Hatchback liftgate post (pneumatic)

[Dodge Aries K]

My 2007 did this as well. Friend of mine welded the bracket back on and it's been okay for over a year

[jazzyb88]

I'm thinking of going for rivets like these

Just not sure if they'll cope with the force exerted on that mechanism. Guess I can try and if it fails go down the nut and bolt method!

[WeeYari]

I'd personally go with a much stronger solution with greater chances of long term success. The hatch strut is rated at 88 lbs. That is a lot of stress to place on tiny little pop rivets.

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[myfirstyota]

Airplanes used to be held together with rivets....

[komichal]

Blind rivet can hold a lot. A LOT.
I do agree that proper welding would be the best, however if there are any issues about it I would not be worried about riveting.

[CrankyOldMan]

This is what I've been looking at for my fix. M8 Stainless Steel Rivet Nut

Here's some mechanical properties for one brand: http://www.rivet-nut.com/assets/rivn...properties.pdf
M8 is about the same as 5/16, so you can compare the loads that way. That said, I have no idea how well the sheet metal itself would hold up, since it's already been damaged.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Yeah, I was going to suggest rivnuts too.

[jazzyb88]

Thanks for the replies. I've gone with M6 rivnuts.

M8 seems a bit too big as that involves drilling a 11mm hole when the current hole is about 7.5mm.

[CrankyOldMan]

I was going to use a step drill but the only ones with 11mm steps are way too long and would drill out the other side of the hatch.

Definitely interested in seeing how it goes together!

[jazzyb88]

Had some time this morning so had a go at repairing it...

For M6 rivet nuts, you need a 8.9mm drill bit so the first thing I had to do was go out and buy one of those (drill bits are usually sized in even numbers).

The existing holes in the hatch were drilled to the larger size and the rivet nuts inserted to check fit, which was perfect. After that I filed the metal so that the nut would sit as flush as possible to the sheet metal so when pinched, you would get a good grip.

Here was the end result!









Hatch now all working fine

The rivet nuts also felt quite solid while I was tightening the bolts - no movement whatsover. The key to this is having a good rivet nut tool - I used one with a lever action which took quite a bit of effort, so I think the trigger type tools would be hard work!

Thanks to all those that suggested using rivet nuts to fix the problem!

[WeeYari]

Good job. Hope she holds for the rest of your ownership. Pop rivets would not have held.

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[sven337]

A friend had a MIG welder so we welded a few spots of the interior side of the part to the sheet metal. That definitely didn't seem like it was enough, so I added 3 pop rivets (2 bottom, 1 top). We'll see how long that holds, if it holds at all. Next step would be rivnuts.

[dave mac]

That happened to me this morning, same thing, LEFT side. Only one of the two welds let loose. Dunno what I'm going to do (or not do) yet so for now there's a broomstick in the trunk!

[gilsaluki]

My 2007 Yaris Lift Support Bracket broke yesterday. Left side. Wish I had seen this thread earlier. Pop riveted mine back on. Works but for how long. Did the RIVNUT solution hold up these past three years?

[jazzyb88]

Originally Posted by gilsaluki

My 2007 Yaris Lift Support Bracket broke yesterday. Left side. Wish I had seen this thread earlier. Pop riveted mine back on. Works but for how long. Did the RIVNUT solution hold up these past three years?

Yes has held up just fine. No issues so far from daily use.

[gilsaluki]

Followed the Rivnut fix instructions/photos. Not perfect, but got the bracket rivnutted back on. Hope it works. Pop rivet did not last. Thx.