Broken fuel door hinge

[Kmvreter]

Have had an issue for the past 3 months with the hinge side of the fuel door scraping the body when opening and closing. Tried to gently bend it back into place but it's been too cold to deal with. Looked at it but would need to rig up a tool in order to bend it back correctly or get a shop to look at it.

Fast forward to last night. Went to close the door after fueling up and the bottom of the hinge snapped. Still was able to close and latch the door. Need to take it to a buddies shop to see what can be done to repair or replace.

Anyone else have this happen? I think I'm the first to report this issue.

Sorry, no pics.

 

[cacarbuff]

Mine has scraped and been slightly out of whack since I bought it a couple of years ago. I just live with it and hope it doesn't break. I'm sorry to hear yours broke!

 

[Michael M]

The pin on my hinge has also broken. Looks to have given way to rust. It locks fine but protrudes a bit in the locked position. I'm going to have a close look over the weekend to see if I can find a substitute for the pin. I'll let you know if I find a solution.

 

[Brutalguyracing]

Mine has scraped and been slightly out of whack since I bought it a couple of years ago. I just live with it and hope it doesn't break. I'm sorry to hear yours broke!

same here ^^^^^

 

[ebg18t]

Mine has scraped and been slightly out of whack since I bought it a couple of years ago. I just live with it and hope it doesn't break. I'm sorry to hear yours broke!

Same here. Haven't figured out the best way to remedy it yet.

 

[Stuck CAPS]

For those of you who haven't fixed it yet, but want to prevent further scraping, just grab some felt/foam and put it on the edge of the door or the body. You could try talking to [MENTION=15853]Redswan[/MENTION], as he did swap fuel doors, so he may be able to shed light on the hinge and what not.

 

[antidentite]

I'm also having this problem, but I thought it was only me. I'll put touch-up paint on the area, but it rubs off in a matter of days. I may try the felt idea, but with all the rain I get in Seattle that may not last long either

 

[c_mack9]

Mine does that too.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Pictures?

 

[Redswan]

I replaced mine and the hinge has some room to adjust with either the aftermarket one or the OEM one try bending it back slowly to get it back in alignment.

 

[Nervo19]

My hinge is broken too. I just bought mine at the end of January. Who thinks to check the fuel door? I always will in the future. My door will not release unless the door pull is pulled out and held in position while also pulling door open with fingernail. For a few fill ups I always had someone with me to hold the fuel door pull. I finally realized that I could prop the pull in the open position by wedging my 4 D cell Maglite under it. Hope this helps someone. The broken hinge rod seems to be about the same gauge as coat hanger wire. Maybe I'll try using that.

 

[Kmvreter]

Thanks for your inputs.

Just to update.
No need for me to rush to the shop to have them look at it.
Went and took a closer look at it. The lower tab on the door itself is broken off. As I'm handling it the door comes off in my hands because the top portion of the pin breaks. So I have a broken door and broken hinge pin. The portion fastened to the body is intact.

So here is my question for those that have replaced their doors (@Redswan): does the replacement come with the body side of the hinge or do you leave that alone (riveted to body) and just attach a new door (Fuel Filler Opening Lid Assy; 77350-35050) with a new hinge pin? What parts did you order?

 

[Michael M]

Here is the condition of mine. Thankfully no body rubbing going on. As fun as that sounds….:eyebrows:

 

[TechWrench]

Thanks for your inputs.

Just to update.
No need for me to rush to the shop to have them look at it.
Went and took a closer look at it. The lower tab on the door itself is broken off. As I'm handling it the door comes off in my hands because the top portion of the pin breaks. So I have a broken door and broken hinge pin. The portion fastened to the body is intact.

So here is my question for those that have replaced their doors (@Redswan): does the replacement come with the body side of the hinge or do you leave that alone (riveted to body) and just attach a new door (Fuel Filler Opening Lid Assy; 77350-35050) with a new hinge pin? What parts did you order?

Same problem with mine, which started over a year ago with the pin breaking at the upper pivot of the hinge. I tried replacing the pin with some HD bailing wire, but in order to remove the old pin, you have to un-bend the crimped parts of the hinge that hold the pin. I managed to get mine apart, but it never worked the same after replacing the pin, because I couldn't get the crimps back the way they were. I eventually bought a new fuel door assy off ebay (it comes with both parts of the hinge) Had it painted to match at the dealer body shop I work for, and found replacement pop rivets to install the new door (once I had drilled the old ones out to remove the old door). Now it looks and works like new. I don't recall how much I paid for the new door, but I don't think it cost me more that $75.00 total to replace it.

 

[Kmvreter]

... it comes with both parts of the hinge...

TechWrench,
Thanks for the clarification.

I'll order the door and 2 rivets. Shows less than U$43. I'll order some other maintenance items to bump up the order and get free shipping.

I need to get some other spot body work done so I'll get it painted at the same time.

 

[YotaDriver]

Mine has scraped and been slightly out of whack since I bought it a couple of years ago. I just live with it and hope it doesn't break. I'm sorry to hear yours broke!

Same here...sounds like a rusty gate opening, or metal fingernails on a chalkboard. I can see where it's worn the paint away where the door hits the body.

 

[TechWrench]

TechWrench,
Thanks for the clarification.

I'll order the door and 2 rivets. Shows less than U$43. I'll order some other maintenance items to bump up the order and get free shipping.

I need to get some other spot body work done so I'll get it painted at the same time.

Just an additional note. I originally got just two rivets from my dealer, and they are way more expensive that one would suspect, and ruined one trying to install it with the wrong type of pop rivet tool. Because of the tight quarters, my standard rivet tools (the ones with the handles at 90 degrees to the head) wouldn't fit in the space to allow the rivet to seat properly. I wound up getting one of those straight in-line tools from Harbor Freight, that can handle rivets with a 1/8"pin and have a longer nose. It worked well with this application, and as a bonus it came with a supply of the right size rivet which saved me from having to go back to the dealer for another one. Also, make sure you ask who ever is going to paint the door to paint both the outside and inside surfaces. I forgot to specify that, and had to give it back to them so they could do the inside. All in all, once I solved all the BS, it went together very easily.

 

[Kmvreter]

... once I solved all the BS, it went together very easily.

Thanks for the tips.
Why the rivets? Would it be possible to bolt it in place? Thinking of using stainless hardware.

 

[TechWrench]

Thanks for the tips.
Why the rivets? Would it be possible to bolt it in place? Thinking of using stainless hardware.

As I recall, getting to the inside of the fender area to use nut/bolt isn't very easy. Using pop rivets was much easier, and I didn't have any corrosion issues at all.

 

[Kmvreter]

... getting to the inside of the fender area to use nut/bolt isn't very easy...

Looked at this yesterday.
Actually it's fairly simple. Remove the wire spring ring that is holding the rubber filler neck seal in place against the body opening. Then it's wide open and you can reach in to the left. I'll do a write-up with pics when I go to actually do the work.