How To: 1st Gen Center Console Armrest Bracket Repair!

[Blue91Ex]

Hey guys, I have the infamous broken center console hinge/bracket, It was broken since before I got it, so I figured I would fix it instead of leaning on the very low console cover to slide in. I fixed it to where I can use it and not worry about it, and it looks a lot better than a broken piece of armrest hinge right where you put your elbow.

not very comfortable..

not much space to work in..

First, we cut out a piece of brown paper bag, to fit as close to perfect in the inside of the plastic bracket, pretty much cut, check, cut, check, etc until it's right.

Then we used the paper as a template to cut the pine piece out with the bandsaw. This was then slowly carved up with a sharp pocket knife and X-Acto knife.

 

[Blue91Ex]

Okay, after we cut the wood out and fit it as snug as possible, we sanded down the inside of the bracket, so the epoxy could grip.

then we used 2 part epoxy to hold the two plastic sections and the wood all together and left it to cure.

I then used a short, wide wood screw and attached an old silver spray paint can cover onto the end, I don't think the epoxy is strong enough to lean on even with the wood so the cover will add a lot of support, I put a wood shingle inside the console cover to strengthen it up a bit. I would have used a light blue cover if I had one but all i had was silver, hardly notice it anyway.

All Done!

Note, This is not a permanent fix, wood screws on each part (top and botton) going into the wood would have held it a lot stronger, but I was impatient. I also didn't prep the plastic well enough (you should sand the inside well with 80-120 grit sandpaper), so it isn't particularly strong in my case. The paint can cover adds a TON of support, I was amazed at how much of a difference that made over having the armrest floating.

Thanks for reading! I hope this helps anyone with the same problem, and good luck!