How to free up fresh air vent door?

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75slant6

75slant6

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I’ve got a fresh air vent box with a frozen hinge and latch. I’m looking for tips on something I can soak it in that won’t mess up the fiberglass. Or would I be better of drilling out the rivets and just soaking the door?
Thanks in advance.
 
75slant6 said:
I’ve got a fresh air vent box with a frozen hinge and latch. I’m looking for tips on something I can soak it in that won’t mess up the fiberglass. Or would I be better of drilling out the rivets and just soaking the door?
Thanks in advance.
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Spray with a rust penetrant and tap lightly with a hammer. Let it sit and maybe more penetrant.Try to work it back a forth a little at a time.
If it is rusted real bad it may not be salvageable.
 
Lee Robinson said:
Spray with a rust penetrant and tap lightly with a hammer. Let it sit and maybe more penetrant.Try to work it back a forth a little at a time.
If it is rusted real bad it may not be salvageable.
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I’ve been spraying it with wd-40 but may need to get some pb blaster or other type of actual penetrant.
 
a long soak in evaporust would do wonders and not harm the fiberglass but drilling the rivets and soaking the door and hinge in it would be a better option
 
75slant6 said:
I’ve got a fresh air vent box with a frozen hinge and latch. I’m looking for tips on something I can soak it in that won’t mess up the fiberglass. Or would I be better of drilling out the rivets and just soaking the door?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I think if you have already been soaking it in WD40, things are not likely to get much better with other products. But if you do pursue this rout, you just have to gauge the amount of force applied, and not exceed more than can be handled by other areas to avoid damage.

Real risk is as you are working it up and back to loosen it up, the stress is transferred to the housing attachment rivets. What is likely to happen is the hinge and cover will rip the rivets out of the body and you will end up with damage there. Alternatively the hinge will bend at either end before actually freeing up at the pivot points where it is rusted stuck.

What I would opt for if it looks like things are not going to get freed-up without risking damage, is to carefully use a file or die grinder to remove the two rivets holding the door and hinge together. You file the head off and the rest of the rivet will drop out. You can then just clean-up the hinge pivot point surfaces and either use pop-rivets or screws with self locking nuts to snug things up without binding.
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You can also remove hinge and cover by carefully using a file or die grinder to remove the two rivets holding the door and hinge to the main body, and reinstall with pop-rivets or screws. This would allow you to do as cudascott said, and drop it into evaporust, and be able to work on the door/hinge assembly on a workbench with tools, vise, etc., directly putting more force into the hinge pivot points to free them up.
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I was able to get the latch freed up by tapping on the handle with a hammer and working WD-40 into it. I ended up grinding of the hinge-to-box rivets with a dremel and once I had it off the box I was able to get the hinge freed up as well. I think I’ll still buy me some evaporust and soak the door and hinge assembly before I rivet it back on the box.
 
75slant6 said:
Thanks for the replies everyone. I was able to get the latch freed up by tapping on the handle with a hammer and working WD-40 into it. I ended up grinding of the hinge-to-box rivets with a dremel and once I had it off the box I was able to get the hinge freed up as well. I think I’ll still buy me some evaporust and soak the door and hinge assembly before I rivet it back on the box.
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That is great news.

One tip on the reinstall, would be to add snug fitting washers to the rivet shaft, on the inside of the housing. This will avoid pull-through and insure a strong lasting attachment.
 
MOPAR4Me said:
That is great news.

One tip on the reinstall, would be to add snug fitting washers to the rivet shaft, on the inside of the housing, to insure a strong lasting attachment.
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Yeah I definitely plan on reinforcing the inside one way or another. I think I’ll use a short, rounded head bolt with a lock nut like you’d suggested to fasten it back to the box.
 
75slant6 said:
Yeah I definitely plan on reinforcing the inside one way or another. I think I’ll use a short, rounded head bolt with a lock nut like you’d suggested to fasten it back to the box.
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Yes, either screws or rivets work, key is distributing the force over a broader surface area on the box, since the material is not metal and tends to crack/break more easily than metal would in areas of high usage like here. Good luck, and post some pics so we can see the before and after.
 
MOPAR4Me said:
Yes, either screws or rivets work, key is distributing the force over a broader surface area on the box, since the material is not metal and tends to crack/break more easily than metal would in areas of high usage like here. Good luck, and post some pics so we can see the before and after.
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I’ll do that. Thanks.
 
75slant6 said:
Thanks for the replies everyone. I was able to get the latch freed up by tapping on the handle with a hammer and working WD-40 into it. I ended up grinding of the hinge-to-box rivets with a dremel and once I had it off the box I was able to get the hinge freed up as well. I think I’ll still buy me some evaporust and soak the door and hinge assembly before I rivet it back on the box.
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I just this weekend took apart the door hinge and latch assembly sand blasted and then hammer and dolly every thing straight and ready for paint, I an currently sourcing rivets to put everything back together but the kicker is the tool used to chinch the rivets tight, the rivets can be purchased from eBay the same type they use to restore old Tonka trucks, I will post pics on progress
 
Sea Foam makes a great product called Deep Creep. It's better than PBlaster. I never thought I'd say that but it is.
 
David Dryer said:
I just this weekend took apart the door hinge and latch assembly sand blasted and then hammer and dolly every thing straight and ready for paint, I an currently sourcing rivets to put everything back together but the kicker is the tool used to chinch the rivets tight, the rivets can be purchased from eBay the same type they use to restore old Tonka trucks, I will post pics on progress
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did you find the right size rivets and tool? I have the same issue. Hinge is frozen. I am soaking with PB blaster and will try evaporust if PB doesn't work but I think I'm going to have to drill the rivets.
 
I have the rivets and tool! What it’s worth to you for me to resto?
 
j_anderson said:
I’m not even sure what a service like this would cost. Shipping back and forth alone would be $15-20
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Agree, just a thought and may not be realistic. Tool and material rental on the other hand may be?
 
Course the rental fee will be high like the local stores until full return! Trying to think outside the box and help some folks.
 
If you are Not doing a serious resto attempt And just want functionality then why not use plain old pop rivets? You can supplement issues with small star washers if needed and or a thin sheet metal backer plate.
 
If you remove a frozen Door/ hinge I have had good luck with a small punch on the dished end of the door hinge while I use a socket slightly bigger than the rounded head side of rivet. Place the socket on my vise, put the rounded end of the rivet on top of the socket and use the punch n the dished end and tap it enough to loosen the rivet a little. Of course I spray the heck out of the joints with PB. Play with it a while and it will be loose in no time.
 
1969383S said:
If you are Not doing a serious resto attempt And just want functionality then why not use plain old pop rivets? You can supplement issues with small star washers if needed and or a thin sheet metal backer plate.
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I plan to do a backer plate when I put the hinge piece back on the box. I think I might try to find a paper-thin nyloN washer to place between the hinge and door too.
I’m not doing a concours resto or anything but I do want it to look correct if I can manage. That’s why I’d rather rivet
 
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