Every 240/740 owner knows about the trials and tribulations of the front door map pockets, needlessly manufactured out of fragile plastic and positioned perfectly to get bumped by a leg or a foot as one egresses. Every one of my 240's had broken door pockets, as does my new 1989 740 GL. Well, I've had it with these being broken so this week I have engineered a fix that seems to work well. Not only does it repair some pretty severe cracks in the plastic, it additionally strengthens them so that they are less likely to break again, even under the inevitable stress of use. Best of all, this fix is invisible.

My driver door pocket had a split in it, kind of a ragged crack which was threatening to break off leaving an ugly gaping hole. Didn't want that and I didn't want it to happen again. This is what I did.

First I got some plexiglass from the local hardware. Most glass departments will have small pieces left over. For a couple of bucks I picked up about a square foot of thin plexiglass. This stuff is pretty resilient to stress and is definitely stronger than the old plastic on my 18 year old 740. Second, I needed some kind of glue that would bond to both the plastic door panel material and the plexiglass. I didn't know what would be best, so I picked up some Duco cement, some contact adhesive, and a product that looked very promising, Surehold Plastic Surgery.

I experimented with the different glues by taking a couple small "practice" pieces of plexiglass. I followed instructions and glued two pieces together with the Duco cement, the contact adhesive, and the Plastic Surgery. After the glue set for the required time, I tested the results. Both the Duco and the contact adhesive could be pulled apart--not good. I want this fix to work for once and for all time. The Plastic Surgery really stuck the two pieces together. In a minute, the bond was so strong that I could not pull apart the two pieces of plexiglas. It looks like I found my glue to implement the fix.

The inside of the map pocket has a horizontal rib at the top edge and another horizontal rib just about a 1/2 inch below it. My plan was to cut a strip of plexiglass narrow enough to fit between the ribs and glue it inside the panel along the top just below the top rib. I got some small c-clamps and cut a strip of plexiglass, long enough to fit along the inside of the panel. Check to make sure that the strip fits flush against the inside of the pocket between the ribs. Make it as long as the pocket construction will allow. If there are verticle ribs, cut the strip so that the plexiglass strip will sit between the ribs and sit flush against the plastic.

The next step is to carefully glue any cracks together with the Plastic Surgery. I pulled the crack apart gently and applied a very small bead of the adhesive all along the crack (on one side only). This stuff sets in a matter of seconds, so you must quickly position both sides of the cracked plastic so that the face is flush and the crack is not evident. Hold it together for about a minute or until the adhesive dries.

Next, is to reinforce the repair by gluing the previously cut plexiglass strips to the inside of the panel. First , get some small c-clamps ready. You may want narrow strips of wood, or another piece of plexiglass so that the clamp can press the glued plexiglass against the door panel pocket, which tends to curve. The plexiglass is flexible so it should accomodate any curvature. Second, apply a moderate bead of adhesive down the middle of the plexiglass strip, enough so that you'll have good coverage when the adhesive squeezes out. Don't worry, this fix is invisible, so a little extra won't hurt. Make sure that the bead goes all the way to both ends. Position the strip between the ribs on the inside of the pocket and quickly clamp the strip with as many clamps as are necessary to keep the entire strip in contact with the inside of the pocket.

Give a few minutes to set.

The results? Great!! Not only is the hideously long, ragged crack in the panel fixed, but the plexiglass strip will prevent the fragile, sun-aged plastic from breaking again. The panel looks as good as new and the invisible plexiglass reinforcement will prevent the panel from cracking again. I am quite comfortable with the apparent fact that the fix makes the panel better than the original design and that the map pocket will remain intact in spite of all but the most robust accidental kicks.

The only question is whether Surehold Plastic Surgery is good enough to keep it that way. Apparently, this stuff is similar to crazy glue as I accidently glued my index finger to a piece of plexiglass while I was testing it. My advice. Don't do that. If you do, don't try to separate your fingertip from the plastic by pulling it apart from the plastic. Instead, peel your finger off from one side. I suspect that this is the only way to have your finger retain layers of skin.

I did not try regular crazy glue, but Plastic Surgery seems to be a bit thicker than crazy glue. It sure does glue plastic well. I still cannot pull the two practice plexiglass pieces apart. Looks like they're together for the duration. I hope the door panel pocket is the same.

 

Thanks for the step by step procedure. I am in Halifax and will check out the availability of the glue you mentioned. I have the same problem with the passenger door and I will reinforce the driver's side door just in case.

 

HI,I PERFORMED A SIMILAR FIX MANY MOONS AGO USING PVC STRIPS AND SUPER GLUE. WORKS GREAT AND STANDSTHE TEST OF TIME. MAKES YOU WONDER HOWTHE EGG HEADS AT VOLVO COULD NOT COME UP WITH SUCH A SIMPLE SOLUTION.
CHEERS,