Frigidaire 5304507199 Door Gasket OEM Part

Frost & ice were building up inside the top of our upright freezer, so I replaced the door gasket. First I'll make my long story short, then I'll tell the longer story for those who might be interested and might benefit from my experience. Short version - The whole project took about three hours, but less than an hour of that would have been required if I were more of a handyman and if the freezer hadn't had prior work done on the door for the same frost buildup problem. Long version - When our freezer first began experiencing frost buildup several months before, I called out a handyman to fix it. Apparently this freezer model is prone to ice building up inside the molded plastic shelves in the door panel. That had happened to our freezer and had caused the door to sag and get out of alignment. The repairman removed the door so he could remove that built-up ice. This included removing the door panel and door gasket, then replacing them, and remounting and realigning the door. When he reinstalled the old gasket, he used silicone to attach it to the door. Removing that old silicone is what took most of my repair time. Had I not had to deal with the old silicone, the job would have simply consisted of loosening all the screws holding on the door panel (screws hidden under the gasket), pulling out the old gasket, installing the new gasket, and retightening the screws. I'm not a great handyman, but I believe just about anyone can do this job. Remember, though, that simply loosening the screws and pulling out the old gasket does not necessarily mean that the door panel has loosened enough so that you can easily slide in the new gasket; the panel can get hung up on the screw threads and leave too narrow a gap. Gently pry the edges of the panel out a bit to increase the gap. Also make sure you're sliding the right part of the new gasket into the channel behind the door panel; I first tried inserting the wrong part of the gasket and thought the gasket was a good inch too small for my door, but it was just my mistake. I also suggest checking for instruction videos before tackling the project, if you're unsure of yourself. One such video suggests only removing the top half of the old gasket before starting to install the new one; I think that was a good idea because the lower half of the old gasket helped hold the door panel steady as I installed the top half of the new gasket. I used a hair dryer on low heat to try and straighten out kinks and ripples in the new gasket prior to installation. The gasket had been packed very carefully, though, and there really weren't many true kinks, and those weren't particularly bad. I eventually gave up being able to get rid of the small ripples in the gasket (and there were quite a few), so I just went ahead and installed the gasket, and it worked fine. The difference this project made was immediate and amazing. The new gasket produced a seal like the door had had when the freezer was new. A week later I'm still having to get used to having to give the freezer door a good tug to get it to open now. The freezer still had just a bit of frost and ice which I had not been able to fully remove before doing the repair, but every bit of ice and frost disappeared within a few days of replacing the gasket. I'm very happy with the results, and I urge anyone having similar problems not to wait months before tackling the project like I did. It's really quite simple if the old gasket has not been stuck in with silicone adhesive as mine had been from the previous repair work.

Replaced the gasket with a new one. It was easier than I thought. Looked at YouTube video and proceeded. Not difficult just time consuming. Many screws to take out and put back in. I removed the freezer door from the freezer and laid it flat at about waist height. Started at the top of the door and took 1/2 of the screws completely out and removed the old gasket. Once gasket removed had to clean the dirt and mold from the edge of door. Installed the new gasket starting at both corners and slowly ensured the ridge of gasket was completely under the inner skin and started putting screws back in the door ensuring the gasket was pushed in all the way before tightening screws. Did not out put the screws in all the way. Only tightened enough to hold gasket. Placed 2 clamps one on each side of door to hold gasket in place at the middle of the door. Took rest of the screws out and removed remainder of the gasket and cleaned the area. Proceeded doing same thing as previous, starting in the corners and working the gasket into place. Installed the rest of the screws and went around the entire door tightening the screws down to completely hold gasket in place. Noticed that the “bearing hinge” at the bottom of the door was quite worn and decided to reinstall door. Will order new “bearing hinge” and install at a later date. Once door was reinstalled took a hair dryer and warmed the entire perimeter of the door and then closed door and taped it securely in place for 24 hours to ensure gasket aligned and set properly. Entire job took 1.5 hours. Needed assistance to remove and reset door in place.

Replaced seal on door with New Seal from Appliance Pro. Was surprised to find out that the new seal (and the old) fit into a groove along the edge of the door. It was only necessary to partially loosen the existing screws to both remove and install the new seal. Per the instructions, I used a heat gun to soften and shape the new seal for a tight (proper) fit on the door frame. I used a hobby heat gun at it's lowest setting. I recommend that you use your wife's hair dryer instead, or be very careful of applying heat to the new seal. I also used a power screwdriver at it's lowest torque setting.

Replaced the gasket. Realigned door by loosening top bolts AND bottom bolts on door hinge and retightening while having another person lift up on door handle.

Screws hold seal in place, removed them and installed new seal. Done in less than 30 minutes. Thanks for the fast service you provided to include shipping. Great doing business with Appliance Parts Pros. I highly recommend you to my family and friends that need parts. Thanks again.