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Fix for broken A-pillars

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Old Oct 2, 2008 | 06:57 AM
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MikeyB's Avatar
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From: Tomball, Texas
Fix for broken A-pillars

Don't know if this was posted before but here's a fix without buying a new pillar.

http://www.imcoproductsinc.com/page/dodgegrabhandle

MikeyB
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Old Oct 2, 2008 | 07:34 AM
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From: Ila georgia
Mine feels pretty heavy duty its also one with a gauge pod.How do people keep breaking these.Using it to hold their entire weight? I'm 6'1 230 and use it to get in and out with no issues.Its suppose to be for assistance not chin ups.
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Old Oct 2, 2008 | 05:28 PM
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When my passenger side handle broke, I put a washer on the screw that attaches it to the truck and a hose clamp around the plastic piece that splits and allows the screw head to slip through.

It hasn't come back off in 5 months and it only cost about $1 for the hose clamps. (Actually, I gave my neighbor the $1 for the 2 clamps he gave me.)
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Old Oct 2, 2008 | 06:19 PM
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From: NM
When mine broke, I put a metal washer into the bottom of the hole, securing it with fiberglass bondo. I then used fiberglass bondo to repair the other side. Tried epoxy first. It was to brittle and broke with hand pressure.
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 06:57 AM
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MikeyB's Avatar
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From: Tomball, Texas
Originally Posted by Guardrail
When my passenger side handle broke, I put a washer on the screw that attaches it to the truck and a hose clamp around the plastic piece that splits and allows the screw head to slip through.

It hasn't come back off in 5 months and it only cost about $1 for the hose clamps. (Actually, I gave my neighbor the $1 for the 2 clamps he gave me.)
Hose clamps is a good idea. And a lot cheaper too!

MikeyB
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 03:35 PM
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From: San Antonio, Texas
Yup the washer and hose clamp work well. Also the metal threaded bung can come lose if you over tighten the screw, dont ask. Anyway I just grind the metal on the bung and the paint off the pillar with a dremel and JB welded them. Seems to be holding quite well.
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 05:23 PM
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From: Modena,New York
Originally Posted by CowboyDave
Yup the washer and hose clamp work well. Also the metal threaded bung can come lose if you over tighten the screw, dont ask. Anyway I just grind the metal on the bung and the paint off the pillar with a dremel and JB welded them. Seems to be holding quite well.
Well some of the bungs are lose from the factory. Had to break my A pillar to get it off the first time cause the bung was spinning.
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Old Jul 9, 2011 | 12:17 PM
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From: St. Augustine, FL
Mine broke with almost no weight put on it. The top bolt a while ago and the bottom one yesterday. I need to fix it now, but am having a hard time getting it all the way off. It seems clipped at the bottom. Do I need to remove the dash?
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Old Jul 9, 2011 | 12:52 PM
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From: Live Oak Texas
No need to remove anything. Should pop off with a little tug.
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Old Jul 9, 2011 | 01:20 PM
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From: St. Augustine, FL
Thumbs up

Thanks rockcrawler304. It was quite a tug but I figured it was already broke. Now to see about the rest of the fix and re-install.
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Old Jul 9, 2011 | 06:30 PM
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Replace it, then reinforce the new one

I had my passenger side A-pillar let go a few months back. Since the entire bottom of the plastic boss was broken (top bolt only), I decided to buy a new one.

When the new one arrived, I cut a piece of 3/4 black pipe about 1" long and increased the ID on my lathe at one end of the pipe only. Your could also use a dremel tool. The idea is to put a taper on the pipe's ID to roughly match the new boss. It is not too fussy to get it right. Next I welded a 3/8 inch fender washer with a 1.25 inch OD on the end of the pipe. I put a small washer inside the boss and used 1/4 inch longer allen head cap screws to reattach the A-piller to the truck.

Took less than an hour and feels *really solid. To make it even stronger you could turn a cup for the inside of the boss from .625 aluminum round stock that the bolt would go though, kind of like the expensive stuff mentioned earlier in the thread.

I think most of the problems come from flexing the boss and the pipe on the OD prevents that pretty well.
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