stopping a door panel crack

The front DS panel is starting to crack in the Black & Tan in the usual place (end of the armrest, going towards front of car). It's a hairline crack about an inch long.

Should I just drill a small hole at the end to relieve the stress and prevent if from getting longer ?

I had the same problem on mine. Do that, and fiberglass the back of them (Napa sells a kit for like $25 that'll do all four door panels. Mine have never cracked since.

It cant be fixed Jason,I will be right over to pick it up so you wont have to bother with it!

thanks Joel. Is the fiberglass kit just regular fiberglass or is there something special about it ? I have a lot of regular fiberglass at home. If I'm going to take the door panel off, better change the window rollers and speakers.

Jim, one of the black pieces of rubber trim is starting to peel, so I think it better go straight to the junkyard.

My driveway is now a junkyard just waiting for your wagon!

You can use MEK to "glue" it back together from the back side, then put a piece of scrap door panel (lower panel only) over the back side of the repair, and MEK it to the door. The crack will not be visable from the front, and it will be reinforced. If it is a curved surface, you can heat the plastic in a vice and bend it...hold it in the shape you want until it cools, or it will straighten out again. I have done a few doors that way, and the repair is amost invisible.

I used Tiger hair after I used a soldering iron very carefully to melt the crack shut. It has not come back. The pine tree style push "pins" that hold the panel are are critical in the upper rear. If they break the panel begins to crack. Only use quality replacement pins as the cheap one's snap quickly!!

Thanks for the tips. I purchased a few window roller repair kits from Mike at Hamilton Chevy a while back. What's the best way to ensure the pin pops out properly without damaging the "socket" that holds the pin to the door panel ? I have a "trim" tool, but it seems at least one of the tabs breaks.

Make sure the trim tool is completely under the base of the tree fastener.

My humble opinion - I would recommend NOT replacing the sliders on the front windows with the rollers - only the back windows. The sliders distribute the weight a lot better than the rollers do. 99% of the broken sliders I see are on back windows.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

My humble opinion - I would recommend NOT replacing the sliders on the front windows with the rollers - only the back windows. The sliders distribute the weight a lot better than the rollers do. 99% of the broken sliders I see are on back windows.

Most of the broken sliders I have seen are on front windows. Just replace any sliders that are broken, or that you feel might break in the future. It is good use of your time to do all of them on the door you are working on. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of regret. The less you mess with the door panels, the less chance of them getting broken. It only takes about 3 minutes to replace the second one while the door is apart.

Just slop grease in those slots whenever you have occasion to be inside the doors. I did this early on when I bought my ride, and none have broken since. The sliders aren't weak; they just get frozen in the tracks. If you doubt their strength, try and break one of them with two pairs of channelocks. It ain't easy.

Many of them are cracked for whatever reason. They may even be cracked from the factory. If you have a cracked one, replace it.

I agree with Fred. Whenever I have a door panel apart (if replacing speakers, etc), I replace the sliders with rollers IOT avoid having to do it down the line. I've had as many break on the front windows as in the rear. My PPM RMS had some cracked ones at 40k miles. I do put some white lithium grease in the track at the same time.

I just did my 9C1 last week. Both on the driver side. I have not had one go yet on the Passenger side. I sprayed them up with lots of lithium grease too.

Randy

Back to the original question of this thread.

Here is a pic of an MEK repair. The screw boss was totally broken away from the door panel. This repair has NOT been painted or doctored in any way. I did put a couple pieces of scrap plastic behind the part to reinforce it, but the repair would stand alone without the reinforcement if necessary.

https://2img.net/h/i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg541/jfkiehl/car%20parts/doorrepair.jpg

http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=233663

lornejay1 wrote:

http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=233663

That's what I want....exactly. ; )

Dangit Lorne!!

81X11 wrote:

lornejay1 wrote:

http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=233663

That's what I want....exactly. ; )

Dangit Lorne!!

Just showing evidence that it was cracked way before I got it.

Dang Lorne! That panel in the pic came out of the '94 that replaced the black wagon. The panel in the black wagon was cracked when I bought it with 24,000 miles on it but I removed the panel and used epoxy (I think) on the backside. If it's not getting bigger I'd leave it alone.

I just fixed a couple of 94-96 front panels with cracks and a broken out screw boss. I used MEK and desolved some scrap matching color plastic in it. I made a thick paste, and used it to make a doubler over the crack after putting MEK on in the crack. It is stronger than the original panel.

The screw boss was obtained from a massively damaged panel of the same color. I made a piece that keyed into the panel with the boss in the correct placement. Then, I put a couple depth of alignment tabs on the donor piece so that it would be level with the front of the door panel, and not fall through while being glued. Any irregularities between the door panel, and the donor piece, were filled with the same paste from the back. The back of the patch is reinforced with more flat scrap door panel pieces. The repairs are virtually invisible, because of their locations, and the minimal affect of the MEK on the visible surface of the panel. The "same color" paste acts like model glue, and filler in one, as well as a doubler for added strength.

you said that MEK only works on the bottom half, right?

Correct, MEK only works on polystyrene. If you check the panels, they are labled for recycling purposes. It may work on some other panels in the car, but you must read the back for material composition.

ABS tends to be a little stronger, but the only way to repair it that I know of, is with heat. I use some extra material to reinforce the panel when I weld it together.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

https://2img.net/h/i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg541/jfkiehl/doorrepair.jpg

Fred, your link to your photobucket pictures does not work.

tom

Good to know! I put a tiny hole to relieve stress at the extremity of the crack just to be on the safe side.

Jason,what size bit did you use?I was wondering if that work on a very small crack that has just
started at the leading edge of the panel!
Thanks

I established a new link, go back an check it.

If you use MEK, and reinforce the panel with scrap, you do not have to drill a hole. If it is in the ABS part (unlikely) you can heat weld it, and add material, then you do not have to drill a hole there either. I have been repairing panels for a couple of years, and these two techniques work better than anything else I have tried. Especially the MEK plastic "paste" on the polystyrene panels. I have also re-attached the metal fastener holders firmly after breaking the "posts" off.

I find 5min. epoxy for plastic works good. I have been gluing the metal clips with it for couple of years now. Holds good enough to pull a panel off again. Just rough up the plastic where the clip sits.

Randy