Dometic RM 3862 Refrigerator Door Hinge Repair

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Not sure where this post is going yet, but I'll be attempting a repair in the next couple of days and want to let ya'll know how to do it and how it goes.

On our last trip, our fridge door hinge broke!  Cheap crappy hollow plastic!

I have it held together now with Gorilla tape!

My plan is to use a very strong 2 part marine epoxy putty from Marine Tec to fill the void in the plastic, and then use a good 2 part epoxy glue on the edges of the break, press it all together, and let it dry.  Then use a fine grit sand paper to blend it all in and hide the repair.

Why not just replace the hinge, you say?  Because on this model, and a few others, the hinge in integral to the door, and you have to replace the whole door!  150 bucks used if you can find one...350 bucks new with shipping!

Heck with that...I'll try my repair first.

If my repair fails, I do have a second option...Dometic makes a hinge repair kit, part number 3307896005.  Costs about 35 bucks for the cheapest I've found them.  They are metal brackets, the same color as the plastic, that screw in place over the break,hiding the damage, and repairing the door...sort of.  It will still look like a repair, albeit a better one than just fabricating something out of whatever.  35 bucks gives you 2 hinges, which would give you a spare. 

I'll still go for my repair idea first, so it won't look ugly and asymetrical.  My idea if it works will restore the hinge and look as good as new...the hinge repair kit will look ugly.  I'm going to try my idea first, which should work beautifully...that epoxy is STRONG stuff, strong enough to repair a 3 inch hole in the hull of a fiberglass boat as a permanent repair!  About 12 bucks, plus 6 for the glue, and 1 for the sandpaper...so for 19 bucks, and even adding another 35 if it fails, is still WAY cheaper than a used or new door!

I'll update this post when I've done the repair in a couple of days.

Kev

[audioguyinMI]

I can't really picture in my head what you're up against exactly...

In any case, I've done lots and lots of repairs to plastic parts that couldn't easily be replaced.  In fact, I have a piece of landing gear in my pocket at this very moment.  It goes to a fighter jet which belongs to a 4 year old...

In this particular case, the strongest of epoxy won't hold that kind of repair... simply too much torsional stress, and not enough surface area over which to spread the stress.  However:

I've done lots of this sort of thing and needed them to last.  So I take a very fine drill bit and drill a hole into each broken piece.  I then custom cut and dry fit a piece of piano wire of appropriate gauge.  I use it as one might use a dowel to join two pieces of wood.

After I'm satisfied with the dry fit, now comes the epoxy.  Sort of like the titanium rod which strengthens the Tibia when its broken, these repairs tend to be stronger than the original part, and rarely come back for service.  Of course, other things may break on them, but that's part of life.

I dunno if I adequately described what I did, or if it even applies to how your hinge is broken.  If nothing else, sometimes a piece of wire can be used as a locating pin to keep the parts in line while the glue dries.

Best of luck, and let us know how you come out.

Regards,
Bill

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Thanks Bill!  I'm definitely going to go with the Marine Tex epoxy putty though...when it dries...and it sets in 5 minutes, cures in 1 hour...its is amazingly hard and tough stuff.  Because I'm going to fill the void in the plastic with it it should end up stronger than the rest of the door.  Depending on the density of the product once I mix it (I haven't used it in a LONG time, so I can't remember) I'll also probably use a 2 part epoxy glue on the edges of the plastic.

So Patti picked up all the supplies needed yesterday for me while I was working on a faire related project with my buddy Matt, but our project wasn't finished until almost 9pm, so I'm going to attempt the repair this morning after my coffee.  I'll let y'all know how it turns out!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Success!!!  The Marine Tex Rapid Set epoxy putty, which is what we went with, is amazingly strong and easy to apply!  I mixed it with a popsicle stick on a paper plate, and used the stick to force it into every void, and pushed the pieces together.  The epoxy sets in 5 minutes, so before it set, I cleaned up all the overspill with a rag.  It says you can put it back into service in 1 hour!

