I USE ONLY ONE SPRING TO MAKE IT EASIER TO INTALL AND USE
IT CLOSES JUST FINE AND EASY
IT CLOSES JUST FINE AND EASY
Pranged my fuel door - third time 's a charm!
- Thread starter Willem Tell
- Start date
That makes perfect sense. That second spring makes for a pretty aggressive torque.
Do you "unspring" it as I suggested to re-mount?
Do you "unspring" it as I suggested to re-mount?
I checked on my project car. It will be tricky to take that measurement with the door installed. Mine hits the front seal first also, and the back sticks out about 15mm.
Thanks Markos.
Yep, I couldn't get access to measure that gap. Perhaps later this year, after the driving season, I will take another crack at it!
Yep, I couldn't get access to measure that gap. Perhaps later this year, after the driving season, I will take another crack at it!
Thanks Markos. the display is pretty dark, but I read 70.15mm, correct? At some point I'll have another go at it, but probably after the driving season! (Too many other projects!)
I asked Oldenzaal (seller) about this, whether it could have been bent, etc. They confirmed this misalignment is not altogether uncommon. As far as rectifying it, their body guy smiled and replied: "fiddlin', fiddlin,...".
So I have a plan: I will measure as you have here, but I cannot imagine that this rigid structure is bent. If it's bent I'll try to restore it. If it's not, I will cut up my old rubber boot down to just the mounting part under the hinge and the lip around the door opening. That way I can "fiddle" more easily and try for good fitment.
I asked Oldenzaal (seller) about this, whether it could have been bent, etc. They confirmed this misalignment is not altogether uncommon. As far as rectifying it, their body guy smiled and replied: "fiddlin', fiddlin,...".
So I have a plan: I will measure as you have here, but I cannot imagine that this rigid structure is bent. If it's bent I'll try to restore it. If it's not, I will cut up my old rubber boot down to just the mounting part under the hinge and the lip around the door opening. That way I can "fiddle" more easily and try for good fitment.
It's worth measuring while it is out. I agree about bending. Cast aluminum with support structures doesn't seem like it would bend. I think I mentioned it earlier but the gas door on my project car does the same thing also, hits the rubber seal on the leading edge.
Belgiumbarry
Well-Known Member
looking at the pic from Erik , i assume the metal plate with studs would bend more easy than the cast alu door itself….. ?
That is my impression as well. That assembly is quite stout. I count myself lucky that I didn't put a flex crease in the rear quarter panel, or at least a paint crack. 200 lbs bumping into the open door must apply a serious amount of force, but when you have this assembly in your hands, it doesn't seem likely that it could bend.
That seems reasonable to me also. You could also fix it with some tapped rods that give you leverage to bend the studs back. I have to wonder if that plate bending would impact the alignment though. Wouldn’t the pivoting aspect of the hinge simply “absorb” the bend?
I will try to get to this sooner rather than later. It's possible that the force caused the stud plate to lift away from the quarter panel slightly. It wouldn't take much, we're talking 3-4 mm difference in contact of the door with the gasket. I think I'll have to remove the elephant skin to see that.
I confirmed that the steel mounting plate is the most likely culprit. Tugging on the door past the stop forces the plate to flex. Likewise, pushing on the plate causes the door to hug the body better.
Ignore the nastiness.
Ignore the nastiness.
Great detective work! That explains it. So the solution is to somehow flex that plate. Maybe tack it with a bit of epoxy putty? It's not like that plate is likely to be removed.I confirmed that the steel mounting plate is the most likely culprit. Tugging on the door past the stop forces the plate to flex. Likewise, pushing on the plate causes the door to hug the body better.
Ignore the nastiness.
We had a nice, sunny, late winter Sunday, so I decided to have a 3rd go at getting this fuel door to seat.
My rubber boot is new, so it's pliable and flexible.
This time, I lifted one spring from it's seat at the outset, to make the door hinge easier to manage. Here you see it in my hand, but I lifted the upper spring with a screw driver in situ.
This time I used a thick clear plastic tape instead of masking tape - much tougher.
The hinge mount slips inside the boot for mounting.
I used some padding used to protect floors during renovation work to protect the paint (man, I I glad I used something tougher than masking tape this time!
At first I tried to mount the boot and hinge without seating the boot fully into place, but that didn't work. I couldn't get the hinge to flex. I then mounted the boot fully in place and then inserted the hinge over the rubber. I then used a screw driver to rotate the hinge onto the mounting screws.
Once I had the mounting nuts threaded on (ugh!), I tried the door, but it was clearly still contacting the rubber too soon and was not going to close fully. The door edge closest to the hinge was also lightly scraping the body (same as before), and I lost a bit of paint. Previously, I didn't think I had actualy bent the door when I walked into it, but it was pretty clear that it was not ever going to seat properly without "encouragement".
I took a top from a wooden wine box and used it to protect the body panel, and then I gently (relative word) flexed the fuel door.
slight improvement... and some more oomf....
I am happy with the result. The door seems to have been pushed a bit "proud" compared to before, and it seats along the entire gasket. I think what happened was this action caused the rubber boot under the hinge to compress a bit more, thus making the fuel door sit 1-2 mm further out.
It also clears the body closest to the hinge better. All in all, I'm happy with the result.
I will leave the second spring unattached, as the one spring gives plenty of hinge action.
My rubber boot is new, so it's pliable and flexible.
This time, I lifted one spring from it's seat at the outset, to make the door hinge easier to manage. Here you see it in my hand, but I lifted the upper spring with a screw driver in situ.
This time I used a thick clear plastic tape instead of masking tape - much tougher.
The hinge mount slips inside the boot for mounting.
I used some padding used to protect floors during renovation work to protect the paint (man, I I glad I used something tougher than masking tape this time!
At first I tried to mount the boot and hinge without seating the boot fully into place, but that didn't work. I couldn't get the hinge to flex. I then mounted the boot fully in place and then inserted the hinge over the rubber. I then used a screw driver to rotate the hinge onto the mounting screws.
Once I had the mounting nuts threaded on (ugh!), I tried the door, but it was clearly still contacting the rubber too soon and was not going to close fully. The door edge closest to the hinge was also lightly scraping the body (same as before), and I lost a bit of paint. Previously, I didn't think I had actualy bent the door when I walked into it, but it was pretty clear that it was not ever going to seat properly without "encouragement".
I took a top from a wooden wine box and used it to protect the body panel, and then I gently (relative word) flexed the fuel door.
slight improvement... and some more oomf....
I am happy with the result. The door seems to have been pushed a bit "proud" compared to before, and it seats along the entire gasket. I think what happened was this action caused the rubber boot under the hinge to compress a bit more, thus making the fuel door sit 1-2 mm further out.
It also clears the body closest to the hinge better. All in all, I'm happy with the result.
I will leave the second spring unattached, as the one spring gives plenty of hinge action.
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big work,
well done
well done
Thanks deQuincey! Nothing compared to dropping a tranny or a rear end, but not easy in it's own right. My eyes saw it, but my brain didn't catch the assymetry until later when I saw the photos, so I will go back and loosen the nuts and center the door better.