts. Replace the door onto the bottom pin. Then add top bracket and align it to the marking and screw back in these 2 bolts. Test door for any needed adjustments (I had none). Then replace the top bracket cover with its screw. Voila! Clean the shelves and put them in the door and fill them up. :-)

Empty door first then take a phillip heads screw driver and unscrewed the top hinge cover 1 screw. Then used 5/16 nut driver to loosen top hinge from fridge. remove door by lifting and then lay on table to replace the lower washer that is held in by 2 screws and you only need to loosen one all the way leaving one in to align then replace and tighten it up your done.