Compressor swap on a 15 year old fridge, I was wrong about it

My old mentor swore I should rebuild the compressor instead of swapping it, said it would save me $60 on a Kenmore job in Dayton. I laughed him off and did the full swap, then spent 3 hours chasing a bad start relay that the new unit brought along. Anyone else find that rebuilding is actually more reliable when the original case is still solid?

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stella_lane8d ago

That "original case is still solid" is the whole ballgame right there. I've had the same thing happen where a reman compressor comes with a slightly different relay or cap that just doesn't play nice with the old wiring harness. Rebuilding keeps every mounting point and bracket exactly where the factory put it, which matters more than people think on units that have been sitting for years. Plus you're not fighting corrosion on connections that have already been heat cycled a thousand times. I'd rather spend an hour on a rebuild than gamble on a swap that might leave me chasing gremlins like you did.