Re: The trunk handle has a mind of its own

Posted by DavidPackard On 2016/3/29 17:32:51

The 'saw cuts' in the 5/16 square shaft could very easily be aligned with the crimp deformations in the 'thimble'. Those were the only features in the portion of the shaft that spigots into the handle. I doubt if the shaft was in-place during the casting (injection molding) process . . . otherwise there would more features to entrap the shaft, and some evidence of chrome plating should also be evident.
Plus I could use the same handle casting with any other length shaft. I believe the retention was via pins under the thimble or just pot metal pushed into those saw cuts.

HH56, is that a picture of a handle with the 'thimble' removed? If so is there any evidence of 'pins' that would be pushed in when the thimble is crimped? Until I find a handle with the escutcheon missing I'm reluctant to attempt a disassembly.

There is a short section in the write-up I'm working on that discusses the two load paths from the handle to the trunk lid. One path is through the thimble (via the crimped area) to the escutcheon, and then to the outer skin of the trunk via the machine screw and lock cylinder. The second path is into the square shaft (via the unknown retention scheme), through the acorn nut and latch housing, and finally to the inner skin of the trunk stiffening structure. At least for the last few years that I have owned it my car it did not have an acorn nut installed, so the first load path was the only possibility in that set-up. The 'final straw' of failure in my car occurred without an obvious pull-out force being applied. Perhaps bouncing around in sunny Arizona was just too much for it.

Aggressive torqueing of the acorn nut is a definite hazard to the means that retains the shaft to handle. I bet with a steel nut and a few washers I could pull the shaft right out of the handle. Upon reassembly I will be quite mindful of this. I think the designers are trying to tell us something with the use of a tab washer, versus a split or star lock washer.

Note the technical bulletin has both the tab washer and the crimp marks in the thimble. Clearly artwork from the assembly 'blue-prints'. To bad we didn't get the drawing notes.

If I was to cross drill and install a pin I would drill the thimble, handle, and shaft as one unit and use a roll pin dressed to the diameter of the thimble, but I think the hole in the trunk lid is large enough that the pin can stand proud of the thimble. I stocked-up on a handful of 1/16 inch roll pins just in-case.

dp