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need help fixing this

rh71

rh71

No Lifer
UPDATE>> fixed.

This is the inside door panel of a Merc C300. In all their engineering genius, they decided to use a plastic door handle with a plastic loop that takes the stress of a lever-pull. The ring breaks over time, a now-common issue, and they don't sell the handle by itself. The whole panel costs $650. A junkyard wants $300.

Does anyone have any clever ideas on how to clamp/solidify the ring so it doesn't break again? It's just crazy-glued back together at the moment. We tried putting 2 washers above and below it but the clip that slides into the hole (pic 2) leaves no space for additional pieces to collar it. Seems the only other option is to fabricate something to hold the ring as one.

yJ42QIr.jpg


XaepeP8.jpg
 
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I don't know what the parts do, but based on the one pic I see, I'd consider sleeving the shaft with nylon, drill a hole in the shaft, and fit it with a tension pin to hold it in place. To prevent wear, use a copper washer beween the pin, and the metal body.
 
Nylon good ^^, or a brass bushing with a flange. Just epoxy it on the peg.

Washer + bushing with the flange facing the open end.
 
Maybe a long shot but parts houses sell universal bushing kits for where the shift cable connects to the range selector at the transmission. Maybe thats a close enough size to try?

Something like this-

$_35.JPG
 
Wish you had a pic of the broken part. hard to tell exactly what broke. I'd try sliding a thin washer over the plastic bit and epoxying it to the ring area on the white bit.
 
^ the metal-looking ring is actually plastic and since that loop holds the lever and takes the stress of the door-pull, the plastic ring broke. You can see the diagonal line that represents where it broke off.

Anyone have experience with Fabtech adhesives? Unlikely it can hold it?
http://www.fabtechsystems.com/pluseries-adhesives/ $35 on ebay

Going to try a nylon strap that already has a ring in it - will try to bolt it onto the plastic shaft. Thx for ideas.
 
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Rip the plastic off. Use a dremel to grind the 'ball' on the end to the same diameter as the rest of the shaft. Slide on a $.15 nylon bushing with the correct od, then put a $1.29 two-screw clamping shaft collar on the end. Done.
 
Pulsar said:
Rip the plastic off. Use a dremel to grind the 'ball' on the end to the same diameter as the rest of the shaft. Slide on a $.15 nylon bushing with the correct od, then put a $1.29 two-screw clamping shaft collar on the end. Done.
Click to expand...

Maybe I'm misunderstanding and it may be my fault for not clarifying where it's broken, but all that work is to the piece that's NOT broken (the part I'm holding) right? We need to address the handle-side of things since it won't hold due to the broken metal-looking, which is actually plastic, ring. (see arrows)

Qi2tSMe.jpg
 
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rh71 said:
Maybe I'm misunderstanding and it may be my fault for not clarifying where it's broken, but all that work is to the piece that's NOT broken (the part I'm holding) right? We need to address the handle-side of things since it won't hold due to the broken metal-looking, which is actually plastic, ring. (see arrows)

Qi2tSMe.jpg
Click to expand...

Ahhhh gotcha. I thought the white piece was broken.

In that case, get a good 2 part epoxy like jbweld. Put a piece of saran wrap over the white plastic piece and slide it into the hole. Then Glob the jbweld over the entire thing, and move it back and forth to make sure the JBweld doesn't interfere with the motion. The plastic wrap will keep the jbweld from adhering to the moving bits.
 
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Dude, do not, I repeat DO NOT use epoxy/welding at all. If you ever need to replace the door handle our site latch or other things you will have a major pain in the ass. Do a simple Google search for "door lock rod clip" and you can purchase these things. I've seen them at Autozone/O'Reilly's before as well. Fix it right and next time you work in that door you won't have a major headache.
 
Also please consider, this plastic clip allows the rod to twist freely inside the hole in the handle. As the handle moves, the rod must rotate. This is an extremely easy fix with right part. Fix it right the first time, it's easier in the long run.
 
Morgan Fisher said:
Dude, do not, I repeat DO NOT use epoxy/welding at all. If you ever need to replace the door handle our site latch or other things you will have a major pain in the ass. Do a simple Google search for "door lock rod clip" and you can purchase these things. I've seen them at Autozone/O'Reilly's before as well. Fix it right and next time you work in that door you won't have a major headache.
Click to expand...

That's not the piece that's broken....
 
Had a similar situation with my Jeep which I also repaired with 2 part JB weld. In your case I would re break where you had previously crazy glued an apply a small dab of epoxy to the inside of the seam. Then perform a similar procedure as Pulsar describes, dabbing a layer over the narrow outside edge and the top and bottom of the flat area surrounding the hole.

A couple watch outs: It is difficult to tell how much room the tab piece has when inserted into the ring, if it is a snug fit and the ring is has minimal vertical play between the collar and tabs the be careful with how much epoxy you use. You can always file excess dried epoxy away, but it could get tricky if you get a large amount inside the ring, or enough on the top or bottom to prevent the tabs from being fully pushed through the top of the ring.

If you have never used 2 part epoxy, give yourself a dry run and experiment on something before you work on the car. Its nasty stuff, not the most forgiving as far as mistakes go. It dries faster than you would expect once you have mixed it, and it spreads like molasses at first but firms up quickly. Whatever you use to spread it will most likely have epoxy on it for the rest of its life.

I wouldn't cut or drill into the plastic of the handle unless it was a last resort before buying a new one. If epoxy alone ends up not holding I would probably find a thin piece of stainless or aluminum, cut and drill it to match the shape of the arm, and then epoxy it into place along the length of the arm to reinforce the end. OR possibly use a filler rod, bend it around the end so the lengths run down the left side, and then epoxy the entire length of the rod to the handle.
 
You could try getting something like this spring clip and epoxy it around the ring

spring_clip_4500.jpg

Just cut out the portion you need with a dremel with a cut off disk
 
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The silver is indeed plastic which is why it broke simply by repetitively pulling.

ghetto fabulous fix:

bwPuyBUl.jpg


You can't see it in the pic but a small metal plate is also screwed in to support the broken side of the ring. All seem to hold pretty well so far.
 
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