George Posted May 6, 2010 Report Share Posted May 6, 2010 Hi everyone, the handle of my boot has come a bit loose on one end. I have not taken it apart to see what is broken but has anyone had any experience with this? I take it there are four clips where the handle screws onto. Do these tend to break or is it something on the handle itself? Thanks a lot! George PS: Don't forget to vote! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimzimmer46 Posted May 6, 2010 Report Share Posted May 6, 2010 they r probably broke m8. Mine come completey but i did manage to fix it and it was a hell of a job. What i did was screw very thin metal plates to the back of the handle, drilled a hole in each 1 for the screw to fit through (fixes the handle to the boot)....now this took me pretty much all day but it worked and now is solid. Take it off and you'll c what i mean or what i will try and do is take a pic for ya and show ya what im on about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted May 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2010 Thanks mate! Any pictures would be great. The guy at BMW said on the phone that you can buy the clips separately so you are probably referring to something that actually broke on the handle part? Thanks again! George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimzimmer46 Posted May 6, 2010 Report Share Posted May 6, 2010 if u can get the clips then i'll do that...but my clips was part of the handle no way of replacing them so for me it was fix it or buy a new handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted May 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2010 Don't worry about pictures mate, I took mine off and I see what you mean. The back plate has separated where the screw grabs. I'll take the handle with me at work and I will ask my technician to help me fix it. I think I have an idea for an easy fix and if it works I will do a DIY. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted May 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2010 Okay, here it is. I took the handle with me to work and I find a very nice fix for it. I don't have my car here so the final verdict will have to be made over the weekend but it looks and feels very sturdy. Here is what I did in case anyone finds it useful: Looking at the design of the handle I realised that I had to find something to stick in the holes. The problem was that what I put in the holes had to be a very snug fit that would not push all the way through. If it did the handle would come loose again. My initial thought was to ask my technician to turn a couple of plugs made of hard plastic. It looked like the holes might have a bit of taper to them so the plugs would stick in nicely. If not, they would have to be glued somehow but that would be a less durable option. However, when I came into my office I found a piece of high pressure oxygen hose that I had brought in from my laboratory and it looked like the diameter might be suitable. The hose was a bit bigger but it has a bit of give to it and I was sure it would fit. The benefit of using the hose is that it can be forced in and as it expands it makes for the perfect fit. The hose has thick reinforced walls and a lumen just big enough for a screw to go through. The dimensions of the hose are: OD = 13 mm, ID = 6.5 mm and Wall = 3.25 mm. So I cut two rings from the hose, about 3 mm wide, as in the pictures below: Then I pushed the ring in the hole, top side first: and then I pushed the bottom edge to fit in the hole. It needs some force to get it in but it's not too hard because the hose will flex: Then go back to the top side and push it in. The ring is now completely in the hole: Keep working the ring with a flat-head screw driver from all sides until it slides to the bottom of the hole: Careful not to go too far and come through the other end! I left about 1 mm to the end of the hole and this is what it looks like on the other side of the handle: At that stage I put a screw though and pulled with all my strength but the ring would not move at all. It was in there well and truly stuck. As an added measure I added a blob of Araldite on this end (making sure not to obstruct the lumen of the hose where the screw will have to go through) and that was it: I hope that I will be as pleased with it when I put the handle back on the car. George Coupeguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimzimmer46 Posted May 7, 2010 Report Share Posted May 7, 2010 hope it works for ya m8. I did try metal dales before with some fancy clue but after a couple of days the handle come off again....in my hands lol leaving the dales still attached to the boot still Oops. But the thin metal plates worked a treat...you could hang off the fooker now and it wouldn't go anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted May 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2010 Thanks mate! If you get a chance to get a picture of what you did I would be interested to see it. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimzimmer46 Posted May 7, 2010 Report Share Posted May 7, 2010 Thanks mate! If you get a chance to get a picture of what you did I would be interested to see it. Georgeok m8 no probs ill post it up the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coupeguy Posted December 4, 2019 Report Share Posted December 4, 2019 On 07/05/2010 at 11:13, George said: Okay, here it is. I took the handle with me to work and I find a very nice fix for it. I don't have my car here so the final verdict will have to be made over the weekend but it looks and feels very sturdy. Here is what I did in case anyone finds it useful: Looking at the design of the handle I realised that I had to find something to stick in the holes. The problem was that what I put in the holes had to be a very snug fit that would not push all the way through. If it did the handle would come loose again. My initial thought was to ask my technician to turn a couple of plugs made of hard plastic. It looked like the holes might have a bit of taper to them so the plugs would stick in nicely. If not, they would have to be glued somehow but that would be a less durable option. However, when I came into my office I found a piece of high pressure oxygen hose that I had brought in from my laboratory and it looked like the diameter might be suitable. The hose was a bit bigger but it has a bit of give to it and I was sure it would fit. The benefit of using the hose is that it can be forced in and as it expands it makes for the perfect fit. The hose has thick reinforced walls and a lumen just big enough for a screw to go through. The dimensions of the hose are: OD = 13 mm, ID = 6.5 mm and Wall = 3.25 mm. So I cut two rings from the hose, about 3 mm wide, as in the pictures below: Then I pushed the ring in the hole, top side first: and then I pushed the bottom edge to fit in the hole. It needs some force to get it in but it's not too hard because the hose will flex: Then go back to the top side and push it in. The ring is now completely in the hole: Keep working the ring with a flat-head screw driver from all sides until it slides to the bottom of the hole: Careful not to go too far and come through the other end! I left about 1 mm to the end of the hole and this is what it looks like on the other side of the handle: At that stage I put a screw though and pulled with all my strength but the ring would not move at all. It was in there well and truly stuck. As an added measure I added a blob of Araldite on this end (making sure not to obstruct the lumen of the hose where the screw will have to go through) and that was it: I hope that I will be as pleased with it when I put the handle back on the car. George Bumping an old post! Just to say thanks as this worked a treat and bought 10cm of the hose for 99p inc postage - still got 7cm left to fix my other Beemers when they fail too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...