[JPMorgan]

I bought this side-by-side fridge in 2005 and the ice maker has worked fine until recently.

It started with a loud clicking sound a few months ago. Just once in awhile, the fridge would start clicking. The clicks were coming from the ice maker and were approximately 3-5 minutes apart.

In the last 2 weeks, the ice maker has stopped working, demonstrating a number of problems. I have checked the lines and the reservoir fills with water. The water freezes but does not eject. Sometimes the ice remains flatly in place, and sometimes it is raised out of the tray far enough for me to manually pull it out but it never drops on its own.

In the last few days, the ice has remained flatly in place and the ice maker has stopped any further production.

I removed the tray and found the box inside the back of the freezer that the tray slides into. I noticed that the part it slides into raises up and down. Is this a reset? A friend said that some ice makers have resets but I'm not sure if this is it or if this model even has one.

Any suggestions on what I should do before calling out a repairman?

[jim1872003]

Most like it's a central gear wheel in the ice maker.. it's easier for you to replace the whole ice maker, I think

[JPMorgan]

I have found an article for repairing ice makers and found the section for replacing the gears, but I haven't pulled mine out of the freezer yet to really look at it.

I have a couple of questions concerning the gears...

1. Are they always made of plastic or can you get metal gears?
2. Do they have a tendency to break?
3. If so, how often can I expect to need it replaced?

Thanks for your help,
J.P.