Blend door actuator arm broke...

[painterdave72]

Now what?? this part is unavailable.. It the the plastic piece on the arm for the center vents.. its accesable if I take off the right knee bolster.. maybe glue it?? anyone have this break before/???

[DMC-81]

Now what?? this part is unavailable.. It the the plastic piece on the arm for the center vents.. its accesable if I take off the right knee bolster.. maybe glue it?? anyone have this break before/???

Hmm, I wonder if it is a good candidate for a 3D printed part?

I'm still amazed by this technology.

[Patrick C]

This isn’t uncommon. I had to superglue mine back together. BUT the part is still available from DMCH here:

https://store.delorean.com/p-7624-housing-air-dist.aspx

[painterdave72]

yes I saw that it came as a whole assembly.. I am going to take it out and try to glue it also.. what did u use on it? just super glue?? or jb weld or something?? thanks...

[Patrick C]

yes I saw that it came as a whole assembly.. I am going to take it out and try to glue it also.. what did u use on it? just super glue?? or jb weld or something?? thanks...

I just used plain old superglue.

[CriticalB]

Glue would probably be the easiest thing to try, maybe with some splint-like supports added. I wouldn't mind trying to model one for 3d printing. If I recall it's not that complex of a part. Do you have a clear picture? If you or someone else has one they could live without for a few days, I could take measurements and maybe come up with a workable part to send back (along with the original).

If it works out I wouldn't mind posting the finished model in the resources section and folks can print their own and experiment with different types of plastic.

[Rich06]

I made one for 1246 a year and a half ago out of a few different sizes of rectangular brass tubing, cut, bent, drilled, and soldered to match the shape and size of the original one. It works perfectly and I was really surprised how easy it was to make. I think it took a half hour or so. If you can solder and are a bit handy I think you would have no problem and have a permanent fix.
Rich

[Rhye]

Hmm, I wonder if it is a good candidate for a 3D printed part?

If you mean lever P/N 105068, then I think it can be easily 3D printed using inexpensive FDM technology, with some minor changes to improve strength (FDM part is always slightly weaker than injection moulded one). If anybody's still interested I can give it a try and order prototype parts just for around $10 each, including shipping. But it make take me 2 weeks or so - have to remove mine first and reverse-engineer it.

[DMC-81]

If you mean lever P/N 105068, then I think it can be easily 3D printed using inexpensive FDM technology, with some minor changes to improve strength (FDM part is always slightly weaker than injection moulded one). If anybody's still interested I can give it a try and order prototype parts just for around $10 each, including shipping. But it make take me 2 weeks or so - have to remove mine first and reverse-engineer it.

I'm not sure, do you mean P/N 105066? That's the part that came to mind when painterdave72 described it.

It's good that the whole assembly is still available.

[jackb]

I used JB Weld when mine snapped. No issues.

[painterdave72]

its part number 101752.. it is the arm piece that is attached to the vacumn valve piece....

[Rhye]

I'm not sure, do you mean P/N 105066? That's the part that came to mind when painterdave72 described it.



My parts catalogue says 105068, but that's the same part.

60321

[painterdave72]

Hi its pic 25 on your diagram.. not 23...

[Rhye]

Hi its pic 25 on your diagram.. not 23...

OK, clear. So if the arm of the actuator itself is broken, then the question is if it's possible to take the actuator apart and replace the arm with reproduced part - can't recall how it's made but I can check mine Friday evening.

[painterdave72]

yes it can be taken apart It looks like it just snaps together.. I glued mine today with some panel bond adhesive so it should be good hopefully..

[Rhye]

I've created a 3D model of the actuator arm optimized for FDM 3D printing, just in case one want's to recreate the part. Metal rod has to be fabricated according to the drawing and glued in. These are just prototype parts so they'll have to be tested for fit and function.

STEP file dimensions are in millimeters (packed in ZIP archive 'cause for some reason it's not possible to attach it directly). Printing direction according to the coordinate system of the model (part in horizontal position).

60427
60426

[Nicholas R]

For what it's worth, mine broke about 6 years ago, and I made one out of aluminum. I took sheet aluminum (I think maybe 12ga?), cut it into a shape approximately the right length with a pair of snips, drilled two holes in it, and used a small square file to turn one of the holes into a square. Then I bent it so that it had the right offset, and that's it. It's been working great ever since. Could easily be done with aluminum, steel, or stainless purchased at Lowes/Home depot.

[DMCMW Dave]

For what it's worth, mine broke about 6 years ago, and I made one out of aluminum. I took sheet aluminum (I think maybe 12ga?), cut it into a shape approximately the right length with a pair of snips, drilled two holes in it, and used a small square file to turn one of the holes into a square. Then I bent it so that it had the right offset, and that's it. It's been working great ever since. Could easily be done with aluminum, steel, or stainless purchased at Lowes/Home depot.

It doesn't have to be a particularly strong part since it's just attached to plastic anyway. I've made one or two from aluminum, like you said the hardest part is drilling a square hole. Tiny files will do the job.