Member Since: 11 Dec 2009
Location: Warrnambool
Posts: 27
Tail Gate Strut
Need some advice
We opened the tail gate this afternoon to find the strut holder at the top had come un wound. trying to put the ball head/screw mount back into position and the nut that was ment to be captive fell down into the the rear pillar.
The issue i have now is how to put a new one in? Nutsert ? Weld ? De skin the disco?
Thank you in advance
IanJava Black
2005 V8 SE
2nd May 2011 9:31 am
gedaso
Member Since: 10 Aug 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 72
Member Since: 11 Dec 2009
Location: Warrnambool
Posts: 27
Thanks
Gedaso
Too old for waranty, looks like i will have to go the technical solution ( cut holes in everything and weld it all back up )
Not likely, wiill try another way and if suitable will put out there for people who have bought the most awesome and complicated vehicle in the world. ( some days i wish i had grabbed a masses/common tojo )
CheersJava Black
2005 V8 SE
2nd May 2011 11:47 am
nikademus
Member Since: 08 Sep 2006
Location: Geelong
Posts: 61
Never fear!
I too, have had the unpleasant sensation of hearing the caged nut rattle its way down the inside of the pillar just before the tailgate hit me in the back of the head. I too read all the posts about cutting and welding. Then there were suggestions about bronzing nuts on to rods.... a bit above my technical expertise...
Sooo, I invented the nikademus-latch-fast-ezy-swing approach:
1. Take a bog standard coat hangar and straighten it out. Mix up some araldite and glue a nut (I think it was an M8, but check before) on the the coat hangar with of araldite on some wax paper. Allow to go hard overnight.
2. rip the trim panel off immediately inside the pillar. there's a bunch of access holes. choose the one that best suits (I think it has a grommet cover) and feed the nut up inside the pillar. A bit of bending and refeeding later, you should be able to line up the nut. When you're close, cover the bolt with a of loctite and screw it up.
It worked for me.
I was shocked too.Disco 2 TD5 "Good"
Disco 3 TDV6 "Better"
Disco 4 HSE SDV6 "Best"
The older I get, the better I was.
5th May 2011 6:23 am
AusCam
Member Since: 11 Dec 2009
Location: Warrnambool
Posts: 27
Nikademus
Absolute legend , would rather spend the weekend trying your way than go the horror stories route.
Will keep ye all informed of progress.
Regards
IanJava Black
2005 V8 SE
6th May 2011 8:36 am
mrandmrsh
Member Since: 25 Sep 2008
Location: Holmfirth
Posts: 487
nikademus wrote:
Sooo, I invented the nikademus-latch-fast-ezy-swing approach:
You, Sir, are a genius
I have reposted this onto the long thread mentioned above.
Cheers
Craig2012 Defender 110 XS Utility 2.2
2012 D4 Commercial 255 8-speed, Active diff, lots of extras on order, comes Sept - ORDER CANCELLED (isn't divorce expensive....?)
2008/08 D3 HSE G4 - part exchanged for the 110
1987 110 CSW with 200 Tdi (now gone)
2007/57 D3 TDV6 HSE - NOW GONE owned 1/oct/08 to 31/dec/09
2007 Seat Altea Freetrack4 170 tdi (wife's car, wife now gone!)
6th May 2011 8:58 am
AusCam
Member Since: 11 Dec 2009
Location: Warrnambool
Posts: 27
Well, have finally fixed back door, I glued a washer to the nut to re-inforce the inside. Cut a small holesaw hole in area behind trim and with said cOat hanger sorted it out .
Thanks for all input
IanJava Black
2005 V8 SE
29th May 2011 11:50 am
pierrepressure
Member Since: 28 Apr 2011
Location: Cape Town
Posts: 1
2 more tips on nikademus-latch-fast-ezy-swing approach
This has just happened to me guys and Sir Nikademus, Legend, Master of the Universe, if you're ever in Cape Town, South Africa - I owe you a good pub lunch!! Just a couple of things to note for the DIY novices like me:
1. The hole with the grommet cover is the only one you'll fit the nut-on-wire through but you also need to feed it through a second hole on the inner skin slightly up from the 1st hole, otherwise you'll be fiddling about in the wrong area.
2. As a tip , bend a 5-10mm section at the tip of the coat hanger to 90° to"wrap" around the nut before you metal glue it - it'll hold better. Also, get your nut-on-wire length pre-bent outside the work area to get the angles correct, i.e. measure up & test just outside the insert & bolt holes before you go in.