I coated the edges with the 2 ton epoxy glue, and that I still have to sand off, but that takes 24 hours to fully cure...the Marine Tex cures fully in 1 hour!

Even the thin layer left over on the paper plate was hard to break after an hour of curing...SWEET!

The door is reinstalled, and my guess is that the repair is stronger than factory...And the sanding will be minimal...you can't see most of the repair.

Awesome!

Kev

[audioguyinMI]

Right on. 

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

http://www.marinetex.com/marinetexrapidset.html

and the putty Kevin used:
http://www.marinetex.com/marinetexepoxyputty.html

Dave

[SusanVera]

I have a Dometic RM3663 frig. with a broken upper hinge on the bottom door. I'm all set to go with the Marinetex epoxy putty, but my problem is that I don't know how to remove one of the hinge pins so that I can put the door back on once the repair is made.

I've got the instructions for changing the door hinges from one side to another that says to use 2 torque wrenches to hold the hinge pin and the locking nut. Well, I have no torque wrenches.

Removing the bottom pin would make the most sense. There's a flat head screw slot on the underside of the bracket, but it doesn't seem to remove the pin when I turn it. (Maybe I need to hold onto the pin with pliers??). Suggestions?

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Over a year later and our hinge repair is holding strong!

It was the lower hinge we removed, pin still attached to it, to reinstall the door.  Philips head screws.  There are 3 of them though.  Two obvious ones, and one hidden one.  You'll have to pull the fridge out about an inch to access the hidden screw, since it is on the outside of the fridge frame, hidden behind the trim.

Kev

[SusanVera]

Thanks, Kevin. I was aware of the 3 screws on the hinge, but never thought about pulling the fridge out a bit.

Well, I've removed the screws that fasten the fridge to the frame (2 top, 2 bottom) but I can't budge the refrigerator. The copper gas line to the back of the fridge also doesn't have much play, so I'm concerned about that. I think it could move an inch, but I'm at a loss as to whether there are some other fasteners to remove or if the refrigerator is heavy enough that nudging it forward is what's giving me the problem. There's really nothing much on the interior of the refrigerator to grab on to to bring it forward.

Looking for more of the wisdom of your experience!

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Look in back at the bottom to see if it is also secured to the floor.  BTW, these things are heavy.

Dave

[ClydesdaleKevin]

And if there isn't much give in the propane line, disconnect it from the fridge.  You don't want to bend it too much.  Just make sure you turn your gas off first!  And after you reconnect it, check the fitting for leaks with soapy water.

Your fridge should be held in with 6 screws.  On the inside, two in the top corners, 2 in the bottom.  Then on the back, from the compartment side, you'll see 2 screws screwed downward in the lower 2 corners right into the floor under the fridge.

And when I said I removed the bottom hinge, what I meant was the metal hinge bracket with the pin attached to it.

That was for the reinstall though.  On mine, the upper plastic hinge attached to the door broke right off, so removing the fridge was the easy part.  All I had to do was lift it off the lower hinge pin...lol!

Kev

[SusanVera]

I always like the KISS rule, so rather than persue moving the refrigerator and all the variables that I might run in to, I went back to trying to remove the pin from the bottom hinge.

I got it out, but then realized that I would still have problems reinstalling the door because that pin has an attached flange and goes into the pin hole from the top of the hinge bracket. It would still be in the way.

I'm going to use a machine screw to replace the pin. Screw a nut all the way down to the head, add a lock washer, then put it into the hole from underneath and add another nut on top, just threading til the nut holds. Once I mount the door, I can screw my new hinge pin upward to the proper height to hold the door and tighten the nuts onto the hinge bracket.

I did a dry fit and believe this will work. I'll let you know!

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sounds good!  There are lots of ways to skin a kitty!

Kev

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Get some self locking nuts from Lowes or a local hardware store.  They have a plastic insert in them that keeps them from backing off.

Dave