Bluestar Range RCS30 Door Hinge Repair/Fix

Awesome repair tip on hinge problems in Bluestar ranges from Appliantological Brother Rooster...

1.5 year old Bluestar freestanding gas range door would not close completely

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. This allowed heat to escape, resulting in uneven cooking temps and extremely hot knobs. (not talking about my wife!)

The Chief of Staff insisted the installer had repaired it with a "long skinny screwdriver" without removing the door.  
Well, After many beers and on-line researching sessions, I decided a few things!  

1. Bluestar definitely has a door "problem"
2. I didn't want to pay for a new door
3. We live in the sticks
4. The damn thing should work!  

So, I did the only thing any red-blooded American member of the Samurai Appliantology Academy would do,
decided to disassemble the door and finger it out.  

What I discovered, is Bluestar has a design flaw in the interior of it's doors (at least on 2010 models).  

The hinge assy spring rods:



(guessing at nomenclature, don't have a manual) float freely within the door.  However, as you can see:



when closing, at full extension the ends of the bars contact the sheet metal heat shield.  I flexed the heat shield out of the way, which allowed:



the springs to extend fully, which allowed the hinge cam rollers:



to complete their throw, thereby closing the door firmly:


.

I removed the door by releasing the receivers on each hinge:



then pulling the door from the oven.  I then removed the Door Cover by removing all retaining screws (10).  
After placing the door on a smooth covered surface ("Don't scratch the damn paint", she said with vigor!),
I used a Dremel with hardened cutting wheel to cut an approximate 1/4" incision:



on the heat shield on both sides ( Cut with the blade rotating in a direction which doesn't throw debris into the fireproof mat material underneath the sheet metal heat shield )

Then I reinstalled the door minus cover (note: the door without the weight of the installed cover will snap closed, requires more attention and less beer to perform):




Opening the door slightly allowed me to compress the springs enough to attach a vise grip:



to the tabs created by the cuts and bend them outwards slightly at approx 25deg angle:



This angle allowed enough clearance between the heat shield and the back of the door cover, and also formed a ramp upon which the spring rods ride closed.

I then removed the door, attached the cover and reinstalled the door.

Worked perfectly, door closed completely, wife happy (the most important result ), no more hot  knobs!  I also think the first repairman knew the problem and used a long skinny screwdriver to free the guide ends.  Of course, the next time we opened the door they flexed out and came to rest on the fire shield.  I think maybe he was expecting another service call???  At any rate, after much searching on the web, there are a ton of complaints about Bluestar doors.  Hope they find us here!  Cheers!

Source: Bluestar Range RCS30 Door Hinge Repair/Fix