Has anybody tried to repair a broken armrest?

[men in black]

This is what I tried:


The front (vinyl) side is in great shape. However, the back part that mounts to the door panel was cracked and the screws were pulled through.


I injected the void inside the armrest with Great Stuff Spray Foam in the blue can. I used the mounting screw to plug the hole in the front and held it in place with a rubber band so the foam wouldn’t come out the front. Let it harden up then remove the excess. I used Gorilla Glue to glue the back plate pieces in place on the backside.

On the back side, I made the hole where the screw goes larger to about 3/8” to ½”. I then plugged the front side hole and poured epoxy into that hole from the back of the armrest so that the hole was completely filled. I ended up using a whole tube (per hole) of Loctite Plastic Epoxy (.85 fl oz).


After the epoxy had set up I poured a little amount of epoxy into the front side hole to strengthen and to give me a flat surface for the screw. I used painter’s tape on the front of the armrest to protect it from drips of epoxy. Then drill the hole for the screw from the front side so it will be centered.



http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n192/pixelhound/armrest/DSC00751Small.jpg


http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n192/pixelhound/armrest/DSC00754Small.jpg


http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n192/pixelhound/armrest/DSC00753Small.jpg


http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n192/pixelhound/armrest/DSC00766Small.jpg

[Tripwire]

I have done pretty much the same thing - but with fiberglass resin. I plugged the hole on one side and poured in about 2 cups of resin, let it harden and redrilled the holes

trip:drivin:

[1983 j10]

thats a pretty good idea on that.
its amazing what you do when the parts availablity isnt that great. you really become a problem solver when you own a fsj.

[710 Burner]

I epoxied washers where the holes are to strenghten the holes.

[beson55]

Well i have never tried to do with the armrest.But i think its a good way to do that.

[Pman]

Mods, please add this to the Tech Library. Great idea!

I had two broken armrests and have been pondering how to resolve the issue for a while. I used Tripwire's resin suggestion, and it worked perfectly. I'd venture to say they are stronger than original, and now I don't grimace when someone accidently shuts the door with the armrest versus the door pull (why AMC designed the armrests with the hand grabs built in them beats me).

Thanks M.I.B. for starting this thread.