Do-It-Yourself Story

My problem started with a rusting condition in the ice bin that spiraled out of hand. I took apart the ice bin and all the hardware thinking I could clean it with the suggested baking powder. Plastic parts cleaned up like new, metal parts were pitted. I wire brushed and sanded the parts put it all back together and gave it a try. All appeared fine then two days later the ice dispenser stopped. I watched a couple of videos and most pointed to the ice auger motor. One video specifically said you shouldn’t be able to turn the auger by hand, that was a sure sign it was bad. NOT True. No doubt all the videos are fantastic on this sight. What wasn’t expected was rust. I couldn’t remove the motor to test it because the drive bar was rusted solid. Since it moved freely by hand and had to be bad I ordered a new one and cut the other one out by cutting the drive bar shaft with a Dremel tool. Once out but ruined I tested it and it was still working fine. I replaced the motor, Drive bar, rusty front plate and door switch. All very easy jobs. It wasn’t a surprise when it didn’t work. The video then said 2nd most likely, the Ice actuator. Again, great video on how to take the door apart and remove it, only the rusty screws turned into a nightmare of drill outs. The water supply unit and actuator come out easy. Replacing the actuator is easy. The hard part is getting the water tube back in place. I read about that problem and expected it. I tried tying string to it, tried tape and even wire but it’s a perfect fit. What I found that worked on the first try was a drinking straw cleaning brush. Push and twist it in about 2 inches, feed the wire handle through the hole and pull hard but slow. A little soap on the outside of the tube would have helped. Once it’s through hold it so it doesn’t pull back through while your pushing the unit back in. It’s still hard to believe the rust behind the scenes of a stainless steel side by side. If there wasn’t rust the repair would be a twenty minute job.