What I found was that when I had the nut-on-wire lined up & the bolt inserted & tightened, the metal glue joint broke as I was doing the last bit of tightening, which was perfect to haul the wire out - job done!
Pierre - Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa.
2006 Disco V6S
20th Nov 2011 1:40 pm
Linds
Member Since: 24 Jun 2012
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 3
I also just had the same problem and went to a panel repairers who quoted £300, i used coat hanger, loctite and a bit of patience. jobs a gooden and works brilliantly. Thanks everyone.
3rd Sep 2012 8:09 pm
badgerade
Member Since: 31 Jul 2010
Location: Berkshire
Posts: 287
Had an email from SWMBO today saying the "lifty thing" had come away from the side of the car.
One question before I attempt the nikademus-latch-fast-ezy-swing approachâ„¢
I'm not near the car - can anyone confirm the nut size that i need to use? M8 is suggested but before I start gluing nuts to hangers I could do with being certain
Thanks
12th Jul 2013 8:33 pm
Alphamale
Member Since: 28 May 2014
Location: Belfast
Posts: 497
First job after getting home with my 'new to me' '55 4.4 v8 was to deal with one of the rear door strut ball joint posts which had at some time come loose. Someone had tried to refit it in the past but in so doing had cross threaded it with the inevitable result, captive nut broke away.
As anyone who has tried to do this repair knows there is no access to the inside of the D post so repairs are very hard. Having read the accounts above I decided that there is an easier way and went about forming the access point LR should have.
Using a 30mm Bi-metal hole saw.
I cut this hole through 2 double layers of metal. (dirt on head lining cleaned up)
This gave easier access to the back of the panel and now I could think of cutting the old post off and with a magnet could retrieve the nut.
I did not want to use an M8 nut to do the repair as they tend to be rather small and would not, in my opinion, cover sufficient area to make a good strong repair. I needed one of those nuts with the spayed end like a top hat, but the only 2 I had were very rusty and not of any use. I had to retrieve the captive nut.
I used an old ball cock arm, see photo, to reach in and with a magnet attached withdrew the nut as I cut it off
and by similar means (but with the nut held on with Araldite) I was able to fit the new ball post in place, being careful not to cross thread it again.
With the the original captive nut I my hand I could see why it came away, its not welded to the support plate it's attached to, but is a form of rivnut and is crimped to the support plate which is then spot welded to the inside of the D post. The nut itself is about 25mm diameter, donut shaped and on one side is the up-stand that is turned over to crimp it in place. When it is subjected to the unexpected forces excerpted when the posts come loose they then dislodge. If they had been welded to the plate instead or as well they might last longer.
Job done
I covered the cut hole with Gaffer tape to seal it
3rd Jul 2014 10:14 pm
Heath_DA
Member Since: 05 Aug 2009
Location: Stockport
Posts: 667
Good job, i've had to do something similar having suffered with the same problem
4th Jul 2014 5:57 am
Preppy2013
Member Since: 12 Apr 2015
Location: Worcester
Posts: 4
Upper Tailgate Strut Fixing Bolt Mystery
I recently had my upper tailgate falling onto my head in a dark supermarket car park and for those who have not, it hurts! At first I thought the strut must have broken but then realised the right hand top fixing bolt had fallen off and could not be found. Having found this thread I have to say I was filled with some trepidation as many of my "repair" projects have been known not to go so well and I also thought that the captive nut had come away inside the paneling. There did however seem to be some thread inside the panel (see photo).
I dropped into M&M 4x4 near Droitwich and purchased a new fixing bolt for huge sum of 86p (possibly the cheapest thing you can buy for a Disco!?). The new bolt (picture below) would not bite however despite many attempts by me and a few extra ones from the main man in the M&M workshop.
This next bit I have no explanation for but it is well worth sharing because it worked.
M&M man suggested taking the left hand fixing bolt out and trying that in the broken right hand side. Went in perfectly, first time! Not only that but I then tried the new fixing bolt in the left hand side and that worked perfectly too. Then (following advice from another thread on this forum) tightened both nice and tight and all put back together and working again.
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of araldite on some wax paper. Allow to go hard overnight.
, would rather spend the weekend trying your way than go the horror stories route.
.
