This was mentioned in a previous post about my home warranty company failure. I ended up purchasing and installing the fan myself.
What to do
If you hear a loud whirring sound from your refrigerator, pull it out from the wall, remove the cover from the lower part of the refrigerator back and verify the noise coming from the fan. This is a part that commonly fails. When I got down there it was blaringly clear the sound was coming from. My guess was the bearing had gone bad in it.
While I wanted to replace the fan ASAP to prevent complete failure and loss of food, I was price shopping as well. I called around the area where I live and was shocked they wanted $120 for a fan I could find on Ebay or Amazon for under $60. I preferred the under $60, but I was also worried about accidentally getting the wrong fan.
Where to order
Home Appliance Parts suggests you contact them with your model number to make sure you’re ordering the correct part. I had already figured out I probably needed a Whirlpool/Kenmore W10124096, but it was really nice having it confirmed before I clicked the order button. I had the fan the next day.
How to replace
The only hard part about this repair is the awkward positioning. I pulled the plug on the refrigerator to make sure I wouldn’t get an electrical shock and made sure to keep my body parts away from the condenser — they get incredibly hot.
The package contained everything I would need — even new mounting screws. A little assembly is required to attach the fan to the motor and the electrical connection, but you have the old fan to assure you how everything goes. Getting the old fan out and installing the new one took all of fifteen minutes. I used a socket and ratchet to remove and replace the mounting screws.
I plugged in the refrigerator, it kicked on, and a soft, barely perceptible whirring came from the refrigerator. And I got it done before the fan completely failed and allowed the condenser to overheat and bread down.
I think I heard from the warranty repair company a week later. I laughed and said it was all taken care of.
Oh, by the way — while you’ve got the back off why not clean the coils of their accumulated dust and hair. That will extend the life of the refrigerator.
