Ash Tray Door Falls Down

[happydog500]

My 98 PA ash tray doesn't stay up. I can't see what is wrong. I meet another PA owner that has the same thing.

Is it in the dash, or is it in the door that flaps down? What do I need to do to fix it?
What part can I get/do I need if I went to a wrecking yard?

Thank you,
Chris.

[Blue Bowtie]

Duct tape?

I am unfamiliar with the '98. Does it withdraw or slide like a drawer or flip up/down to open and close?

[happydog500]

I sometimes need to get into it to charge my phone. It flips down.

Chris.

[MikeCStig]

The problem is its a 17 year old car that was built somewhat cheaply. As far as interior trim goes anyway, corners were cut. You may just have to improvise, it's a Buick, not a Bentley.

[Foolzrushn]

happydog500--first, I use the socket on the seat front bolster.

If you remove the ash tray, you will see that a small plastic pin has been broken off. You need to look closely. The broken end of the pin may still be in the latch track, and if it is, that will give you the length for the new one. The plastic pin is part of a molded piece, and the pin runs in a slot and is captured to lock the ash tray in the up position.

Remove the molded plastic part that was the pin base. Then you carefully drill a hole the same diameter as the broken pin, in the same location as the old pin. Look carefully at the base piece and you will see where the old pin was broken from the base. You will need to either find the broken pin or look closely at the base to determine the diameter of a replacment pin and the new drilled hole. If I recall, the length of the plastic broken pin was 3/8 to 1/2 inch.

I made a replacement pin from a small screw with a nut to hold it in the drilled hole. I filed the threads smooth on the screw where the new metal screw pin runs in the slot, but left threads for the nut to hold the new pin in the drilled hole. Use some lock-tite on the nut and grease the pin a little. If you don't file the threads or make the pin smooth in some way, the threads will eat the plastic groove in short order and fail. Basically, you are replacing the broken plastic pin with a new metal pin made from a small screw of the proper length.

Mine has been working for some years now. Good luck!

[happydog500]

Originally Posted by Foolzrushn

happydog500--first, I use the socket on the seat front bolster.

If you remove the ash tray, you will see that a small plastic pin has been broken off. You need to look closely. The broken end of the pin may still be in the latch track, and if it is, that will give you the length for the new one. The plastic pin is part of a molded piece, and the pin runs in a slot and is captured to lock the ash tray in the up position.

Remove the molded plastic part that was the pin base. Then you carefully drill a hole the same diameter as the broken pin, in the same location as the old pin. Look carefully at the base piece and you will see where the old pin was broken from the base. You will need to either find the broken pin or look closely at the base to determine the diameter of a replacment pin and the new drilled hole. If I recall, the length of the plastic broken pin was 3/8 to 1/2 inch.

I made a replacement pin from a small screw with a nut to hold it in the drilled hole. I filed the threads smooth on the screw where the new metal screw pin runs in the slot, but left threads for the nut to hold the new pin in the drilled hole. Use some lock-tite on the nut and grease the pin a little. If you don't file the threads or make the pin smooth in some way, the threads will eat the plastic groove in short order and fail. Basically, you are replacing the broken plastic pin with a new metal pin made from a small screw of the proper length.

Mine has been working for some years now. Good luck!

Oh, thank you very much. This will help me a lot. Just what I needed. I to started using the lighter on the seat, when I found it. Never knew it was there.

I'll let you know how when I'm done.

Thank you,
Chris.

[Tech II]

I have a solution......secure it upward, and quit smokin'!