[07lilredwagon]

Hi, Guys...

My latch door was damaged by the PO and was not working...it was stuck in the open position and would not close. I was able to take it out fairly easily as it just clicks in place.

I discovered that the springs and hinge rod were bent which caused the binding.

Here's how I repaired it.....you may need different materials for the repair..and hopefully your housing is not cracked...so you will not need the epoxy weld I used to repair mine....

1) epoxy weld or JB Weld for plastics....(note: I drilled a small hole in each side of the break and inserted a pin to help give the material some structure)

2) Plastic or aluminum sheeting. (If using aluminum, drill a few holes in the material so the epoxy can ooze through them)

3) pliers, sand paper, a file, and some alcohol to clean the plastic where your glue will go.



Here are the pieces after I straightened the hinge pin and springs. (they are pretty soft metal and bend easily)



You can see the epoxy I used to strengthen the hinge area, and the piece of 060 plastic sheet I used for the housing lip. I bend the plastic first, then glued and clamped it in place.







Here is the top side...the side you see when you open the hatch:




Door in place: (note the space needed in the epoxy for the one door hinge in the middle...I just pushed the epoxy back while it was setting up)



Inserting the hinge pin: (Note that the hinge pin has a pointed side and a knurled side...pointed side goes in first)



Insert the Spring: I found that I had to slide the spring forward into place so the small end that was extending down past the hinge area would end up in the right orientation. This is what give the spring its tension. (Sorry I could not photograph this and hold the hinge at the same time!) You will see how it is oriented when you take the assembly out of the car.



Then, slide the hinge pin through the hinges and assemble the second spring the same way. I used some small pliers and gently pushed the knurled end of the pin into the plastic...



A working door!






Hopefully if this happens to you, the housing will stay in tact, and you will just have to straighted out the hinge pin.....


JP