Thanks for the link DenMan,

Well, yesterday I thawed out the right hand side, found a wooly mammoth and Frankenstein monster embedded in the ice ;) , but there's still a block on the left hand side, which might contain some important part.

I didn't replace the shelf or ice tray but I put everything back on the bottom of the freezer section, anticipating the need to go back in... and what's weird is that it seems much better. Interior temp as measured by my indoor/outdoor thermometer is about -6 to -8F as opposed to between -20F to -30 F previously.

I did see the thermostat clipped onto a tube and just unclipped it and put it back on as I didn't see any way to test its continuity without stripping the insulation.

So, as a result of doing nearly nothing, it seems a lot better. Does this make any sense? And if so what should be done to prevent the problem in the future? As the fridge is about 12 years old, and this is the first time anything like this has happened, I was pretty sure something has broken.

Thanks,

DL

Thanks Denman.

To be more clear, the coils themselves were not covered in solid ice, rather the spaces to the lower left and right where there are some wires and whatnot.

Well I will just continue through with removing all the solid ice I can and hope for the best!