GE Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker Tear Down Gear Box Repair Grinding Clunking Noise Fix Stripped Gear

In this video, I'll walk you through the process of repairing a GE Opal 2.0 ice maker with a stripped gear. If your Opal ice maker isn't working properly due to a broken or stripped gear, don't worry! You can easily fix it with a custom 3D printed gear replacement (the replacement gear will work on both GE opal 1.0 and 2.0 Ice makers). Please note that bearings inside the gearbox might need to be replaced due to gear stripping. Make sure you investigate the bearings. If they are broken then the ice machine can make noises when making ice.
Tools and Materials Used:
3D printed carbon filled nylon replacement gear: ynata.etsy.com
Ball Bearings inside the gearbox: amzn.to/3Dlfue8
Ball Bearings for motor shaft: amzn.to/3Vt7Che
Right Angle Screwdriver: amzn.to/49vMNY2
GooGone Pro-Power (To clean up grease): amzn.to/3BvVPaT

[@reubengarcia4773]

At 21:44 when you pulled out the gear box. The red/Brown bearing area is leaking water on mine & the Auger sits on top. Is that Red/Brown a seal on top of the barring? I gotta change that. Awesome Video & its helping me immensely 🙌👏

[@montey26]

This video saved my opal. Thank you

[@Officalfearthewise]

Man thank you amazing work! My issue is the motor that turn the gears is making a sqeaky sound we tried wd40 / 3-1 oil issue came back a few hours later should i strip out the motor try to grease the hell out of it or just replace it?

[@TheDdang78]

What size are the ball bearings for top part that is in the middle? The one you recommended didn’t fit.

[@ashleykeeler8953]

Is that plastic gear planned obsolescence by ge? Why wouldn’t it just be metal like the rest?

[@jr-gw3si]

I have an older Opal Icemaker "GE OPAL01GENKT". Your printed gear works fine, but the motor bearings are not the "635ZZ 5x19x6mm" but rather "625ZZ 5x16x5mm" bearings. I've ordered a 10 pack and will try those when they arrive. I haven't gone back into the gearbox so I don't know if those bearings are the 695-ZZ 5mm x 13mm x 4mm size or not. If the replacement fan bearings fix the issue I'll leave well enough alone, but if not, then I'll attempt to change the bearings in the gearbox.

[@Khovreviews]

Thanks for the information. If the gears are different inside the gear box please let me know. I will update the video description with the correct info.

[@jr-gw3si]

@@Khovreviews I’m gonna have to go back into the gearbox and replace those bearings. The fan motor runs just fine until some point it doesn’t have enough power and it actually stops and it’s hard to turn by hand. I’m guessing it’s because the ice is being created and running up the tower and the resistance overcomes the power of the machine.

[@WoodClassics]

I have my gearbox open now and it looks like there are 3 different bearing sizes. The large one is 6002z and the two small ones look like 695z. The medium sized one in my gearbox was completely ground to pieces. Any idea what bearing that one is?

[@vinaysisoukraj]

grease is crazy thinking about replacing the grease with the white grease I use on my 3d printer, grease has some fragments stopping the gears from turning. damn grease is to thick🙃

[@Khovreviews]

I was also surprised to see the grease inside the gearbox. From my understanding grease is usually bad for nylon gear. I ended up cleaning up the excess grease and leaving whatever was on the gears. The ice machine is still working fine for me.

[@TravisPort-q9k]

What’s the best way to remove those small bearings from the gear box? One of them broke apart and jammed the gear box up. I would like to go ahead and replace them all while I have it torn apart. But those bearings are in there really tight. Tried using a hook tool to pry out but they won’t budge.

[@Khovreviews]

I'll try to get a video out of how I removed the bearings. I used a thin flathead and pried in a circular motion. If you pry too hard on one side then it gets stuck.

[@jr-gw3si]

@@Khovreviews Please do if it's not too much of a request.

[@Christy-mh6nl]

Any idea where I can get the metal stem (that you mentioned to be careful with or you could mushroom it) that goes through it and holds the nylon gear in place? I need this in addition to nylon gear. Gear was so stripped down I’m betting it caused it to fail. When I opened it up there was just a nub where it had broken off. Also, mine came assembled with the nylon gear in the 3rd slot that goes under the 2nd and 4th one. Your video shows it in the 4th position. Think mine was assembled incorrectly? 27:53

[@Khovreviews]

I received another broken opal. I'll take it apart and see if there is a solution for the shaft. I'll update you once I take a look. I've been busy last couple of days.

[@montey26]

Question, how do you safely pull those bearings off the motor shaft? And how do you press them back on without an arbor press?

[@Khovreviews]

I was able to shim a skinny flathead between the gear and pry it out. You have to work in a circular motion to pry it out. To put it back in I used a vice grip and a socket. Make sure to use a socket that pushes on the outer runner and not the balls inside the bearing.

[@mattbeachler]

What grease did you use when replacing the bearings?

[@Khovreviews]

I didn't add any additional grease. The gear box has a lot of extra grease in it. You're really only supposed to have a small layer on the teeth of the gears.

[@BrandenAlvarado]

One of the bearings in my Opal2.0 gearbox exploded and seemed to have caused damage to the smaller metal gear that you grab onto with your pliers. It no longer catches properly when trying to spin the gears manually. Do you know of any replacement parts for that or is that able to be 3D Printed?

[@Khovreviews]

I don't have a solution for the smaller gear now but I'm constantly getting these machines and repairing them. If I come across one with a broken smaller gear I'll try printing one.

[@jasonflanagan2757]

Where did you get the file for the gear? I need to replace mine and I don’t have a printer but a friend does.

[@kirbachumonreal526]

You find out by chance?