trayson
10-31-2007, 02:59 AM
Okay, this is crazy... I took apart my govebox and found out that there's a plastic part that breaks/wears out and it causes the glovebox locking mechanism to stop working correctly.
And it's $0.64!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Part #51168168863
#13 on the diagram below:
http://lh5.google.com/traysonh/Ryga51f5JpI/AAAAAAAAAcE/WjHO4LQcgZY/s800/5.jpg
How the lever works is that there's a tab on the plastic surround that goes around the lock cylinder. This tab twists from a sideways position to be pointing straight down, and this tab prevents the lever from lifting in turn preventing the glovebox latch from releasing.
The tab in this picture is at the 9 oclock position. on the back side of the plastic lock cylinder housing is a round hole at about the 7 oclock position. This is the place where the metal bar that's specific to Verts will lock and unlock the glovebox. Okay, if you look at the lever, the left end of it has a screw that secures a spring. just to the right of the end of the spring, there's a raised platform of plastic (just below the hole for the metal actuating rod). This raised platform is the piece that breaks! This picture is of the glovebox in the UNLOCKED position (because the lever is able to raise up and release the metal catch at the bottom of the picture).
http://lh5.google.com/traysonh/Ryged1f5JrI/AAAAAAAAAcU/-IvmK3-s54A/s800/DSCF0152.JPG
In the picture below, you can see the glovebox in the LOCKED position. see that the tab on the plastic lock clyinder surround is now at the 6 oclock postion and prevents the lever from lifting, in turn preventing the metal latch from releasing the catch. If you look VERY closely, you can see that the back portion of the raised platform on the lever is broken off (just barely to the left of the tab on the lock cylinder housing). This is our problem! As you can see (hopefully), with the tab at 6 o-clock and most of the raised platform broken, there is very little surface area of the raised platform to keep the lever from raising up.http://lh6.google.com/traysonh/RygedFf5JqI/AAAAAAAAAcM/2U3vkpzdhAo/s800/DSCF0150.JPG
In this last picture, the tab of the lock cylinder housing has slid into the hole created by the plastic that's broken off the raised platform of the lever. Once that tab slides into the hole created by the broken plastic on the raised platform of the lever, it gets stuck there! That combined with the wearing of the bottom tip of the lever where it contacts the metal latch makes it so the lever is able to "pop up" when it's not supposed to. This picture is of the glovebox in the supposedly locked position, but with upward mobility allowed because the tab of the lock cylinder housing isn't stopped by the raised platform of the lever (because it's got part of it broken off).
Another thing I discovered is that the piece of plastic where the latch is mounted on "L's" out from the rest of the plastic that the lever/lock cylinder/button are all mounted on. The fact that this piece can flex makes it more prone to opening when you don't want it to, especially as the point of the lever arm wears to a tapered end against the metal of the latch.
http://lh6.google.com/traysonh/RygeeFf5JsI/AAAAAAAAAcc/K8PnRiL24_4/s800/DSCF0153.JPG
Now in the verts, our plastic lock clylinder housing is rotating EVERY time we lock and unlock our car! I think what happens is that the "L'd" plastic that holds the latch flexes and fatigues upward and puts the resting position of that lever a smidge higher than normal. In most E36's w/o the lever spinning the plastic lock cylinder housing every time, no problem. However, Every time that we lock our doors, the tab of that housing spins from 9 o-clock to 6 o-clock; and I think that's what breaks off that plastic on the 'raised platform' of the lever. I can guarantee you that the coupes and sedans don't lock and unlock their gloveboxes anywhere close to as many times as our poor verts!!!!
So, if your glovebox won't stay latched; it's very possible that you need to replace the lever. (it also wouldn't surprise me if the tab broke off the plastic lock cylinder housing on some people's). For the record, the part that I keep calling the "lock cylinder housing" is actually called a "shifting cam", part #51168153020 for $1.12
Also of note: I had already done the "understeer.com" fix of adding hte two screws to the face of my gloveboxes to help eliminate the gap that previously existed when closing the glove box. I recommend that fix regardless of any of the above that I've discovered.
