Refrigerator Door Gasket

The old gasket was obviously gapping, partially from age and partially from damage during a move. To make the repair, I loosened the screws that are under the gasket and hold it in, but did not remove them. Once all were loose, I removed the old gasket, then starting at the top, ran a thin bead of food grade RTV under the portion of the door that captures the gasket. I put the sealant on that edge only, then carefully worked one of the short edges of the gasket under the plastic and tightened all but the corner screws. I then ran the RTV down the inside of the hinge side of the door and repeated the process, this time tightening the top screw and the hinge side screw at the top, but leaving the bottom most screw loose. I repeated the process on the opening side of the door. The bottom was the hardest because the gasket seemed just a little long and it was hard to get the RTV up and behind the door portion, but after a couple tried I got a good bead of sealant then slid the gasket under the door capture and tightened all the remaining screws. After closing the door, it was obvious that there were places were it did not seal well. I used some cardboard strips, cut from the box the gasket came in, to place inside the freezer, between the hard plastic of the door and the inside of the gasket where it laps over the screws. This helped a lot, but there were still a couple small areas, so I used more cardboard, from the outside, between the main portion of the gasket and the rim of the gasket. This eliminated all the gaps. I let this sit overnight and this morning removed all the cardboard for a great sealing freezer.

Removed old gasket by loosening all the screws. Inserted new gasket. Be careful to prop up the plastic shell so that ALL screw holes line up, especially at the bottom, and that shell is not tilted. Then carefully insert gasket inch by inch and fasten very other screw, best from bottom up. Make sure that the gasket lip is clearly under the shell and engaged with it. Before you do anything you have to straighten out ALL the kinks with a heat gun. Do not get too close. It takes a while.

The called for part is the wrong size due a false correlation between the called for part number and the PartSelect number. I order twice and each time it was a 31 by 65 in. gasket not the appropriate 31 by 60 in.. Both were returned but no resolution.

After receiving the part in the mail I removed it from the box and laid it flay on the floor. I had to use a hair dryer to CAREFULLY work it flat from the shipping. This took about an hour and a glass of scotch. I then let it sit over night to get the gasket as flat as possible. The next day I unloaded the freezer, unplugged it, and pulled the old gasket off by removing all the screws. I carefully slide the seal out of the track and did not remove the cover from the door. I left the door open for a couple hours to completely melt all of the ice and clean out the interior. I put the top and bottom of the seal in the track and carefully worked the sides in. It helps if you use a few screws to hold the gasket in place. Then easily pull the gasket to position it correctly. Using a screw gun with a clutch will help since there are quite a few screws. Check the seal by closing the door and see how it seals. It may be necessary to use the hair dryer to get the seal to pull up to the freezer body. Close the door and plug it it. Wait a few hours before putting in any food. Take your time and having a helper will make it go quicker.

I did watch a repair a utube video which I asked for when ordering. Pretty much followed most of the directions but:

started in left corner an lossed all screws from left to right. took off old gasket in small sections and inserted the new gasket and semi tighten screws

proceeded down left side then right little by little as above. to get to bottom of door.

bottom corners were a little snug to get them into place. the last corner was snug but once connected. tighten screws not too tight. You dont want to strip them.

test door with piece of paper.

if paper is not a snug tug, you can adjust gasket with a hair dryer set to low.

it was easy. freezer is all set.

Partselect was great to deal with, support verified the part number was correct for my freezer and help with that video.

This did not fix the problem. Call a repairman and he cannot come until 9/11. Food is staying frozen. Alarm sounds for awhile and then shuts off for a bit.

Loosened the screws all around the door. easier if you take the door off the unit and lay it on a table. Cover the table with a blanket to protect the door finish. Old gasket just pulls loose. Press the raised bead on the new gasket under the plastic strip. Corners were the most difficult. Retighten the the screws and rehang the door. It took some practice to get the bead under the plastic strip.

We are not handy, we had an appliance repair person install the gasket.