Seal on freezer door of 1987 Dometic fridge

[BobBeery]

I got some mold in my fridge because I forgot to prop the door open between trips. After washing all down I still had some dark residue that I couldn't get off where the seal fit into the freezer door. Silly me slowly pulled the seal out to wash seal and groove. Bad mistake. I could not push the seal back into the groove on the door, despite best efforts of fingers, screwdrivers, etc. I was a bit sleep deprived so I wanted to take the door apart to get the seal on. But the hinge screws went thru both halves of the door so I took the door off the hinges. Second bad mistake. The hinge is not all one piece and is spring loaded to boot. After washing everything I tried to put things back together. First I stripped out the threads inside the door. Still don't know why, I barely snugged them. Went to hardware store for next size fatter screws. Got door installed and tried it. All fine except not enough spring tension to keep door all the way closed. There was no way my fingers were strong enough to rotate the springs another quarter-turn and still hold the door, hinge, screw, and screwdriver. So I pulled out the spring sockets from the fridge jamb. Then I turned the socket the right amount in the right direction, installed the door and hinges both sides. Last I rotated the socket back to its proper position and snapped them in place. This must have been how the factory did it. The springs hold the freezer door closed just fine. Only problem is that when I removed the spring sockets I broke the locking tab off one of them. That socket will not stay rotated. It backs up and takes the spring tension off that side. It is livable and usable for now but if I can but a replacement socket from Dometic I will do this all over again some time. Moral--wash as best you can, use a bush to get bristles along seal edges,then leave well enough alone.