91XLT armrest repair completed

[mikeinpa]

Just finished repairing the armrest in my 91XLT. My kid climbed through the space between the front seats and stood on the armrest causing the plastic to snap. Heres how I did it.

1. Slide front seats forward for better access to the armrest screws.
2. Remove caps that cover the screws and with a nutdriver or socket remove it from center console.
3. Sand (I used a dremel) the inside of both pieces on either side of the crack with course paper.
4. Wipe clean with denatured alcohol.
5. Cut a single piece of metal window screen large enough to encircle the inside of the hollow armrest and wide enough to cover the split by an inch or so on either side.
6. Prepair a very small batch of PC-7 ($4.00 at Home Depot) according to the directions and apply it to only the mating surfaces.
7. Stick the two pieces together and and apply pressure
8. Wipe off any excess pc-7 that squeesed out to the exterior surfaces.
9. Clamp or tape (I used tape) the pieces in place.
10. Mix another larger batch of pc-7 and coat the inside area covering bothe sides of the crack with a fairly thick coating.
11. embed the piece of window screen into this batch, spanning the crack. Your trying to create a bridge over the crack with the screen. Make sure you push it into the corners.
12. with a flat tool completely embed the screen, mix more pc-7 if necessary.
13. replace the arm rest.

total time: less than an hour
total cost: $4.00

I took photos but dont know how to post them.
Hope this will come in handy to someone.

 

[poconosms1]

I did something similar, but since the arm rest bracket /piece is only plastic, cracks appeared again in other areas. i guess just plastic fatique from excessive heat durring the summer. I eventually just replaced the bracket with a steel reinforced bracket from EBAY $30. I have a four year old that constantly climbs over it. Plus I like to lean on it when I am smooching my wife.....