California Dreamer My Norcold fridge...

[None_yet]

California Dreamer

My Norcold fridge on my 1999 400 Express Cruiser quit working, only the fan works.  Anybody ever had to replace one, I'm told the door has to be removed?  Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

[BB_LEE]

I just replaced on a 40MY, It took a bit of muscle (2-3 guys) to do the work without scratching anything.. I don't think they took the door off . Make sure you solidify labor price because they tried to charge $1500 plus the refrigerator. There was no electrical work except plugging it in.

[Bob_42614]

Ours just went in our ‘01 380DA. The companion way is not wide enough to replace it with a Norcold. Long Beach Marine Refrigeration is replacing it with a Nova Kool.
As luck would have it our forward AC went as well. They will be replacing that too.

[fifthchild]

Replaced that unit on the same boat. Unscrew the compressor and tape it to the back of the old unit to get it out. Same for new unit going in.

[tomzac]

Sights To Sea I replaced the frig on my 2000 410 DA with an Isotherm CR195. If you are keeping your boat this is a much better unit than the Norcold although a little pricier.. I did a lot of research on this and even built a mock up before buying to make sure it fit. You have a half to one inch on both sides going through the companion way. All that is required is to slide off the frame off walk it thru and slide it back on. Two men can easily handle the job. My nephew also installed this unit on his 1999 40 DA. Fits like a glove.

[TitanTn]

Unfortunately you'll have to ignore every comment that isn't the exact same boat as yours. The door entrances aren't the same size. I have a 1998 400 Express and I thought I was going to have to change my fridge out. Fortunately I didn't. What I figured out from measuring is that I would have to strip everything off the back of the fridge, remove the cabin door, and then it would fit. I'm guessing you'll find yours to be similar.

[None_yet]

Thank you TitanTn for the accurate analysis of the situation. I had to completely strip my old Norcold unit to remove it. My door entrance is 20 inches and that is only after I remove the cabin door. I ordered a Nova Kool unit Mod # 8220 that is 19 & 1/2 inches deep. Once I remove the the fridge doors & possibly the hinges it should fit. Oh yes, you will need to order or switch the door opening to left opening, otherwise it will hit the front of the sink.

[Peteatthebeach]

West marine used to have the replacement condenser and cooling coils. It took me all day to remove and install the replacement part but I didn’t have to remove the frig from the boat.

[Yobub]

There have been discussions on other sites about this, so you may find guidance for your specific year and model if you search. Those discussions also frequently include instruction for how to remove the wood enclosure to make room to bring the fridge through the cabin door. Apparently removing the enclosure isn't as bad as it sounds.

I have a '98 400DA, and the wood is cracked at that entrance, likely from someone who decided a little hard work would get the fridge through.