36394 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

I looked up the brand (Kenmore) and found that there are replacement parts for the drawer rails. I put up with this problem for three years not knowing this could be repaired. I unscrewed the broken left rail and replaced with the new one. I bought a right side rail just in case all the stress of the other side being broken would cause the right side to give up too. So far so good but I will keep the new right rail for a future date. It was so easy to repair and I wasted all those years putting up with the hassel.

It just unpluged and the new one plugged in. Simple. The part was reasonable and arrived very quickly. It sure is nice to have a light in the frig again.

unscrewed 2 screws per rail, replaced with new rails with 2 screws each - couldn't have been easier

Removed the broken rail by removing two screws. Put one screw through the hole in the new rail, matched it to the hole in the side of the fridge, and tightened it - not too tight! Then guided the second screw into place and did the same thing. Replaced the drawer. Job done.

Identifying the part on the website was a breeze too, thanks to well-organized site, a picture of the part to match to my broken one, and even a video of a repairman making the repair. Couldn't have been easier, and probably saved me about $100.

Installation could not have been easier!

replaced lights in refrigirator and freezer

put block of wood under the door, removed old hinge and installed the new one. about 15 minutes

I was astonished when my part (PS306943 SLIDE ASM LH (Drawer Slide Rail - left side)arrived the very next day!!
In a big box, beautifully wrapped.
I got out my screw driver, detached the dead shelf support and screwed in the new one.
Oh it's so very nice to have the fridge working again, and so soon.
Hooray for Part select.com
The best thing since sliced bread.
Jill

First I took everything out of the fresh food door, then I removed the top hinge cover using a philips head screwdriver, and a nutdriver for the two screws holding the upper hinge. Lifted the door off the bottom pin, and placed it on the floor. Then took off the bottom hinge and used the Dremel tool to grind off the rivet holding the broken door cam on the bottom hinge. Used a nut and bolt to hold the new cam in place, and put the lower hinge back on. Then replaced the other cam on the bottom of the door itself, using the nutdriver. (Be sure to buy two cams, and have the bolt and nut to replace the rivet). Reinstalled the bottom hinge, put the door on, replaced the top hinge, and presto! Works great! Thanks to the others on this site for their stories - really helped make it an easy and quick repair!

I first rolled out the refrigerator, unplugged it, and emptied the freezer contents into a cooler.

Then removed the shelving (side by side freezer / refrigerator) and the four screws holding the back panel.

The coil and defrost heaters were covered with ice, so the paint heat gun made quick work of defrosting them.

The heaters were held in by two screws each, so replacing them with the new units took little time.

Then it was a matter of routing the wiring and thermostat to the top of the coil, and plugging them in.

Replaced the back panel and shelving, and plugged in the refrigerator.

Saw that everything was operating, so I rolled the refrigerator back in place, and replaced the freezer contents.

In a few hours everything stabilized in the refrigerator and we were back to normal.

First we removed the door. Then we had to hammer the old part off including the old rivot. We fould a screw that fit and put this piece on. We held the door in place and screwed the hinge on the main unit.

I followed the troubleshooting instructions for freezers with ice build-up. First defrost the freezer. This makes a huge mess. The tray for water buildup is very small. I suggest covering the hole so no water gets to the tray and collecting the water as it melts in the freezer. (DO NOT pry the ice off with a knife. I did that when I was 14 and punctured the freon lines.) After the ice was gone inside the freezer, I removed the back panel of the freezer (a pair of 5/16" nuts on the bottom and a pair of #2 phillips screws at the top). The panel will then just pull straight out. Make sure the ice has melted from behind the panel as well before testing any of the components.

First component to check is the defrost timer. Pretty straight forward, using the instructions on the PartSelect home page and a multi-meter (looking for continuity or the lack there of). You need to remove it and check it out of the fridge. In my case the defrost timer worked correctly (bummer since it was much cheaper than the defrost heater kit). Next step was to test the Defrost Heater. I used a common since approach which was not mentioned in the instructions. I manually turned the defrost timer until it clicked. Then I put my hand next to the glass tubes that incased the heater elements. They did not get hot. I then turned the defrost timer until it clicked again. Again, the heater elements did not get hot. Since there are only two setting on the timer, it means the defrost heater was broken. If you can hear the refrigerator/freezer running, then you are not in defrost mode. Turn the thermostat for another click. All noise will stop...and heat should be found at the tubes (behind 6" thin tin covers), if they are functioning.

Removing the defrost heaters and thermostat was simple. There are four #2 screws (2 on each assembly). The thermostat is just clipped on. It is impossible to put the defrost heater assembly in wrong. Put the panel back on and your ready to go. The 30-60 minutes is not repair time but de-ice and repair time. I used a space heater to speed up the de-ice process.

Emptied the drawer and removed it. Then took off the old slide rail. Then I got some hot soapy water and cleaned the walls of the refridge while I was down there and had everything out. I then installed the slide rail put the drawers back in loaded the fridge and sat back and said I just saved myself about $200.00. You guys are awesome we got the part 2 days after we ordered it Thank you for the great service.

Tony The Birdman

Turned off water to ref , removed bottom kick plate , got a towel and disconnected the water line plastic fitting and un screwed the (2) tube clamps un screwed the coupling and ((carefully )) slid out the tube from the compression ferrels ! ( Be careful and do not break or distort them + remember exactly the order they are removed ! Slid the protector spring shroud from the plastic tube , took ogg the top hinge cover then remover the top hinge . Carefully lifted the door off feering the plastic tube through the bottom hinge with my foot ! Got the door off removed the bottom hinge + put the new on on, then removed the door cam which was broken on the bottom of the door , lifted the door up and carefully fed the water line through the new bottom hinge . Attached the top hinge and reassembled the rest same as I had dissambled it . Turned on water ( checked for leaks ) ! All working 100% a-ok ! This company is the best ! Ordered the part at 1 pm and had the part at 2 pm the following day many thanks : )

quick and very easy to enstall