That fridge compressor rattled for 3 months before I found the real issue

Last week I finally cracked a call that had been bugging me since January in Tacoma. Customer kept complaining about a rattling noise from their fridge, and I replaced the condenser fan motor, then the evaporator fan, then I even swapped the compressor relay. Turned out the actual source was a loose drain pan screw that had backed out and was vibrating against the copper line, making it sound way worse than it was. I spent about 4 hours total across three visits and charged them for the parts that weren't even needed. Anyone else ever chased a phantom noise for way too long before finding something stupid simple like that?

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the_vera20d ago

Did you check the drain line for any kind of frost or ice buildup too? Those little things can make a racket that sounds like it's coming from somewhere else entirely. I've learned the hard way that the noise you hear is rarely the part that's actually making it.