Loose roof catches.

[DarkMatter]

The roof catch on my passenger side targa panel is loose. I've tried tightening the screws but they just keep turning without apparently gripping anything.

What do these screws screw into - captive nuts, a metal plate, fibreglass? The Steve Heath "Bible" does not mention what they screw into.

Thanks.

[joospeed]

its the fibreglass of the roof .. try packing the screw hoe with a matchstick?

[DarkMatter]

joospeed said:

its the fibreglass of the roof .. try packing the screw hoe with a matchstick?

Thanks for that speedy response Joolz. Now I know that there are no captive nuts I'll remove the screws and try your suggestion. I may also consider packing the hole with Araldite and putting the screw back in so that the glue sets around it - I should then be able to tighten the screw a bit more.

Andrew.

[larryb]

Andrew

How did you get on with sorting your loose roof catches?

Larry

[jons_s3]

This is probably a bit late...but I had a similar problem with mine. Used wall plugs with a small dollop of Araldite and some slightly larger self tappers, which worked well.

[DarkMatter]

larryb said:

Andrew How did you get on with sorting your loose roof catches? Larry

Sorry larryb, I haven't got around to that job yet. I was considering injecting "araldite" or "gripfill" into the holes, putting the screws in, and then fully tightening when the glue has set.

I'll post an update here when the job is done.

[larryb]

Thanks

[DarkMatter]

larryb said:

Andrew How did you get on with sorting your loose roof catches? Larry

Larry, sorry not to have updated this sooner...

When I removed the catch I could see that a previous repair had been made by putting plastic rawlplugs into the holes.

I removed the plastic rawlplugs, squirted some "Gripfill" into the holes, and then pushed in slightly larger plastic rawlplugs, and finally I replaced the catches and screws. The catch is no longer loose, but I can't be sure how strong it is.

An alternative may be to use "nutserts" or "rivnuts". These are threaded inserts which are crimped into place using a tool similar to a pop riveter. I have seen starter kits on eBay for about £25.

Good luck with your catches.

Andrew.

[pantani201]

DarkMatter said:

An alternative may be to use "nutserts" or "rivnuts". These are threaded inserts which are crimped into place using a tool similar to a pop riveter. I have seen starter kits on eBay for about £25. Good luck with your catches. Andrew.

I dont think that Rivnuts would work in this instance. They only work when they can act like a pop rivett against the two sides of a surface as on a metal panel.

[steve j]

Why not clean out the existing holes and fill them with fibreglass resin, then simply re-drill new holes to suit.

[DarkMatter]

steve j said:

Why not clean out the existing holes and fill them with fibreglass resin, then simply re-drill new holes to suit.

Steve, the targa panel is actually a hollow section where the catches screw in, so I'm not sure that it would be easy to fill them with fibreglass resin.

That's why I favour the threaded insert solution as when crimped in they will be gripping both sides of the fibreglass. This assumes that the fibreglass is not too thick for the inserts.

As it is, the repair I did is holding up, so hopefully I will not have to take any further action.