SouthSeaPirate

The cheap Chrysler job done on these pillars is ridiculous!
Apparently they simply melt the plastic to hold the tabs.
This has been broken since Ive had my XJ.

Ive tried putting the tabs back on with epoxy.
Lasts for a day... Ive dont this twice with Gorilla Glue Epoxy and Loctite Epoxy!

Any ideas what I can do?!

fb97xj1

Post a pic of the damage as i have never removed mine. What type of plastic is it? It should be on the part somewhere, my guess is HCPP or PP? Im still learning this stuff, but some plastics dont take well to adhesives, such as HCPP and PP, which are thermoplastics. From what i have found so far, melting the two parts together is the best fix for that stuff. If melting isnt your thing, try some baking soda and superglue. Clean the parts well and apply a little superglue to the break and hold the parts together for 30 seconds (watch your fingers). Cover the superglue with baking soda and cover that with more superglue. The chemical reaction solidifies the mix and can make a fairly strong bond.

moparado

Hot glue guns are your friend.
Clean both the Apillar and tabs with rubbing alcahol then hot glue them back on being careful about their correct placement.
Done this more times than i care to remember.
Works great and haven't had any issues with them failing after years, if done right.

Next time the Apillar trim is pulled, get the hot glue warmed up again.

Tbone289

I believe the OP is talking about the metal spring clips that are melted to the plastic. I haven't yet found a glue/epoxy that will reattach them. The metal is a very slick spring-type steel.

moparado

Thats what i'm talking about.

The trick is to 'bridge' some of the hot glue over the clip's 'wings' which are
originally plastic melted to the trim.
Also roughen up the plastic a little with sandpaper for better glue adhesion and make sure the clip and the plastic is squeaky clean with the alcahol treatment.
Trust me it does work great....at least until the trim has to be pulled again.

Yeah, its a cheezy stock set up just about guaranteed to snap the clips off the trim.
What ever happened to plain ordinary screws to secure the trim.

Tbone289

I'll have to give that a try. Thanks moparado.

moparado

If you're gonna try the hot glue treatment, the Gorilla, epoxy, loctite all have to be removed down to the bare plastic being careful not to remove any of the clip's positioning plastic.
The clips have to be glued in the exact same original position on the trim piece.

Wish now i took pics of how to apply the hot glue.
Like i said above, gob the hot glue above the clip's wings and around its base all to the plastic being careful to place the clip in its original position.

Mopar no longer carries trim pieces and pulling one from the boneyard will likely result in broken off clips then its back to ground zero.
Repairing the clips back on the trim is the best, cheapest and quickest option IMO.

fb97xj1

Mock up a custom mount and use velcro. Easy on, easy off.