[80sGuy]

My fridge doors won't swing itself closed anymore; both doors, but mainly the fresh food door. It used to whenever I opened it anywhere from 15" to about half way (45 degree) but lately it just stops at whatever angle I had it on. The other day, it kind of slowly paces back to shut itself but instead it stopped and left open within an inch gap from the cabinet.
I inspected the this part (Pin, Lower Hinge) located at the lower bottom of the fresh food door and it didn't indicate any wear/tear. I wonder if it needs replacing.


This whole thing happened after when I rolled it back and forth a few times to replace the relay/overload/run capacitor and cleaning of the condenser coils. The fridge is leveled from its wheels and it is somewhat tilted back from the top. Also, not that I needed them raised but I realized that (6 years later) the 'leveling legs' were absent and was never installed! Apparently when it was sold to me, the guys had either forgotten to screw them on from the warehouse or at the time of delivery, instead, it was discarded along with the base crate (according to the manual).

What is the problem and how can I solve this dilemma?

Cheers!

[Gene]

Did you check shape of the square hole in the bottom hinge where this pin plugs in? The pin should not move when it's there. Did you check the hole on the bottom of the door for this pin?

Gene.

[80sGuy]

The 'lower pin' fits snuggly into the square hole of the 'lower hinge' metal plate. There are no signs of wear or looseness. When the fridge door opens, the square section of the pin sits stationary and does not turn along with the door.

[Gene]

I need you to check the hole for this pin on the bottom of the freezer door. It could be kind of spring inside the door which is not shown on the diagram because it is not serviceable.

Gene.

[80sGuy]

I put a mirror and reflect the inside bottom of the pin and got a glimpse of it and it looked hollow (see through) whereas the ends are sealed compared to the listed part.

[80sGuy]

Gene,
I put a mirror to the floor and took some photos of the reflections. The pin seems to look fine, but if you look carefully, the part seems to be hollow and can be seen through all the way to some metal attachment held by the door.
By the way; I hope you weren't meant to say "not serviceable" by having to replace the whole door.

01.) reflection; close-up


02.) reflection


03.) normal view by kick plate


04.) normal view by kick plate

[Gene]

Looks like the door should close forced by its own weight only (if it's properly leveled). You said it happened after you moved the refrigerator. I would recommend to check for any dislodged parts on the door, especially all hinges.

Gene.

[80sGuy]

Yeah, I was gonna wait till the food item decreases then take the doors off and see what the heck is going on in there. So does this mean the doors for this particular model is non-user serviceable?

[Gene]

There are no cam risers, springs or any kind of door closures shown on the break down diagrams. So if you'll find any then such part(s) are not serviceable and can not be repaired in-home.

Gene.