Yes this is an old thread that died a decade ago, but I feel strongly about maintenance and repair so I'm posting my 2c here. .
Planned Obsolescence and Prohibitive Part Expense infuriates me as well as specialized tools and affixed edges not meant to be separated. It derives from the profit centers where the companies rely on selling millions of disposable products knowing their lifespan is short and repairs are impossible or too costly. It's become a standard in many things we use today and while it allows us freedom to buy just about anything we can think of, what we buy is made with no regard to quality. (on the whole) What is made with quality cost more than many can even consider which fuels the cycle of buy, dispose of, replace. What they own isn't worth repairing as it's cheaper to buy a replacement.
I always try to repair most stuff myself and for parts like the GE fridge fan, I'd do my best to rig something that would work using a 20$ fan. Maybe I'd get it to work maybe not. At least I'd have gotten the satisfaction of trying and learning something along the way. Even if that something is should not have touched it. Which I am quite used to being I'm naturally curious by design. I wonder how many of us have that burning to tinker and make something work better or just perform maintenance on something, anything just because it exists.
There was a book I had years ago called Make It Last, written by Earl Proulx who worked for Yankee Magazine and I think it came out in the 90's. This book showed how to make anything and everything last. IMO it's a staple in every home. Anyone else ever come across it?
