The Virtual Repairman's Appliance Help

[judi_e]

We have a Frigidaire FFU14FC4AWO upright freezer. I don't know how long it's been doing it, but it has started making a rather loud clunking noise followed by a bit of rattling when the compressor shuts off. My husband and I both immediately thought the coils must be loose, but this freezer does not have exposed coils, so if they are there's not much we can do about it. However, everything I'm reading around the net tells me this is a loose mounting spring inside the compressor.

Right now it's not a big deal, the freezer is in the utility room and we only hear it if we are at that end of the apartment. However, we are moving in a month....to a second floor apartment....where the freezer will be out in our living space. The good news is that means it won't be above our downstairs neighbor's bedroom, but it will get awfully annoying to us as we sit in our living room trying to watch a movie.

I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but I'm not sure I would feel comfortable replacing a compressor. Any ideas how we can make sure this is the problem before we pay insane amounts of money to have it looked at? The compressor is still under warranty, so if I can be sure that's the problem I can go ahead and call Frigidaire about having it replaced....I just want to make sure I know what to expect price wise.

Help?

Thanks,
Judi

[Virtual Repairman]

Hi Judi;

I agree that the compressor should not be clunking as it shuts off. This indicates internal wear on the motor mounts inside, and while this is not an outright failure, it does indicate a decline in the overall integrity of the sealed system.

Frigidaire handles its warranty by providing the compressor only. They must send an authorized Frigidaire servicer to do the work under warranty. Labor is not covered, unless it says so in your Warranty. The only way to get pricing is by asking the servicer what the charges are ahead of time to replace the compressor under warranty. (The servicer also bills Frigidaire for a share of the warranty claim later.) Prices vary a lot, usually ranging from $175-$275.

Sealed sytem work such as this is not something I would ever recommend that a lay person even consider doing themselves. Much too sophisticated a process requiring expensive tools and equipment you would not need unless you do this for a living.

[judi_e]

Yeah, our warranty says they replace the compressor, we pay for everything else.

Thanks for your help, I'll be calling the 2 authorized Frigidaire repair places in the area to see what they charge.

Judi