Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2018 15:16:15 -0700
Reply-To: "Richard Smith (Smirby)" <smirby@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Richard Smith (Smirby)" <smirby@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Floppy armrest - success!
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Every since buying my van (an ’87 GL Westfalia), I have been frustrated by the floppy left armrest on the driver’s side. Not just the usual “wobble” (loose Allen bolts in the hinge bracket), but an inability of the long adjuster bolt to catch a thread deep inside, and thus not being able to create the friction necessary to lock the armrest into any position other than up or down.
Today I finally tackled the problem, and it was (relatively) straightforward. I am going to share my process in case anyone else has a similar problem.
0. Take the seat out of the van. You can do this with the seat in the van, but it is more difficult. With the seat out you can lay it on its side on the ground or on a bench.
1. Drive the pin out that is holding the arm to the seat. This is a tough job, for a number of reasons: the pin is tight, the armrest cushions press against the pin as it comes out, the punch (5/16”) is inexact/difficult to place perfectly. I ended up using a bunch of “alternative” punch methods, but eventually got it out. [Very much welcome anyone’s “tips and tricks” on a better method to extract this pin… - anyone?]
2. Wiggle the armrest off. It can be tricky. But eventually it comes off. I’ve done three today and two were easy, one needed persuasion.
3. Since you’re this far, make sure the Allen head bolts on the seat side of the armrest hinge are super tight (add lock tight if you have it). Mine were loose, adding to the annoyance.
4. Remove the long bolt that is supposed to be the adjuster for the armrest. If yours is like mine, it isn’t threaded into anything and just pulls out. [Presumably it is already out, actually, since this is why you’re doing this whole production… if it is working, back out now. Don’t unscrew anything…]
5. Using a small screwdriver or something like that, pass the screw driver through both holes at the hinge of the armrest (where you drove the pin out), and use that tool to slightly move the alignment of the hinge *while you try to rethread the long adjuster bolt*. It doesn’t move easily, but it does pivot slightly in place. You may not have to turn it very far, so be gentle and easy. Eventually you will get it, feel the threads catch and then the adjuster will reseat itself. Screw it all the way in. Yay, you’re done.
My guess is that along the way someone had unscrewed the adjuster bolt too far. Then, before they could get it rethreaded, the armrest flopped down and pivoted the hinge slightly, and then you could never get it back in there. Knowing this, I might have been able to rethread the bolt with the armrest on the seat, by pivoting the seat back and manoeuvring the armrest up and down while trying to re-thread it. But, I had the rest off and that allowed me to tighten the Allen bolts (4mm, by the way).
In the end, I also removed the passenger left armrest and fashioned a rubber ‘fake’ bracket that I could run the Allen bolts through, hiding the hole it leaves there. This makes passing through to the back easier, pleases my wife (who never liked the armrest), and makes pivoting the seat to rear-facing mode WAY easier, as you don’t have to fight the clearance between the door and the handle and the seat and the armrest.
And I get to have both arm rests working, which is what I wanted in the first place.
By the way, Alistair (shooftie) also had armrest problems and he - like me - thought that unscrewing that long bolt was a one-way trip. Turns out, not so much!
https://shufti.blog/2016/04/24/vanagon-can-you-remove-the-covers-of-the-adjustable-arm-rests/
…r
