Fridge making loud noises constantly

My fridge has been making loud noises for several days. It's very difficult to find an answer for what is causing this. All I see is 'maybe it's this, maybe it's that, maybe it's something else'. I decided to start with defrosting as a solution, so I took all the food out and unplugged it for a few hours. Plugged it back in and it still made the same noises. It either screeches, or else it sounds like a loud purring.

So when that didn't solve the problem, I decided maybe it's the fan. But I don't know where the fan is or if I could even buy a replacement fan for this fridge. It's an old fridge.

I removed the cover plate for the controls and took a photo. Is this where the fan is located? On the right:


The front of the fridge says 'Inglis' and 'Superb'. Not sure what model. There is an Energuide sticker inside the fridge with 'FIP11' stamped on it - I don't find any relevant information for any of that when searching online.

 

It is almost impossible for someone to help you with the issue, without a make/model/serial number of the appliance you are working on. Especially, since you say it is an older model.
There should be a manufacturers label on it somewhere: inside the refrigerator compartment, on the edge of the door frame, on the inside of the door, on the back of the appliance..... somewhere.
If you can't find one. Post a picture of the full appliance, with the doors closed, with the doors open. Maybe someone will recognize the make or model.

I would "guess" the fan is located somewhere behind the vent on the left. However, I am not sure if you are in the refrigerator department or the freezer compartment, cause I don't know what the rest of your appliance looks like. The fan is normally located in the freezer compartment and vented to the refrigerator side....

Is the sound coming for the inside of the appliance or the could it be outside the appliance? As there is also a fan located outside, in the bottom, towards the back of the appliance.

So, yes, it could be this or it could be that.... We can make suggestions of what you may need to look at and check, but you have to be able to make those checks. One symptom can be caused by several different items, no one thing will fix every time.

 

I just found this near the bottom


Do you still need additional photos?

 

That's a pretty old fridge. Uses R-12.
Whirlpool bought Inglis in the mid to late 80's but that unit may be older than that.

I cannot find any service info on that fridge.
I'd say by the age there is a pretty good chance the fan inside the fridge has dry/worn bearings. Oil may help but not likely. Typically the fan is located in the back of the freezer behind an access cover. The evaporator coil is also located there.

 

So you're saying the fan is behind that thing in the middle of the freezer? (Top of appliance)

 

Yes, top center...

Should be able to remove plastic piece first. Be careful to not break it. May be a couple of screws holding it in place. Should lean forward and than lift up and out, may be tight, be gentle, yet firm.
Fan is behind there.

If needed you can remove the other screws and the entire back of freezer will come out, access to the coils.

 

That center plastic cover should come off. I don't see any screws so it may snap on and off.
Be careful.... the plastic will be brittle from age.

The cover is an air shroud/director. The cold air travels thru it and down to the fridge.

 

There's definitely screws, and it might be connected to the thing directly below it in the fridge section. I might have to take the whole appliance apart to get it off.

 

You will have to lean the top towards the front of freezer, while lifting up on shroud. It may be recessed into the bottom of freezer an inch or so. It should come out with anything else needing to be removed. Go slow and easy, old plastic, years of sticky stuff being spilled in freezer of melting, etc....

 

Only one of the 2 screws holding the center plastic cover came out. The plastic cover popped out as I was unsuccessfully attempting to remove the 2nd screw.

Is this the fan:




edit: It is the fan because I can see fan blades behind it. Looks like I would have to remove that entire back panel to get at the fan, because the fan blades are too big to fit through that hole.

 

The screws I circled in red are not coming out either. They seem to be stuck in some kind of sheath. The harder I try to get them out, they're getting stripped.

 

I am having fridge problems myself. If that back panel won't pull out, it might be because it's frozen from ice buildup on the coils behind it. It can take a couple of days of defrosting for all that ice to melt.

 

There was no frost. I only 'defrosted' it to rule that out as a problem. It's hopeless because those last two screws won't come out no matter what. And even if they did, so I could remove the back panel and replace the fan, maybe the fan isn't the problem. Maybe it's something else. I gave up. It's too bad because it was a decent fridge even though it was old. Just to get it down the stairs I had to take even more of it apart, and I still damaged the stairs and the walls on the way down. Somehow I still have to get it out of the apartment and down another flight of stairs. But it's too wide to get out of the apartment. I have no idea how they got it in here in the first place. I might have to cut the coils off with an angle grinder to get it out of the apartment. This is not fun. Would have been much better and cheaper if I could have replaced the fan instead of doing all this work to manhandle the fridge out of the apartment and after I do that I have to buy a new fridge.