Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Back in my first post I stated:
"One of the existing (original) doors had a bit of damage to the aluminum casting along one edge. It's a small dent or crease upward (away from the car) that caused a tiny crack in the cast metal."
As I removed the finish from the doors I discovered the other door also has a hairline crack in exactly the same location as the first. However this door has no damage to it (it's not bent like the other one). I wonder if there was some sort of manufacturing issue with these doors that lead to the cracks? I'm still not certain how the first door became bent upward in the particular location. But the fact both have similar cracks in that spot is curious. The crack in the first door is larger but it was not obvious until I started looking closer at the bend. And it turned out to be bigger than I thought once everything was stripped. The crack in the second door was not visible at all until the finish was removed. So who knows how many other X's have cracked headlight doors but it doesn't show.
Perhaps one explanation for the cracks (and possibly the bend) is stress from the motor driving only on one side of the door? As the pivot bushings become dry and corroded they get stiff (we've seen some bushings that actually broke apart). That may put force cross the top of the door in between the two bushings as the motor torques it. And that is where the cracks are located.
"One of the existing (original) doors had a bit of damage to the aluminum casting along one edge. It's a small dent or crease upward (away from the car) that caused a tiny crack in the cast metal."
As I removed the finish from the doors I discovered the other door also has a hairline crack in exactly the same location as the first. However this door has no damage to it (it's not bent like the other one). I wonder if there was some sort of manufacturing issue with these doors that lead to the cracks? I'm still not certain how the first door became bent upward in the particular location. But the fact both have similar cracks in that spot is curious. The crack in the first door is larger but it was not obvious until I started looking closer at the bend. And it turned out to be bigger than I thought once everything was stripped. The crack in the second door was not visible at all until the finish was removed. So who knows how many other X's have cracked headlight doors but it doesn't show.
Perhaps one explanation for the cracks (and possibly the bend) is stress from the motor driving only on one side of the door? As the pivot bushings become dry and corroded they get stiff (we've seen some bushings that actually broke apart). That may put force cross the top of the door in between the two bushings as the motor torques it. And that is where the cracks are located.