Center armrest (oddments tray) hinge replacement Q

Hi, Like losing your hair at an early age, my car seems to have had all the usual 996 issues (sans RMS), cracked coolant bottle, squeaky hardtop, and now the hinge on the center armrest (oddments tray) broke. Ever an industrious lad, I purchased the replacement kit and set to work (thank God I had a friend with a punch rivet tool so I didn't have to buy one myself). So, I did the entire replacement but now when push the locking button to release the cover, it doesn't "spring" up. I took it all apart again and looked at the spring. I'm sure I re-installed it in the correct location but do I need to "torque" it or something? I just put the spring back into place, metal slot on the cover and hole in the arm rest frame. Any help? Thanks! Joe

I did this replacement a couple of years ago so I don't recall the exact spring position, but I do remember that there was nothing special ("torque"ing) that needed to be done. My only suggestion is to walk through the instructions one more time. I followed them to the best of my ability and the door opens fine.

Make sure you put the spring back in the correct way. As I recall, I had this problem. I had put the spring in upside down or backwards or something. Nothing complicated or torqued.

I think there are multiple door/hinge types depending on year. I had a similar problem and was using the wrong instructions. Found the correct method on the CD manual

Okay, I'm going to take it all apart one more time although the hinge spring I have seemed to me to be "keyed", that is, one end of the spring was much longer than the other and the other was bent into an "L" making placement, I believe, only in one orientation/location. If anyone else has anything further, post up! Thanks for all the replies!

All MY01 and older cars use hinge part number 996.552.960.01.

Quotes source post: 5471475

Hi Loren! Thanks for the part # however I didn't have a problem with the hinge replacement, it was re-inserting the spring - the spring that was the original from my car. I'm beginning to think that it might just be that my spring has lost it's spring. I took it all apart again last night (getting my full use out of those torx screwdrivers I bought! ) and I just can not see any other way to insert the spring (although I will mention my degree is *not* in mechanical engineering - for good reason... ) Now mind you, when I hit the release button for the lid, the lid doesn't "spring upwards" like it used to but if I give it a bit of "hand assist" it will spring up, albeit somewhat weakly. That was why I was think that I might need to know some trick in the re-installation of the spring, like wrapping it around a turn before finalizing installation. Unless anyone has any further info, maybe next time I'm by my dealer I'll have a talk with the parts guy. Thanks everyone, I *really* appreciate any/all input!!

It's easy to install the spring upside down. There should be tension on it even when the door is fully open. If it's not a bit tricky to get the spring in, you're probably installing it the wrong way.

Think about it. If the spring worked fine before the hinge repair, why would it suddenly get weak? I think the spring's been inserted incorredtly.

Quotes source post: 5472830

Hi pat056, Yah, I thought about that and am having a hard time believing it too... However, as I mentioned the spring appears to be "keyed" and looks to me like it can only be inserted one way. Tell you what, I'll take the thing apart again and take/post some pictures. Maybe that'll help, at the very least it should help my description of the spring... Again, I really appreciate all the input!!!

Although it's been a year since I did mine, I vagely remember having the spring pop out in my hand as I said "Oh s**t!". I remember having to undo/redo the hinge and I'm almost certain it was because the spring was in wrong. Good luck!

When I bought my '99 In April it had the same issue. The previous owner had glued the metal plate (with the holes for the hinge pin) to the console. The glue had given loose so the cover opened but at an angle. I didn't like that "band-aid" so here's what I did. Took everything apart, scraped the glue off both surfaces, lined up the plate with the existing holes and drilled them out. I then pop riveted the plate in place and put it all together. At that point I had the same problem you're having...it would open but only with some upward pressure on it. So, then I drilled out the rivets again and started over. This time, I put slight pressure forward (towards the front of the car) on the drill and ended up with an oval hole in the plastic, which is what I wanted. This time, before pulling the trigger on my riveter, I held the plate slightly forward to adjust for the misalignment. Put everything back in place, splashed a dab of wd-40 on the latch assembly, and it worked like new. IMHO, your spring is fine. Not sure if this helps at all but it worked for me.

Quotes source post: 5472866

I think you're misunderstanding upside down. Hold the spring by the round part in the middle. There's front to back (longer end to shorter end) and upside down, v shaped vs. n shaped.

Hi, Me again. I had some time this past weekend to take everything apart (again!!!! ) and I took some pictures (attached). One picture is of the spring, one is of the installation partially done so you can see the hole and slot the spring inserts into and the other is the final installation (sans leather cover in place). Okay, I now believe that obviously there's nothing wrong with the spring or its installation. However, I think when I pop-riveted the hinge into place, I might have made it just a hair too snug (towards the front of the car). This is resulting the latch being able to lock closed but when I release it to open the lid, it's *just* a little to far forward for the lid to "spring" upwards. Once I give it a bit of hand assist, it springs up just fine. Any comments and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Joe

Better late than never..? I had the same problem months ago (years??) when I installed the kit. Hard to latch, FORCE required, and would not spring open. Today I decided enough is enough. Drilled out the pop rivets and tried to get a feel for the problem. Turned out that the new metal hinge half self-mounts about 0.050" to for toward the front of the car. So I bent the little downward tabs restricting the new hinge plate's forward travel so the plate used as a template was 0.050" more to the rear. Reversed the U-plates and redrilled the pop rivet holes. I put everything back together and now the lid closes easily and SPRINGS open.

Well, now I have yet another thing on my "Todo" list! Just drove the car in today and lamented the fact that I now keep my shades in the door compartment instead of the center arm rest for exactly this problem! :-(