6 replies to this topic

[PRC]

Hello!

My one year and nine month Viking oven does not seem to close completely. When the oven is on, after 10 minutes or so, the front of the range (knobs and all) become very hot and impossible to touch. I have recently been placing a heavy chair in front of the oven to keep it comletely closed, but this cannot go on.

Is there a way to tighten the tension springs on the hinges? I have been looking online for a while, and I cannot find any service manuals or anything for this model.

Can anybody help a complete rookie?

Thanks!

[PRC]

My apologies - Model # vgcc5304bss

[Ritz]

For the price of these monsters they make the hinges out of poor quality metal. I have replaced these hinges before. The door is heavy but if you open it about 12 inches you can pull the door up and off. The hinges are attached to the oven cavity. They can be ordered from Viking or one of their distributors. Also carefully inspect the oven cavity to make sure it is not bent or mis-shapen around the hinges. A lot of time the weight of the door can bend the hinges when opening it over time. Does the door look level to the floor when its opened?

[PRC]

Thanks for your response. Yes, the oven door is pretty much level with the floor when it is open. Also, there seems to be enough tension on the hinges as they hold the door open at an angle.

When I got home last night, I had a look at the hinges, and noticed that the rectangular metal plates that cover the hinges on the oven (not the door) were slightly bent. When I removed these plates (easy to do as they are held in with a single screw each), the oven closed and did not cause the control panel to get so hot. On the other hand, when I did this, a lot of heat came from the vents behind the burners - the vents at the back of the range.

So, my two questions - is there any harm in removing the metal plates altogether? Also, should there be so much heat coming from the back of the range?

Here are two photos - the first is the metal plate and the second shows (albeit blurry) how it is slightly bent when placed on a flat surface.

[Ritz]

From the photo it looks like the plates are cosmetic. But inspect closely to what the screw was attached to so you can be certain. An oven like this does vent from the rear.

[PRC]

Thanks for your response. I am pleased to hear that the heat coming from the rear of the range is not a problem. It appears as if the screws (about 1/2 inch long) are going into the frame of the oven as they cover the hinges. They do look cosmetic, so this may have saved me a $139 service call!

[PRC]

The metal pieces are called "hinge trim." Sounds pretty cosmetic to me :-)