I didn't read any instructions before trying this, and maybe that's why I failed the first time. I was able to recover from the failure, and so I thought I'd offer some insight.

My hinge was fine, but it was the plastic rivets that broke. So, the hinge was connected to the cover just fine. Don't waste your time trying to yank the plastic rivets out; just poke them through. I don't think they'll make too much sound rattling around wherever they go.

Next, you have a few options. You can screw the new hinge onto the gas tank cover, or you can screw it on later. I find the installation is easier without dealing with the weight of the cover.

You will notice some 4 skinny plastic pieces coming out of the back side of the new rivets. These are crucial to the installation. These actually need to be poked forward and into the rivets. I tried to hold the hinge in place and then tap them to go through the rivets, but I just ended up shearing them off. So, I just wound up with the 4 things sitting in my hand.

At that point, I thought it as game over and that I'd have to buy a new hinge. But, I got crafty and poked them through from the rivet side and then tapped hard enough on them to go through. I pushed them through enough so that I could tap them through later from the front side.

So, if you're precise enough to hammer the pins in the first time, don't give up. Just put them in place from the opposite side and try again.

And, if you didn't screw the cover on first, you may notice that you can't easily slide the cover onto the hinge. To get around this, bend the longer metal tabs upwards. They are pretty soft and bent easily with pliers. Bend them just enough that you can slide the cover onto the hinge. Then just put in the screws. You don't even need to bend those tabs back.

There are probably cleaner ways to have done this, but this advice is to get around the problems in case they've already come up =)

 

Thanks a lot for your instructions, they saved my sanity. I was having exactly the same problem as you describe, and your description made it all work.

 

I became an expert on this particular problem, and came up with some innovations of my own.

Phase 1 – Buying a new hinge.
I bought mine from the dealership for $13, and found out they are available online for $3. Doh. Extreme care must be taken not to bust off the 4 oh so fragile pins protruding from the back. If this happens, see bottom.


Phase 2a – Removing old, presumably busted hinge/fuel door from car.
Use a power drill with a bit smaller than the diameter of the expansion buds (compare to new one; otherwise drilling may bite into panel metal). Gently and accurately drill into each bud in order to destroy them, thereby detaching the hinge. Proceed bottom up. Drilling can be followed up with a phillips screwdriver to detach each bud's grip in turn. Once this is done, you will have the fuel door in your hand and can take it to a more comfortable work station.


Phase 2b – Removing old hinge from fuel door.
Best to detach the little curved spring pin, which may get in the way. It is easily re-attached later. Just pull out one end gently. Use a dremmel with the smallest diameter saw blade to cut through as much of the back end of the hinge directly over the fuel door pin. This happens very rapidly, so maximise accuracy. Interference of the blade against the fuel door ends will prevent cutting all the way through both sides (square hole-round peg), but 80% sets you up to snap the last bits off with a flat head screwdriver. Take care not to damage the metal fuel door pin, as well as the 4 bud pins.


Phase 3 – Attaching new hinge to fuel door.
This requires some significant, steady force—as opposed to sudden hammer blow force. The hinge is designed with a flap to facilitate this only on, not off—so take care to mount it correctly orientated (buds pointing away from fuel door when shut). Rather than my fingers, I employed a heavy metallic weight to press down.


Phase 4 – Re-attaching hinge/fuel door to car.
This is one of the very few applications where a hammer is appropriate in car repair. Press the hinge against the holes until all buds line up, then maintain a firm grip—again taking care with the fragile protruding pins on the back side facing you. Proceeding top to bottom, gently tap these pins into their buds until they rest flush. This expands each bud, locking the hinge in place. Once completed, you can re-attach the little spring pin, then snap it into position in the 2 clips. The bending required to do this is what provides the spring tension to a properly functioning fuel door.

Now for those poor lost souls who broke off one or more of those fragile bud pins, insert this step as 3.5. This is not easy, and requires patience, but that is your penitence. You must file down one end of each busted pin to give it a slight taper. The idea is get it to fit in the hole without aid, so test it periodically as you work. A pin that can hold itself in the hole can be hammered just as easily as an undamaged one.