I’m confident it’s the compressor. I have previously replaced the startup capacitor and fixed this fridge. I could play audio for you and you’d hear it—a big clank when it starts up, a loud whirring while it’s running, and a clank when it shuts off. It’s still cooling fine though, so I have days / weeks to fix it.

It’s straightforward to access and has extra room, so I think just about any compressor would fit in there.

This is one that might work.

 What’s the budget way to do that? I called a random local shop and they said $900, but I feel like it’s just an hour or two of work for someone with the tools.

This refrigerator only cost $600 new, but I’m totally willing to spend up to (and maybe a little above that) to fix it. It would be more of a pain to get rid of this and buy a new one, get it to the house, etc. than to just swap the compressor.

Should I buy the tools and learn how to do it myself?

Related rant: why in the world are refrigerator compressor lines brazed in place? Couldn’t they use removable connectors like auto compressors have? Come on people, this is a mechanical failure part. The lifespan of a refrigerator shouldn’t be limited to the life of the compressor.

⟐ Answer edited January 03, 2025 at 12:50 MST