I wrote to this site last fall and received accurate and valuable information from Gene. Since then, the microwave is again cracked and I wrote the following to GE:

Last fall, Oct 2007, I replaced the control panel frame (AP2017933) and the outer door frame (AP2033286) because they were both cracked. I received excellent help from "AppliancePartPros.com" on how to do the re-installation. This past month (Jan 2008) I noticed that the control panel frame is now missing a piece in the same area and the outer door frame is again cracked. The unit is mounted ~ 15.5" above a slide in range Model # JGS968T0H3WW and I believe the excessive heat from the largest burner is causing this. Have you had other complaints of this type ? ? Do you have some sort of heat shield to protect the microwave from the heat emanating from the burner ? ? Do you have any other suggestions ? ?

Thank you for your rapid response to this problem.

David Perlmutter

I am hoping that GE can respond positively to this request, but I thought it important to note 1) the value of Gene's information and directions on how to replace those two parts 2) the possibility of some sort of heat shield or modification to reduce the heat from the burner below.


David Perlmutter

I checked the specs on the spacing between the burners below and the bottom of the microwave and my installation met the specs. However, the burner directly below the area that continued to crack was the "high power" burner and it was ! ! I finally went to a dealer and asked them about the problem -- no response at all. They did state that the new spacemaker microwaves had larger, more powerful exhaust fans to "possibly" eliminate that problem. I gave in and bought a new microwave (same basic unit, new fan and new cost). It has worked fine for the last year (except for a noisy platter rotation motor)