Check strap repair solution

DarkHorse

DarkHorse

A2OC Donor
Ok, so I have been chatting with one of the very knowledgeable German forum members regarding check straps.

Initially I asked if they have a group buy for them. But it turns out that this member has developed a brass roller to replace the plastic ones that deteriorate and cause the awful clicking noise.

He is going to complete the repair to my car this summer, and he said he's more than happy to give me some brass rollers for the UK Forum members to use for free.

I don't know how many he will give me, since 'a few' was what he offered. But just wondered if anyone is interested in this sort of thing?

I'll bring some back anyway. But could be a very cheap fix. As I understand it, he's charging me 7eur per door to swap out the parts. I trust his knowledge, especially since he is one of their OSS repair gurus!

-------EDIT: ROLLER DIMENSIONS-------

Brass or plastic rolls with dimensions of 12.7mm diameter, 5.3mm bore and a height of 14.0mm (confirmed by Papahans)
 
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Nice one Darkhorse,
these check straps are rapidly going up in price,my last one was £15! and was hoping someone would come up with an improvement to I can replace/repair my passenger front check strap
 
They are SO simple to repair! Take the check-strap unit out of the door. Then just drill out the failed rivets and replace with nuts and bolts. At the same time give the roller and guide a good greasing. It has been a very effective repair on my car for quite a few years.

David
 
DarkHorse said:
Ok, so I have been chatting with one of the very knowledgeable German forum members regarding check straps.

Initially I asked if they have a group buy for them. But it turns out that this member has developed a brass roller to replace the plastic ones that deteriorate and cause the awful clicking noise.

He is going to complete the repair to my car this summer, and he said he's more than happy to give me some brass rollers for the UK Forum members to use for free.

I don't know how many he will give me, since 'a few' was what he offered. But just wondered if anyone is interested in this sort of thing?

I'll bring some back anyway. But could be a very cheap fix. As I understand it, he's charging me 7eur per door to swap out the parts.

I trust his knowledge, especially since he is one of their OSS repair gurus!
Click to expand...
hi Kris,
You must be speaking about Papahans (Hans). He gave me 8 when we met at the German club meet earlier this month. When my next one starts clicking I will use them.
He also demonstrated his upgrade / fix for opensky involving replacing several plastic parts with metal. The guy is a wizard!

James

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk
 
Hi James,

Yes, Papahans is the man with the plan. He lives about 15 mins from my sister in law who we visit at least once a year.

As David said above, it's a simple fix, but I'm going to take pictures of what he does and see if I can create a "how to" guide for those who want to do the work themselves.

Last time I checked, Stoke Audi had put the check strap price up to £30. And I'm sure they've done that just in the past year, because when I bought the car last year they were nearly half that.
 
Nice fix! I never thought of using brass, but it totally makes sense! I sent a PM to Papahans about buying some, but he replied that he couldn't make more a ship to Sweden. I guess they can be made pretty easy, from a round brass rod. Would you like to post some pictures of just the rollers DarkHorse?
 
GuruX said:
Nice fix! I never thought of using brass, but it totally makes sense! I sent a PM to Papahans about buying some, but he replied that he couldn't make more a ship to Sweden. I guess they can be made pretty easy, from a round brass rod. Would you like to post some pictures of just the rollers DarkHorse?
Click to expand...

I'll be there in 2 weeks and post up pictures/dimensions etc.

He said he doesn't ship internationally either.
 
I have a lathe and am prepared to make small numbers of these (don't want to do a production run!) if somebody can provide dimensions.

Simon.
 
Sorted. Meeting Hans on 5th August. He's told me the repair should take no more than 30mins for both doors.

It does seem strange that plastic was used by Audi in the first instance!

He has also told me he will show me his fix for the wiper assembly.
 
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DarkHorse said:
Sorted. Meeting Hans on 5th August. He's told me the repair should take no more than 30mins for both doors.

It does seem strange that plastic was used by Audi in the first instance!
Click to expand...

As Sco suggested, maybe you could ask if Hans would share his designs for the door and sunroof upgrade parts so club members could have parts made in the UK.

In a similar vein, ref attached thread, depronman designed a (3D printable) replacement glove box light switch arm and has offered the printer programme to other members to model their own parts. - http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?30491-GloveBox-light-not-working&p=255551#post255551
If interested I'm sure he would pass on the details to Hans

Cheers Spike
 
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DarkHorse said:
Sorted. Meeting Hans on 5th August. He's told me the repair should take no more than 30mins for both doors.

It does seem strange that plastic was used by Audi in the first instance!

He has also told me he will show me his fix for the wiper assembly.
Click to expand...
Oh yes the floppy wiper arm fix. He did show me that too. A good upgrade. Much more robust.
I have some of the brass inserts they I could photograph and measure.
Say hi to Hans for me. We struggled along with broken English and even more broken German.

James

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk
 
DJ 190 said:
They are SO simple to repair! Take the check-strap unit out of the door. Then just drill out the failed rivets and replace with nuts and bolts. At the same time give the roller and guide a good greasing. It has been a very effective repair on my car for quite a few years.

David
Click to expand...

Hi David already done that,the Roller failed this time

Roy
 
Just asked Hans, he has given me the dimensions.

They're in the first post of this thread to save anyone trawling through the discussion.

spike said:
That's an option but it's only courteous the Club first seeks approval before copying his design.

Cheers Spike
Click to expand...
 
GuruX said:
I would very much like to be a guinea pig! I'll send you a PM.
Click to expand...

Done and ready for dispatch;

P7150715.JPG

:) Simon.
 
For these to work best a bolt with a plain shank should be used and if I was doing my car I would measure the shank diameter and make the bore just 0.1mm bigger - I think 0.3mm might be a bit baggy - lets see how Gus gets on though.

Simon.
 
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