'92 Grand Am(s), mine and my daughter's. Darn fuel door will not dependably spring open when pulling the lever at the driver's seat. What's the trick? Have lubricated the heck out of the hinge to no avail. Seems to me that there should be an assist spring somewhere, but the shop manual doesn't show one. Does this door rely on compressing the rubber bumpers when it's shut to give it an outward impetus when the latch is released?
A spring or plastic tang that the spring went through probably broke off.
Like the plastic tang on the back side of my gas pedal broke off the spring yesterday.
========= Harryface =========
1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~288,033 miles_~_~_~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_
~~~The Former Fleet ~~~
89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan
There is a spring around the hinge pin. Take it apart and you will see. Like Harry said, "A spring or plastic tang that the spring went through probably broke off."
Well the remains of the original spring were still on the hinge pin, but one of the spring ends had broken off rendering it useless. No broken tangs at fault here.
Searched high and low locally at hardware stores and auto parts stores. Could not find a torsion type spring that even remotely resembled the replacement needed.
Aha! Borrowed one of those spring type clothespins from my neighbor. The spring from the clothespin fit almost perfectly. A little bend here and a another bend there. Voila! The fuel door works for the first time in a long, long time.
My neighbor watched it operate and said it would be just fine as long as no one was standing close enough to get knocked over when the door springs open.
My main concern with this fix over the long haul is rust and relaxation of the spring. Time will tell.
Thanks for the advice.
Excellent! You are now a real "Mechanic" and not just a modern day modular parts replacer.
As long as it was apart I hope you put goose grease on it.
========= Harryface =========
1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~288,088 miles_~_~_~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_
~~~The Former Fleet ~~~
89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedanYes, lubrication was applied liberally.
Spray it with some spray white grease:
Refinish King
PS Auto Zone has it on sale for $0.99 a can now, and it's of decent quality. But, if you want the best, you'll have to buy Berkible or CRC!
Pull up to someone:
Aim for the nuts, and pull the lever!
Let me know the effectiveness?
Refinish King
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