Any of the rest of you had trouble with the plastic headlight switch cover on '98 model dash repeat breaking in pieces? I've had 3 now, all keep cracking. I seem to have fixed it but takes some work.
The plastic is polystyrene like plastic models use and can be reglued with modelling liquid cement. You can brace it up on the backside using plastic flat stock from hobby shop as well, use a good amount of cement and hold the piece for maybe a minute and the cement will even melt the flat stock to conform to the switch cover perfectly for max adhesion and strength.
If the posts have broken you can use a drill bit sized to the core hole, glue it in, and then build up successively bigger and bigger using brass tubing from the hobby shop as well, epoxy the pieces together to make a new post and then cut to the required length with a dremel and cutting disc.
I also reglued the lower screw mount tabs on as well using same technique to fix cracks. Overlap the crack with flat stock, down there you can overlap both sides since out of sight. I then use rubber washers so not to have to tighten tight enough to break again and barely squeezing down on the rubber, the mounting screw is coated with silicone or 3M weatherstrip so it doesn't back off from vibration since not super tight.
The main cracking around headlight switch comes from heat warping the cover to crack because it's mounted to the switch, the mounting screws usually break the mounting posts up in pieces as well. Gluing up those posts will not help, they simply crack up again when screw is put back in. I remounted the switch in the dash itself rather than the cover which then simply mounts over the top of it. I drilled 3 holes in the metal flat deeper in the dash hole and ran 3 pieces of all thread up to double nut at the ends to hold the switch in place using original switch mounting holes. It can be moved in/out to match the hole in cover. When switch is mounted in dash the raised stands on back of cover have to be ground off to clear the stud ends. Not hard, they are usually almost broken off by then anyway.
After cracks fixed then use filler, sand and paint black again and part is good to go, looks new.
After doing all that the cover seems to have quit breaking, been like that for a year............and already reworked a second one from the breakups in case needed. I couldn't find virtually any at the junkyard, they are all taken already so a lot of them must break.
The plastic is polystyrene like plastic models use and can be reglued with modelling liquid cement. You can brace it up on the backside using plastic flat stock from hobby shop as well, use a good amount of cement and hold the piece for maybe a minute and the cement will even melt the flat stock to conform to the switch cover perfectly for max adhesion and strength.
If the posts have broken you can use a drill bit sized to the core hole, glue it in, and then build up successively bigger and bigger using brass tubing from the hobby shop as well, epoxy the pieces together to make a new post and then cut to the required length with a dremel and cutting disc.
I also reglued the lower screw mount tabs on as well using same technique to fix cracks. Overlap the crack with flat stock, down there you can overlap both sides since out of sight. I then use rubber washers so not to have to tighten tight enough to break again and barely squeezing down on the rubber, the mounting screw is coated with silicone or 3M weatherstrip so it doesn't back off from vibration since not super tight.
The main cracking around headlight switch comes from heat warping the cover to crack because it's mounted to the switch, the mounting screws usually break the mounting posts up in pieces as well. Gluing up those posts will not help, they simply crack up again when screw is put back in. I remounted the switch in the dash itself rather than the cover which then simply mounts over the top of it. I drilled 3 holes in the metal flat deeper in the dash hole and ran 3 pieces of all thread up to double nut at the ends to hold the switch in place using original switch mounting holes. It can be moved in/out to match the hole in cover. When switch is mounted in dash the raised stands on back of cover have to be ground off to clear the stud ends. Not hard, they are usually almost broken off by then anyway.
After cracks fixed then use filler, sand and paint black again and part is good to go, looks new.
After doing all that the cover seems to have quit breaking, been like that for a year............and already reworked a second one from the breakups in case needed. I couldn't find virtually any at the junkyard, they are all taken already so a lot of them must break.