How would you repair the back of this hood release handle housing?

think jedi

True Classic
As I continue to get my interior back together, all of the old problems that I put aside 3 years ago are coming back into focus. Today I pulled down my pair of refurbished deck lid/hood release handles. Mine were broken, but I managed to source and retrofit the last few machined aluminum pulls that Chris Obert made.

hoodrelease1.jpg


The problem is that the back of one of the handle housings is damaged...the part that the cable slides into from behind. I'm looking for ideas on how to do a repair that will hold up on this...any takers?

hoodrelease2.jpg


tJ
 
Without knowing how this operates in place... I would suggest you make a simple cross of sheet metal with a hole in the center square, fold the 4 tabs down to create a box, remove any material from the original boss (if necessary to maintain the original OD) and slide the box over the top as a cap. Epoxy into place. Looks like there's enough of the original "retaining step" inside the hole to continue to stop the cable end from pulling out. You just have to stabilize the cable from twisting and squirming around while in use. Just a thought....Or maybe I've jut been watching to many episodes of Project Binky
 
Yeah, I would do something similar to Tom's idea with the alteration of first keying up the surface of the plastic with rough sandpaper and "recasting" the broken, missing bit with JB Weld and use paper tape to make the external and internal mold walls first. I'd probably use some 22 gauge sheet steel for the cross and key that as well. And a bit of enlarging the square hole in the firewall/frunk wall and done!

Gives me one more job to do for my videos too!
 
I've been putting some thought into this too. One thing we have to watch out for is to be sure we shape the inside of the part such that the cable fits properly. That boss is there to keep that cable snug so it doesn't go anywhere. I don't picture it, but there is a set screw that holds the cable firmly in side the boss.

I was thinking of building a wall with tape, putting in a rod the same diameter as my cable in the center, and building up the boss again using superglue and baking soda. I'll do some tests before I commit that to this unobtanium piece first, of course.

tJ
 
I haven’t had luck with JB weld with structural repairs on this kind of plastic.
tJ
 
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I have one with both cable mounting holes broken like this. I suspect this may be a difficult repair due to the original design of the part. I think I drew it correctly below; the "lock bolt" that holds the cable sheath to the plastic housing threads into one side of the plastic (red arrow) and pushes against the cable, toward the opposite side of the plastic housing (blue arrow). In other words, the bolt is stressing the hole, pushing it open. That seems to be what causes them to break exactly like your example (very common failure). So any repair will be subjected to the same stress. And with plastic repairs being rather iffy anyway, that makes it less likely to last.

hoodrelease2.jpg


The ideas described earlier to add a metal surrounding brace (if I understood it correctly) will definitely help. But it needs to add structural strength to the two (opposite) sides of the hole, to prevent it from separating again. So it's more than just a 'mold' to form the glue, but an actual support. Something like this:
hoodrelease.jpg


Or perhaps the whole cable mounting arrangement can be redesigned to eliminate that 'pinch bolt' and secure the cable sheath in some other fashion that does not push the hole open?

I'll need to address this eventually, so I'm interested to hear what you come up with. ;)
 
Well, I came up with a plan after a visit to the hardware store. I spotted the JB Weld "KwikWeld" and thought I'd give that a try.

To address the set screw and how that design is a cause for the failure, I agree that overtightening that screw would cause this boss to fail. What I don't understand is why it would be over tightened. I've found if I tighten it too much, the cable inside the sheath won't move, which is counter productive. I think it just needs to be snug enough to keep the cable from moving around. The tension from the cable, when it's tensioned properly, should keep the sheath in place. So I figured JB Weld will work as well as anything else.

The materials:
  • JB Weld KwikWeld
  • masking tape (not painter's tape)
  • a spare piece of cable sheath or an acrylic rod of the same diameter
  • mold release
  • the broken latch
frunk-release-fix1.jpg


The first thing I did was to drill some small holes into the boss in the areas where it sheared. This is so the JB Weld will have some places to key into the piece, hopefully ensuring it doesn't just pop off the boss.

frunk-release-fix1-1.jpg



Then I sprayed the spare cable sheath with mold release. I used Pol-Ease 2300 by Polytek, but any will do...even cooking spreay if you don't have mold release.

frunk-release-fix-mr.jpg


Then I used the masking tape to build a "box" around the broken area of the boss. I wanted to make sure this sealed well, so I didn't use painter's tape since it would probably have failed. Then I stuck the cable sheath in where it needs to go. This ensured I didn't fill the void completely, which would have been bad.

frunk-release-fix2.jpg


Next, I mixed up the JB Weld and started filling the void with it. This stuff sets up in about 5-6 minutes, so once I got my JB Weld in there, I just patiently sat there, holding the cable sheath in place. After 5 minutes, I was able to gently twist the cable sheath and pull it out, leaving a nice void where the actual cable will fit in. I set that aside for 4 hours so it would fully cure. Then I removed the tape and this is what I had...

frunk-release-fix3.jpg


The boss that I built up was now too long. No worries...I just took a flat file and filed that part down so that it was level with the original boss. It's not really pretty, but it doesn't have to be.

frunk-release-fix4.jpg


Note the cable has a nice spot to slide in...

frunk-release-fix5.jpg


Then, using a set screw from my stash of machine screws, I tested it out by putting in my spare cable sheath and gently tightening down the screw. I can lift the handle up from the cable, so it's tight enough to hold it in place, but not too tight to cause undue stress on the repair. This should do. I will go install this part back in the car this evening.

frunk-release-fix6.jpg

tJ
 
I agree that overtightening that screw would cause this boss to fail. What I don't understand is why it would be over tightened.
Have you been playing with old cars for very long? :p I'm joking, but that is extremely typical - people tend to overtighten and abuse things when they attempt to do their own repairs. I suspect one related issue is the cables never get serviced (lubed) and become very stiff to operate. To the point of not returning when the handle is released. So the "repair" is to "tighten everything really good". As we know, if a little is good then a lot is better. :rolleyes:

I'll be interested to hear how the repair works out. Thanks for posting it. ;)
 
The repair worked well. The pull is back in the car and working nicely. I posted about it in my build thread if you're interested. As far as playing with old cars, yes I have experience. It was a rhetorical question really. I know why these things happen. I, myself, am as guilty as the rest of the knuckleheads that feel like tighter is better, having broken studs off in the past. :D

tJ
 
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