Center console arm rest

[bigjoej956]

When ever my grandpa gets in to my 00 ex I am just waiting for my arm rest to snap. Any body rig up anything to help give it extra support?

 

[harry.mchugh]

it will snap. I had a broken one, so i bought a new armrest for like 60 bucks and then installed it and then it took cracked. Its not too bad and you cant even tell it snapped, but i just put a piece of wood in there. Just sand it around the edges so its nice and smooth.

 

[bp1506]

Yeah i have a piece of wood under mine... so i can lean as hard as i want on it and no problems.... just need to paint it grey to match my interior.

 

[bigjoej956]

it will snap. I had a broken one, so i bought a new armrest for like 60 bucks and then installed it and then it took cracked. Its not too bad and you cant even tell it snapped, but i just put a piece of wood in there. Just sand it around the edges so its nice and smooth.

Yeah i have a piece of wood under mine... so i can lean as hard as i want on it and no problems.... just need to paint it grey to match my interior.

Great Idea how did you attach the wood?

 

[harry.mchugh]

2 options. u can lift up the arm rest and take out all the screws along the sides, this will lift off the "leather" part. From there, you can drill through the plastic and into the wood. Make sure u dont crack the plastic. or you can use liquid nails. goes on just like glue and does the trick

 

[bp1506]

2 options. u can lift up the arm rest and take out all the screws along the sides, this will lift off the "leather" part. From there, you can drill through the plastic and into the wood.

Thats exactly what i did... works great... i will post a pic sometime tomorrow when i have time.

 

[harry.mchugh]

im still deciding on the two. right now i just have a piece of wood in there and it doesnt move around or anything. Id like something that isnt so permanent so im thinking the liquid nails would mess up the plastic

 

[alohamonte]

Metal Kit

I replaced mine with this very solid metal repair kit... it's strong and easy to install.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...019QQitemZ290218190634QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

yeah my center console arm rest broke in my 01 sport so i dont have 1 anymore

 

[ThePhoenix]

junk yards.....

 

[bp1506]

I replaced mine with this very solid metal repair kit... it's strong and easy to install.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...019QQitemZ290218190634QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

But 34 bux vs free piece of wood....I went for the piece of wood.

So here are the pics.

Maybe i will wrap that part in grey vinyl so it dosent look so out of place, or paint it... vinyl might look better though

I spilled some coffee in there yesterday so have some coffee stains here an there.

 

[TheJackal]

I replaced mine with this very solid metal repair kit... it's strong and easy to install.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...019QQitemZ290218190634QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Oooh, very nice. I might have to consider that myself... the console has been broken for almost 10 years now...

 

[Upright]

I replaced mine with this very solid metal repair kit... it's strong and easy to install.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...019QQitemZ290218190634QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

I have a '00 Explorer XLS with a broken armrest above the little black totebag. Will this repair piece work for that?

-Craig

 

[vdavis25]

I am SO doing the piece of wood! I popped mine off once and we took it apart, put it back on but now you look at it funny and it pops off. Awesome idea on the piece of wood

 

[harry.mchugh]

so i had the wood, and it worked great for pressure going down, but not sideways. A friend of mine hit it to the side and it snapped off again. I just got the metal one, and it looks solid.

Can anyone help me put it in. There is the broken part left on there that is bolted down and i dont know how to remove it.

 

[alohamonte]

i think i know what you're referring to...

slide the drivers seat all the way forward. get into the back seat. on the center console base, find the oval insert. use a screw driver and carefully pop it out. it will reveal two bolts. i think they're around 6mm but its been a few months so... remove them. do the same for the otherside. take arm rest hinge out.

remove the busted plastic pieces. take off the arm rest lid. screw on the new metal piece.

you'll neet to cut that center "pin" out. i used the hacksaw and cursing technique.

the kit uses two bolts instead of one pin. bolt in the assembled arm rest and you're good to go, bolt the unit back onto the console and you're good to go. the kit comes with instructions if you get lost.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

i HAVE to post how mine is braced.... lol. the owner before me used 90" metal brackets, and huge bolts/screws to brace it up. unless you look at it you can't tell, and i lean on it hard, like, i use it as a support whenever i shift my weight, and i weigh 300lbs... so it's strong.

i'll put up a picture tomorrow when it's not raining and pitch black outside

 

[Upright]

I used the same kit alohamonte used and it's great. I didn't have to use the hacksaw and cursing technique, though. You'll see that one end of the hinge pin is plastic while the other is metal. Remove the plastic end (I pried it off with a screwdriver) and push the hinge pin out from that end.

Here are some pics:

First, here's the broken arm rest:

And another:

And here's the armrest with the kit installed:

I'm very happy with the results. The armrest feels solid and sturdy, the cupholders work and the mechanism that prevents lifting the armrest when the cupholders are out works too!

You can see that I didn't install two screws closest to the hinge. That's because the armrest was broken in such a way that there's nothing to screw into. Still, it's solid like a rock...I mean Ford Tough!

Thanks for the tip, alohamonte!

-Craig

 

[1stcarinmylife]

What is the black bag thing under that arm rest and what is in it? I bought my car used and there is nothing there at all. Always wondered what's up with black button.

 

[Upright]

It's the factory console bag. There's a velcro strap on the bag that loops through the black button.