Fuel tank door broken...

[WhiteVY]

Guys, I'm annoyed. My wife parked WhiteVY very close to the petrol pump, flipped the petrol lever beneath the seat and went to the boot. Things were fine until she tried to return the the petrol pump to get the nozzle which was next to the front door.

She inadvertently bent the petrol cap door as she squeezed past and snapped the whole door off!!! Not happy.

I've scanned this forum to see if it easy to replace the thing if I get one from the wreckers. Holden want $140.00 to paint and fit. But since every job I have had Holden do has been poorly executed, I'd rather do this myself.

Has anyone replaced these things before? I'm surprised they don't have any tolerance for being inverted. There are a few screws there next to the rotor cap, but I can't tell if this is a doozy of a job and worth the $140.

Keen to hear what you all think. Super glue is an option, but prefer a full fix.

[Holden2gether]

Can't help with information on the cost of a new lid as I live over the ditch, but super glue won't cut it either as it doesn't stick most plastics. Araldite would be a better bet if you're forced to go down this route but I'm with you on wanting to fix it properly. If you're already prepared to do a spray job, why not look at a wreckers? gotta be cheaper than a new one which will need a spray paint anywayz.

[Calaber]

King of the Capitals?

[andyman]

the fuel door is held on by two screws, remove these and replace with the new door

[whitey66]

I work at a Holden dealer as a technician,and have for over 15 years.
Don't tar us all with the same brush OK.

I have successfully re-glued these for customers in the past with great results.
Remove the fuel door hinge (3 screws) and reglue with super glue,use a good quality brand like Loc-Tite or Wurth for best results.
It is very important not to use too much glue and also to align it perfectly,then hold it there while it sets completely(about 30 to 40 seconds).
What I do next is get some of that thick clear plastic like they use for laminating posters etc.
Cut some small squares out of it and bend them into 90 degree angles.
These are then glued across the broken joint ie. one side on fuel door,other side on hinge if you know what I mean.
You must fully cover the area of the laminate with glue and squeeze out all the air so you get a really strong joint.Don't get any on you fingers,because that's what this stuff sticks best .

If you can't manage to do the above sucessfully,get some of this stuff Q-Bond Adhesives | Blackwoods places like Repco sell it and it really is a good product.I've used it on all sorts of jobs and it really is magic stuff.

Hope this helps.

[vt1538]

X2. my fuel door was broken off 6 months ago & was glued together with loctite superglue. After the joint was glued together more glue was applied around the joint then a plastic powder was applied over the glue. This in effect removes the air from the glue on the surface & allows it to dry.(Superglue is anaerobic)

[WhiteVY]

Hey, thanks for the tips. I'll look at the gluing as whitey66 says. It's sounds like a reasonable way to do it. If I mess it up, I'll go for the replacement.

Also, I think I need to offer an apology to whitey66. I can only apologise for sounding like I'm generalising that all the Holden folk are no good after my dealings with the service centres. That was certainly not the point of my post.

I am specifically jaded with my local service centre but it is unfortunate that they are representing the Holden Service brand to me. Naturally it would inappropriate for me to assume that all Holden Centres are the same. I probably just live near a bad one or had random bad experiences.

I too work in an industry that is often scrutinised and misrepresented so I can relate to your comment. But the fact remains that the times my car as been in at my local Holden Centre, it has been poor. For the record though, my comments are reserved for my local centre and the specific times my car was serviced, and not a generalism.

Thanks for the tips. We are all Holden on here, after all.

[whitey66]

Hey WhiteVY,my reply wasn't aimed at you,no apology needed.
It was to a post that has since been removed.It was just above VYII BERLINA's post reply "King of the Capitols".He was referring to the guys overuse of capitols in his reply.
I hear a lot of problems that people have with other Holden dealers too,and it's hurting the products name that's for sure.

You won't mess it up if you follow those instructions.If you end up doing it with the Q-Bond it will be stronger than a new one anyway.

If you can do without the fuel door for a few days,you could just post it to me and i'll fix it for you for nothing.You just pay the post both ways.(Would cost you about $15 all up for 2 x $7.50 Express Post bags)Cheap Fix!

Cheers.