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Old 07-06-2005, 04:01 PM   #1
BobRederick
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Default Screws pulling out -- repair

I am finding screws pulling out of the aluminum shell on my '04 3326 King. It is due to the high stress placed on the screws and the fact that they are anchored in a thin layer of relatively soft aluminum. I am looking for a general purpose repair for this. I also see movement of the attachments in various areas.
* The spring loaded latches and the clamp down latches at the corners move.
* The pull-out handle for the bed moves.
* Recently the 2 screws holding the door jam spring clip pulled out of the upper shell. This is on the latch surface of the door.

I made a repair for the last one which I will describe. The repair was performed in a campground and was basically done using JB Weld epoxy found at an auto parts store for about $4. The pulled screws go thru the clip, the aluminum inner wall, and the square frame tubing. The epoxy needs 15 hours to cure completely but is run-free in about 1 hour. The tools I used included
* A plastic knife and Pringles box top for mixing and
* two "F" wood clamps, duct tape, and an aluminum tire iron to hold the joint together during the cure.

* Access to the area was gained by removing screws along the upper door jam and prying the jam trim out about 1/4 inch. This trim is strongly attached to the outer skin and that bond was not broken by this repair.
* A paper towel plug was pressed into the square tube opening to capture the epoxy and prevent it from running along into the tube.
* Duct tape was applied at the upper shell corner below the repair area to form a cup to keep the fresh epoxy inside the tube.
* A batch of JB Weld was mixed including pieces of paper towel about 1/2 inch square to act as a thickener preventing epoxy from running back out of the repair area.
* The removed screws (3 or 4) that went into the epoxy were smeared with grease to permit possible removal of the screws at a future date. The screws were inserted back into the holes from which they were removed.
* The door jam closed with the pin snapped into the clip.
* The joint was clamped together. The tire-iron was used to extend clamping pressure to the clip with the door closed and locked.

The repair withstood the trip home and appears to be as good as new (or better). JB Weld is an extremely tough form of epoxy used for metal repair and the remaining half of the material is in my repair box if/when it is needed in the future.

Bob
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