fatfenders
Member
- Joined
- September 2, 2008
- Messages
- 44
- Reaction score
- 2
- City, State
- Folsom, CA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '04 Sport Trac V6 4x4
The lid had become so hard to unlatch and latch we had stopped latching it and just let it rest on the latch mechanisms. So I fixed it. Seems like it might be one of those little nagging problems that other might have with older models so I decided to share what I did here.
The two latches are coil spring 'over center' type latches(1).
It was apparent that the spring was way to strong for the application. How it got that way I will never know.
But my fix was pretty easy and zero bucks.
The first image below shows the type of latches I have. How to remove the cover and insert was obvious and straight forward. The latches pull out sideways from the insert.
The first thing I did was carefully drill out the mushroomed end of the small rivets (2), then pressed them out. The mechanism is under a load from the spring so don't let things fly.
After determining the springs were much too strong I started cutting (with my Dremmel) about 1/2 a coil at a time until the the latch would hold, yet not require so much effort. I used a #42 drill bit as a temporary hinge pin during this process. Once the desired 'sweet spot' was found I re-inserted the original pins from the inside, then reinstalled the entire latch to the side of the insert. Even though the pin is no longer held in place as it was originally, it ain't going anywhere since the head butts up against the side of the insert.
Put everything back together and now the latches work like they did when the Trac was new and I was not nearly so old!
The two latches are coil spring 'over center' type latches(1).
It was apparent that the spring was way to strong for the application. How it got that way I will never know.
But my fix was pretty easy and zero bucks.
The first image below shows the type of latches I have. How to remove the cover and insert was obvious and straight forward. The latches pull out sideways from the insert.
The first thing I did was carefully drill out the mushroomed end of the small rivets (2), then pressed them out. The mechanism is under a load from the spring so don't let things fly.
After determining the springs were much too strong I started cutting (with my Dremmel) about 1/2 a coil at a time until the the latch would hold, yet not require so much effort. I used a #42 drill bit as a temporary hinge pin during this process. Once the desired 'sweet spot' was found I re-inserted the original pins from the inside, then reinstalled the entire latch to the side of the insert. Even though the pin is no longer held in place as it was originally, it ain't going anywhere since the head butts up against the side of the insert.
Put everything back together and now the latches work like they did when the Trac was new and I was not nearly so old!
