Date: Thu, 14 May 2009 09:39:52 -0600
Reply-To: John Carpenter <jcarp2001@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Carpenter <jcarp2001@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Headlight Adjuster Fix - Upper Outboard Corner
In-Reply-To: <4A0C2BD0.9070604@charter.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Good Job John !!
I was wondering myself how to keep the 'swivel action'
without machining some sort of a socket!
I really like the Epoxy concept!
Perhaps integrating the two might come up with a replacement type item?
Maybe something like a metal casing
with epoxy center for the swivel action?
Ummm wheels are churning !!! ??? ;o)
best,
JC...
On Thu, May 14, 2009 at 8:33 AM, John Rodgers <inua@charter.net> wrote:
> Yarrrrgh!! Another broken adjuster. Now I have a broken one on each side
> of the van. I was working and just bumped that sucker and it fell to
> pieces. Rotten, brittle plastic. Now these parts are NLA - What to do,
> what to do?
>
> Well, I considered it, and came up with two ways to go about this. These
> methods assume the front portion of the adjuster where the screw head is
> is still functional. In my experience it is the bases that fail most often.
>
> Solution #1:
> 1) Removed all shards of the old adjuster base, leaving the functioning
> upper part where the screw head is in place. Nothing was wrong with it.
> 2) Cleaned and lightly sanded the surface on both sides of the metal
> where the old base snapped in place.
> 3) Greased the existing screw with vaseline.
> 4) Mixed epoxy putty, and squished it around the screw and through the
> holes in the sheet metal, so the epoxy putty had physical connection on
> both sides of the sheet metal.
> 5) As the epoxy hardened, I turned the screw gently, to prevent it from
> being grabbed by the epoxy. The vaseline was the release agent.
> 6) Epoxy hardened - now I have a solid base for the screw, the light is
> now securely fastened and doesn't move around, and the light alignment
> can be adjusted.
> Comment: A certain amount of eyeballing must be done to be sure things
> are in place as this goes together.
>
> Not an elegant solution, but it works. And, it will prol'ly last as long
> as those stupid plastic adjusters.
>
> Solution #1 is a quick fix, but you Volks living in very cold climates
> may want to consider Solution #2 since we( me being an old Alaskan) know
> what cold does to plastic things.
>
> Solution #2:
> 1) Remove all shards of the old adjuster base, leaving the functioning
> upper part where the screw head is in place. Nothing wrong with it.
> 2) Clean and lightly sand the surface on both sides of the metal where
> the old base snapped in place
> 3) From 3/16 in. or 1/4 in, sheet steel or aluminum ( Aluminum is
> easier) cut a piece big enough to cover the adjuster-base hole, and have
> a bit of lip beyond the edge of the hole.
> 4) Identify the size and thread of the screw and drill a hole dead
> center of the metal, then tap it with a threading tap for the adjuster
> screw.
> 5) Epoxy this metal plate into position over the existing adjuster base
> hole, centering the drilled hole over the adjuster base hole.
> 6) Run the adjuster crew into the new threaded hole.
> 7) On the opposite side away from the light, a steel nut with a friction
> locking ring can be epoxied to the metal plate. BE SURE to lubricate the
> screw so the epoxy doesn't get into where it doesn't belong and lock
> things up.
>
> OK - there it is. A fairly elegant way to get around the NLA adjuster
> problem, and it should last a long time. If you want to REALLY make
> certain, fasten the metal plate with the new threaded hole to the sheet
> metal with a couple of pop rivets..And if you have access to aircraft
> hardware - be it a store or a catalog - you can find fiber lock nuts
> with a tab on one side that can also be riveted or screwed down to
> anchor them. In aircraft applications they are most often riveted in place.
>
> I opted for the first solution due to time constraints, but I plan to
> come back to it and apply solution #2, which - with the pop rivets, is a
> bit more secure, less likely to be affected by temperature.
>
> Regards,
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL Driver,
> Chelsea, AL
>
--
Keep On Thinking Free !!!!
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