by IraRat » Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:39 am
Glad to jump into this discussion, as my own hatch nightmare will continue Saturday.
I bought a bicycle inner tube from WalMart, slit it down the middle, and will trim it down to be WIDER than the hinge when laid flat. (I might not trim it at all now, because I figure I can always trim it flush later).
Next step is to adhere one half of it to the roof using that 3M 5200 Marine Sealant I've been using, letting the rest of it dangle.
Now I'll attach the hinge to the roof only, with the center pin hanging just a hair over the edge of the hatch spar. I'll then place the hatch in position, attach the other end of the hinge to the hatch in like just 3 places, and open and close for correctness. I'll then unscrew the hinge from the hatch, lay and seal the other half of the rubber on the hatch as I did to the roof, and then reattach the hinge to the hatch.
I'll then say a few Hail Marys.
Does this sound like it's CLOSE to the way I should do it? I haven't intended to COVER the hinge with rubber. The rubber is just to help seal the gap.
--Ira
"My HD and Wal-Mart have been out of Titebond for weeks, and I think it's a communist conspiracy."