coolvdub
Veteran Member
Hi All,
I have learned so much from this site and the great people who share the knowledge they have. So now it's my time to give a little something back. I searched and didn't see this fix so hopefully it isn't a repeat of a repair idea.
I don't know if many others have had the problem of the arm rest getting loose and moving side to side and not staying in position, but it has happened on both of my Jetta's.
Pictures of arm rest removed showing platic bushing at the swivel joint that commonly comes out, causing the problem.
What I did was drill two holes, one on each side of the arm rest for a 4-40 screw to hold the bushing in, when the bushing is put back in flush or slightly below the cast metal surface the arm rest functions properly and stays in position.
You need to push the bushing back in, to the flush position before drilling through the casting and bushing. The arm rest will usually need to be wiggled around while pushing the bushing back in to center it in the lower counterbore.
Picture of 4-40 tap and tap handle used to create threads for 4-40 cap screw I chose to use.
Pictures of capscrews in the installed position for refernce to where I located them and have had no problems at these locations with regards to funtion of the arm rest.
I used 3/8 long 4-40 capscrews, because that is what I had laying around the house. You want something with a low profile head and a small diameter thread for clearnace purpose's. But really any small screw will work, it can be metric or standard. You just need to make sure you have the proper drill and tap to create the threaded holes and a screw that is long enough to go through both the casting and bushing so the bushing can't walk out of the bores again.
The last part of the process is to grind the screw down to nearly flush with the plastic bushing, or it can stick out a little, but not to much or the covers will not fit back into the center bore of the plastic bushing. Also be carefull when grinding as the center bore of the bushing has a slight raised area that helps to retain the covers. If you don't have a dremel or similar you could probably use some washers under the screw head to get it close to being flush.
Supply List for how I did it
.089 drill which is a number 43 drill
4-40 gun tap
(2) 4-40 x 3/8 long cap screws
This repair should be able to be completed in less than an hour once you have all your supplies gathered up. I hope this helps others out.
Don
I have learned so much from this site and the great people who share the knowledge they have. So now it's my time to give a little something back. I searched and didn't see this fix so hopefully it isn't a repeat of a repair idea.
I don't know if many others have had the problem of the arm rest getting loose and moving side to side and not staying in position, but it has happened on both of my Jetta's.
Pictures of arm rest removed showing platic bushing at the swivel joint that commonly comes out, causing the problem.
What I did was drill two holes, one on each side of the arm rest for a 4-40 screw to hold the bushing in, when the bushing is put back in flush or slightly below the cast metal surface the arm rest functions properly and stays in position.
You need to push the bushing back in, to the flush position before drilling through the casting and bushing. The arm rest will usually need to be wiggled around while pushing the bushing back in to center it in the lower counterbore.
Picture of 4-40 tap and tap handle used to create threads for 4-40 cap screw I chose to use.
Pictures of capscrews in the installed position for refernce to where I located them and have had no problems at these locations with regards to funtion of the arm rest.
I used 3/8 long 4-40 capscrews, because that is what I had laying around the house. You want something with a low profile head and a small diameter thread for clearnace purpose's. But really any small screw will work, it can be metric or standard. You just need to make sure you have the proper drill and tap to create the threaded holes and a screw that is long enough to go through both the casting and bushing so the bushing can't walk out of the bores again.
The last part of the process is to grind the screw down to nearly flush with the plastic bushing, or it can stick out a little, but not to much or the covers will not fit back into the center bore of the plastic bushing. Also be carefull when grinding as the center bore of the bushing has a slight raised area that helps to retain the covers. If you don't have a dremel or similar you could probably use some washers under the screw head to get it close to being flush.
Supply List for how I did it
.089 drill which is a number 43 drill
4-40 gun tap
(2) 4-40 x 3/8 long cap screws
This repair should be able to be completed in less than an hour once you have all your supplies gathered up. I hope this helps others out.
Don
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