Today I fixed the glove box.
Issues; light not working, pull handle operates right pin only and left pin end is broken.
Dilemma: buy a replacement/try to fix however my broken one is pristine (issues aside) and replacement may not match/potentially poorer condition.
Fix is my plan however the risk is not being able to fix or damaging it more.
Difficulty level in (); 1 = easy, 10 = very difficult
1. Remove associated panels (6), remove glovebox (2) disconnect light (3).
Surprised at how much plastic is welded and brute force required for panel removal.
2. Dismantle glove box by removing hinge pins (1), manoeuvre lid from soft close mechanism without breaking (4).
Light not working due to broken actuator (present), tested connections/bulb, all working, fuse is fine.
3. Split glove box lid (10) this felt like I was breaking it and my biggest concern. Knife/scrapers did the trick and happy I’ve not broken it. Definitely not for the feint hearted!
Again massive brute force required. Findings - 2mm diameter plastic pin holding gear broken, right hand pin missing about 7mm of length.
4. Clean parts, re-glue pin for gear and reassemble. Contact adhesive didn't work, surface area too small and comes loose again, needs a metal pin or metal bolt as depronman suggests. I opted for a strong metal pin (a drill bit is the strongest I could find, right size and tempered). It would also be visible on the inside of the lid so wanted something as invisible as possible. All you can see is a dot which has a bit of epoxy resin to hold in place. The innards don't need a bolt as the right prong holds the gear in place (6).
5. Left pin end fix - sand flat, fashion an extra 7mm (I used wood dowel), fix to the end (4). Again contact adhesive not as strong as expected and repeated use could break it. Since lid needs glueing back together, both this and the gear pin fix needed to be permanent and strong. I opted to drill the dowel, and the end of the sanded pin, glueing all together with the pin in the middle with epoxy resin (6).
Dowel I can paint and shape to the exact size and epoxy resin has sufficient strength together with the drill bit pin to add further strength.
6. Re-assemble mechanism (checking it all works and greasing) and glue lid back together (4).
7. Re-assemble glove box and check fitment/operation of all parts (4).
8. Glue light actuator in place with epoxy resin (4).
9. Re-fit all parts back into car (5).
On refitting I managed to break the actuator again by marginally leaning on the lid when screwing a torx screw back in ?, I took it all out and re-glued it however this time I removed the rubber gromot the actuator rests on when open, there is no chance this will happen again as there is now clearance. The soft close mechanism stop is strong enough to not need the actuator to rest on anything.
All parts refitted and whilst I started it yesterday the time taken was mostly for adhesive/resin to set. The original pin holding the gear and the light actuator is a design flaw in my opinion however feel my efforts I believe will last the test of time. Really really happy owing to it visually looking fantastic (in my opinion)?????.
Many thanks to Sarge, depronman, ajsellors for their ‘how to’ instructions, without which I wouldn't have attempted the fix. Pics below.