Kenmore Refrigerator Door Sealer Repair

diy1618

I have a kenmore frig. The freezer works, but the frig is not cool (60F). I think the problem is in the door. The door can not be fully closed. I guess normally there is some kind of magnetic contact between the plastic surrounding the door edge (I call it sealer) and the surface of the frig frame. There is no such attached feeling when I close the door.

Is there a way to fix it?

joecaption

Look around it first to see why it's not closing.
Take a dollar bill and shut it in the door trying differant places, it should take a tug to get it out.
Magnets do not wear out so so if it's not sealing it could be as simple as the gasket needs to be cleaned out in the folds.
If you decide to replace the seal there lots of places on line to order them, just Google in your make and model and hundeds of sites will come up.
There a royal pain to install, most take two people. I lay the gasket in a tub full of hot water to get to relax and become more flexable before installing.

JasperST

On the Whirlpool I recently did the gasket has a magnetic strip on all four sides. If yours is the same it's not hard but you do need some patience. Make sure the metal holding strip catches the lip of the gasket and just work your way around, you will need to stretch it a little as you go. A ratcheting screw driver with a 1/4" bit made it about a 20 minute job.

JasperST

I've got a question, the seal I replaced isn't sealing. It has the magnetic strips, looks identical but isn't sealing. I'll have the refer, since it's been replaced so I was thinking of leaving it unplugged and use a heat gun to soften the rubber. Think that will do it?

Protocol.

I would just go to the hardware store and buy a gasket roller to help you install the gasket. Just looks like a handle with a disc on the end to help force gaskets into spaces.

JasperST

Thanks but I'm having the supplier pick it up. It installed just fine and I heated it a bit to soften it and help it seal but I discovered that the magnetic strips are about two inches shy of the corners. So the corners won't seal. The one I took out had magnetic strips all the way to the end. And yes, it was the right size.