Norco Refrigerator Door Hinge

Background

While surfing the Jayco RV Forums one morning I found out that the lower door hinge on my RV has the potential to crack under load and then the door falls off.

The section of the door frame that has the hinge pin integrated into it is not replaceable. Therefore the recommended fix is to replace the door which costs >$100. 

There is a bracket that can be purchased on Amazon; Norcold 634166 Door Hinge Kit. I do not know what model frig this fits but it did not fit my Norcold Polar 8 Series N8V, This bracket is offered by Norcold as a means of preventing the door from breaking. 

I have an N8X and that exact model # is not listed however the site says;

"This kit will only work on Norcold N6, N8, and N1095 models that have doors with a smooth interior texture. If your door is waffle in texture, this will not work on your hinge."

My frig is an N8V but I did not check my door's texture .... my bad!

There are multiple videos that show how to install the kit and also how to add a DIY bracket to the bottom frame. Some forum posts said this kit does not fit an N8, they were right.

Many RVers find out about this defect when their door falls off, often while on the road. Unfortunately, this may require a door replacement if the hinge cannot be glued back on. 

Don't think that just because you bought a new door this problem is fixed Norcold still wants you to add the $20 kit to your new door!?

To date, I have had no problem with my door but decided to inspect my lower hinge anyway.

At first, it appeared fine:

... then when I blew up the picture I could see that a crack was just starting to appear on the inside of the hinge pins plastic carrier.

The Door Hinge Kit

Norcold has a design defect in their product and they have the audacity to sell you a kit to fix it! Then the fix doesn't even fit. I have no idea how my model of frig is supposed to be fixed other than replacing the door. Lousy design fixed at the expense of customers seems to be an accepted practice in the RV market.

The kit comes with a left and right lower door hinge brace. It is intended to slide over and sandwich the frame adding support to the hinge pins housing.

It's apparent that it would not take much load to break the cantilevered pin housing with a fully loaded refer door. Add to that the shock loads an RV routinely endures and you have a likely failure at this hinge point. Seriously, $20 to fix a known design problem. 

What did not fit

I pushed the bracket over the frame as instructed. It would not fit. After careful inspection, I found that the slot in the bracket did not line up with a rib that was on the inside of the frame. Sigh, I guess I will modify the bracket and cut the slot wider...

After the surgery, the plate fits better over the frame but then it became apparent that it could not be pushed in far enough to engage the boss of the hinge pin.

This bracket was not going to work on my frig without major surgery. Those that said this kit did not fit my model had it right.... and now I knew why.

New Bracket Design

I think the idea behind the Norcold bracket's design was to sandwich the frame with a clamshell bracket thereby strengthening the pins carrier at the point of the cantilever. I figured this would work but I wondered what the screw holes were for? 

I realized that one way to fix this might be to use the face of the Norcold bracket and add a nut plate to the backside of the frame. This would accomplish the same as the Norcold design but with better fastening. Additionally reusing the purchased bracket somewhat relieved my frustration with wasting $20 on a useless part.

On YouTube, I also reviewed other designs where a plate was added underneath the door and screwed to the plastic frame with self-tapping screws.

Since reusing the Norcold bracket requires accurate fabrication it may not be practical to do in the field. Therefore I decided to use two approaches. Model 1 uses the bracket from the kit & Model 2 is an entirely new bracket whose design uses the profile of the Norcold bracket.

A template for both approaches is available in a 1:1 pdf file. If the .pdf file is printed 1:1 is should provide an accurate template to make these parts. 

It is possible to avoid buying the bracket for Model 1 by using the template to make a faceplate (A).

For reference here is a photo of the parts contained in the .pdf:

Get Brackets Template

Model 1

I knew the problem was going to be lining up the nut plate with the holes in the faceplate. For that reason, my plan was to make a separate nut plate and install it into the inside of the frame with the faceplate on the outside. Then while holding the faceplate in position, with a drill sized to fit the faceplate holes, drill pilot holes through the faceplate and the frame just marking the nut plate. This ensured that the threaded holes were accurately placed on the nut plate to match the faceplate.

Nut Plate (B)

The nut plate was made from a scrap piece of 3/32 Aluminum. A slot was cut with a hacksaw and widened with a Dremel tool. After marking the nut plate as described above, 6-32 screw holes were drilled and tapped at the marked positions. The screws had to be cut to about 15/32" in length otherwise they cannot be fully installed. 

Face Plate (A)

The faceplate was made by simply cutting the back portion of the Norcold bracket off with a Dremmel cutoff wheel. No other modifications were made to this plate.

Model A Installed

Model A was fabricated and installed successfully. We will see how it holds up over time.

Model 2

Although Model 1 results in a clean and effective fix (IMO), it has not been field-tested. Model 1 is also not practical to do in the field as accurate fabrication, drilling, and tapping are required. It's not likely that RVers are carrying those tools.

Model 2 is simpler to fabricate and install. I am keeping mine in the RV as a backup. I made mine from a steel shelf bracket because it is a readily available material that is thin and strong. It also has a shape that is close to what I had in mind for the bracket. Any metal type could be used but Aluminum may be easier to fabricate using hand tools. Either can be sourced from a nearby big-box store. Just ensure that it is thin enough to be used under the lower frame.

Model 2 also installs over the hinge pin boss. However, it is screwed to the bottom of the frame using self-tapping screws. I am not crazy about using self-tapping screws in plastic. This is why I prefer model 1 over model 2. 

The hinge pin hole was drilled out to 1/2" which is a bit too small to fit over the boss. A round file was used to open up the hole. 

There are 3 mounting screw holes which should be sized for whatever screws you have available.

Ensure that all burs and sharp edges are removed especially inside the 1/2" hole. This ensures that the bracket does not gaul anything. 

Washer

I installed the washer from the kit onto the hinge pin as instructed since the bracket takes up some room below the frame.

Sorry for the poor picture.

Tools/Parts

Model 1 & 2

• Drill
• Hacksaw
• File
• Screwdriver and or Nut driver

Model 1 only

• Dremmel cutoff wheel and tool
• Drill for 6-32 tap [# 36 drill, (.1065)]
• 6-32 Tap
• 3/32 metal (steel or aluminum) for Nut Plate
• Faceplate
• 2 x 6-32 screws

Model 2 Only

• 5/64 metal for the bracket; Al or steel (shelf bracket) 
• 2 x self-tapping screw
• Drill sized for self-tapping screw

Enjoy and please comment, 

Don