And it's $0.64!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Part #51168168863
#13 on the diagram below:
http://lh5.google.com/traysonh/Ryga51f5JpI/AAAAAAAAAcE/WjHO4LQcgZY/s800/5.jpg
How the lever works is that there's a tab on the plastic surround that goes around the lock cylinder. This tab twists from a sideways position to be pointing straight down, and this tab prevents the lever from lifting in turn preventing the glovebox latch from releasing.
The tab in this picture is at the 9 oclock position. on the back side of the plastic lock cylinder housing is a round hole at about the 7 oclock position. This is the place where the metal bar that's specific to Verts will lock and unlock the glovebox. Okay, if you look at the lever, the left end of it has a screw that secures a spring. just to the right of the end of the spring, there's a raised platform of plastic (just below the hole for the metal actuating rod). This raised platform is the piece that breaks! This picture is of the glovebox in the UNLOCKED position (because the lever is able to raise up and release the metal catch at the bottom of the picture).
http://lh5.google.com/traysonh/Ryged1f5JrI/AAAAAAAAAcU/-IvmK3-s54A/s800/DSCF0152.JPG
In the picture below, you can see the glovebox in the LOCKED position. see that the tab on the plastic lock clyinder surround is now at the 6 oclock postion and prevents the lever from lifting, in turn preventing the metal latch from releasing the catch. If you look VERY closely, you can see that the back portion of the raised platform on the lever is broken off (just barely to the left of the tab on the lock cylinder housing). This is our problem! As you can see (hopefully), with the tab at 6 o-clock and most of the raised platform broken, there is very little surface area of the raised platform to keep the lever from raising up.http://lh6.google.com/traysonh/RygedFf5JqI/AAAAAAAAAcM/2U3vkpzdhAo/s800/DSCF0150.JPG
In this last picture, the tab of the lock cylinder housing has slid into the hole created by the plastic that's broken off the raised platform of the lever. Once that tab slides into the hole created by the broken plastic on the raised platform of the lever, it gets stuck there! That combined with the wearing of the bottom tip of the lever where it contacts the metal latch makes it so the lever is able to "pop up" when it's not supposed to. This picture is of the glovebox in the supposedly locked position, but with upward mobility allowed because the tab of the lock cylinder housing isn't stopped by the raised platform of the lever (because it's got part of it broken off).
Another thing I discovered is that the piece of plastic where the latch is mounted on "L's" out from the rest of the plastic that the lever/lock cylinder/button are all mounted on. The fact that this piece can flex makes it more prone to opening when you don't want it to, especially as the point of the lever arm wears to a tapered end against the metal of the latch.
http://lh6.google.com/traysonh/RygeeFf5JsI/AAAAAAAAAcc/K8PnRiL24_4/s800/DSCF0153.JPG
Now in the verts, our plastic lock clylinder housing is rotating EVERY time we lock and unlock our car! I think what happens is that the "L'd" plastic that holds the latch flexes and fatigues upward and puts the resting position of that lever a smidge higher than normal. In most E36's w/o the lever spinning the plastic lock cylinder housing every time, no problem. However, Every time that we lock our doors, the tab of that housing spins from 9 o-clock to 6 o-clock; and I think that's what breaks off that plastic on the 'raised platform' of the lever. I can guarantee you that the coupes and sedans don't lock and unlock their gloveboxes anywhere close to as many times as our poor verts!!!!
So, if your glovebox won't stay latched; it's very possible that you need to replace the lever. (it also wouldn't surprise me if the tab broke off the plastic lock cylinder housing on some people's). For the record, the part that I keep calling the "lock cylinder housing" is actually called a "shifting cam", part #51168153020 for $1.12
Also of note: I had already done the "understeer.com" fix of adding hte two screws to the face of my gloveboxes to help eliminate the gap that previously existed when closing the glove box. I recommend that fix regardless of any of the above that I've discovered.