Glovebox Hinge Repair
- Thread starter quattrojames
- Start date
My (B7) left hinge has just snapped so this sticky looks like it will be quite useful.
Does anyone know the price for a new hinge as I don't like the idea of fitting a basic metal bracket, self tapping screws and glue!
Does anyone know the price for a new hinge as I don't like the idea of fitting a basic metal bracket, self tapping screws and glue!
If you could buy a new hinge this thread wouldn't exist ........
A new glove box is in the region of £300 from what I've heard. You can try ebay.
A new glove box is in the region of £300 from what I've heard. You can try ebay.
VagCabby
Registered User
I just removed the lid and broken hinge and drilled two guide holes and then used two thick screws from the bottom going through the broken hinge and into the glove box, has done the job and hasnt broken again, i did this 6 months ago! it keeps it looking neat without a big bracket inside the glove box. can only see the screw heads if you stick your head in the footwell haha
***, this issue is doing my nut in.
Glovebox removed nice and easy, but these 2 hinge pins are a blinkin nightmare. They just don't want to come out.
Also, how the hell does the damper come off the glovebox? I want to trim my 'O' ring (oooo,er missus) but can't remove the damper to start with.
Audis...............pah, who'd have em! (I am sick to death of mine right now I can tell ya)
Glovebox removed nice and easy, but these 2 hinge pins are a blinkin nightmare. They just don't want to come out.
Also, how the hell does the damper come off the glovebox? I want to trim my 'O' ring (oooo,er missus) but can't remove the damper to start with.
Audis...............pah, who'd have em! (I am sick to death of mine right now I can tell ya)
I think the damper twists out of the glove box, rotate it 45 degrees ish and it should pull away from it.
The pins underneath are a fiddle, you can see the mess I made of mine getting them out.
The pins underneath are a fiddle, you can see the mess I made of mine getting them out.
I have got the damper off now. Should I now be able to open it up to trim the so called O ring??
Just spray the inside with some grease, so moves freely, I often repair peoples gloveboxes & grease them up & work ok afterwards 
The 8P iirc, enables you to push the hinge pins outward from the inside of glovebox, bit of a bummer the 8E version huh.
The 8P iirc, enables you to push the hinge pins outward from the inside of glovebox, bit of a bummer the 8E version huh.
Just spray the inside with some grease, so moves freely, I often repair peoples gloveboxes & grease them up & work ok afterwards
The 8P iirc, enables you to push the hinge pins outward from the inside of glovebox, bit of a bummer the 8E version huh.
Bit of a bummer is a mega understatement I tell ya!
I have managed to get one pin out, but the other does not want to play the game.
OK, bit of an update on my broken Glove box hinge. I eventually managed to get the second pin out, after drilling a small hole in the side of my glove box lid so I could then use the drill bit to hammer the pin out from one side.
I then super-glued the broken hinge back on and left over the weekend to make sure it had set enough.
Next I drilled a small pilot hole from the back of the bracket and inserted a self tapper all the way through, as you can see in this first picture:
I then fitted two brackets to each hinge with small self tapper screws to hopefully give the hinge extra strength and stop the problem happening again.
Left Bracket:
Right Bracket:
I think its not a bad result given the brackets are gold in colour, but I couldn't find any black ones anywhere.
You will only see them when the glove box is open which is not very often anyway.
So off to fit it all back together and see if it the lid stays on. Will report back soon.
I then super-glued the broken hinge back on and left over the weekend to make sure it had set enough.
Next I drilled a small pilot hole from the back of the bracket and inserted a self tapper all the way through, as you can see in this first picture:
I then fitted two brackets to each hinge with small self tapper screws to hopefully give the hinge extra strength and stop the problem happening again.
Left Bracket:
Right Bracket:
I think its not a bad result given the brackets are gold in colour, but I couldn't find any black ones anywhere.
You will only see them when the glove box is open which is not very often anyway.
So off to fit it all back together and see if it the lid stays on. Will report back soon.
I did this on my B6 today. Thanks to the op for the thread! As VagCabby mentioned above, it's WELL worth drilling into each end of the glovebox to access the 'hidden' ends of the pins running through the hinges. I just used a nail and hammer to drive each pin out then. Nice and quick with no dramas. After repairing the hinge with a B&Q L bracket, I used the hammer again to tap the pins back in. Much less painful than I predicted!
Just a quick thanks to James for his guide - my left hand hinge snapped on Friday, fixed today! Went with the drill and tap option through the hinge into the lid and some epoxy, so you can only see the screw head if you're lying on your back in the footwell!
Good tip on the damper - put some grease on the o ring whilst I had it all apart!
So fingers crossed it now lasts!
Cheers
Phil
Good tip on the damper - put some grease on the o ring whilst I had it all apart!
So fingers crossed it now lasts!
Cheers
Phil
Hey guys, I had to go through the trouble of fixing my B6s broken glove box hinge, and because most of the walkthroughs of this DIY fix are mostly picture based, I decided to make a video of what I did to my 2004 glovebox. hope this helps.
AUDI A4 glove box removal and hinge repair DIY
AUDI A4 glove box removal and hinge repair DIY
As we all know this is a common failure on the A4 - caused by the damper becoming stiff over time and placing extra strain on the hinge. A new glovebox is in the region of £150, but the hinge can be repaired.
Firstly remove glovebox consists of three bolts along the top, and two underneath, and then disconnect light at plug - No pics sorry but it's a doddle!
The removed glovebox will look like this:
Turn the glovebox upside down and remove these pins. This is infact ridiculously hard! It took me ages to wiggle them free using molegrips and a screwdriver as leverage. It is possible to mend the hinge without removing the lid, but I wanted to make sure I had good access to do it as strongly as possible:
It chews up the pin and surrounding area a bit, it looks bad here but can be tidied up, and the whole area is out of sight anyway:
And this is the broken hinge:
I made a bracket from an old kitchen door hinge, but any suitable piece of metal will do. Its a bit fiddly to bend it the exact shape, but worth persevering:
I chose to glue it and screw it to be sure:
Glovebox refitted:
The culprit behind all this is this damper, the pictures show it in position both closed and extended.
I chose to take the damper barrel apart and inside is an O ring which governs the resistance inside the barrel. Using a Stanley knife I trimmed about 2mm from all round the outside. This allows it slide much easier but still offer some resistance. At the very least ensure it's been well lubricated (Credit to Marc1 for that tip).
Thanks for the posts James. I've just bought an A4 B6 '04 cab and the info and vids were great. Had to 'fetter' the metal bracket to get it to match the hinge profile, now just waiting for the glue to set and it's job done. I had the two wires going through the hinge and it took me a while to find the right post re central locking. Not sure it's actually working, but don't care as I'm not in/out of the glove box all day if you see what I mean.
Next job is the hood storage tray in the boot, another flimsy Audi part - how did they get their reputation for quality. Still, good to keep busy at the weekend!
Cheers
John
