Zydeco Joe Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Can anybody tell me where I can get a replacement part for my habitation door fly screen retaining clip ?. One of the photos show the clip that has lost one of the two little lugs from one side that fits into the Fly Screen assembly the part that you pull down. Second photo shows where it should go. The van is a Auto Trail 2005 Tracker but I'm sure this kind of set up is on many vans and not only At's. I just caught it with the lid of the dustbin and bang up it flew and off came the lug... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Joe - well done! I have exactly the same problem - so if you find a source for spares can you please let me know. Mine sprang off earlier in the summer! Thanks Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 If spares are hard to find then I would effect a DIY repair along the lines of drilling into the catch where the pin has broken off and then either glueing a short piece of metal (eg a nail) into the hole or screwing a self tapper in. How handy are you? Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydeco Joe Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 Could end up with a DIY job as the 2 spares dealers I have spoke to cannot help. Only problem with drilling and fitting a peg is it needs to be 3mm dia and the catch or clip is only 3mm thick.See images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Joe, Do you still have the piece that broke off? If so use it or if not find a piece of plastic of the right diameter. Drill, very carefully, a small (say 1 mm) hole through the peg and a matching hole in the catch. Then use a very thin panel pin to re-attach the peg to the catch. Warming the panel pin over a flame may help it go into the drilled hole and 'set' it in place. Where there's a will there's a way (!) Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydeco Joe Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 The small bit that got sheared of got lost, well its only about 3mm dia x 1.5 mm long. The catch itself is about 43 mm long. Don't know what happened to it must be on a aire in France LOL. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeco Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I have an AT Tracker and the catches are a different design to yours however the new design is no better as yesterday I broke one attempting to open the flyscreen. If it was made from aluminium rather than plastic it would last indefinitely. Ali vs plastic not too much difference in weight so it must be cost that has determined the product choice. It is these small components subject of penny pinching that annoy when they fail.Cheers Gary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Epoxy (e.g. Araldite) Putty can be shaped fairly easily and will stick to most things. It would certainly make a piece to replace the stud you've lost. I keep a stick in the 'van, and it has been used for various repairs. "Waxy" plastic is notoriously difficult to get a permanent bond with, however, and if you were to use it, I would recommend also moulding the repair piece (flattening) over the side(s) of the original clip to increase the joint area. Alternatively, you could adapt the suggestion above, and melt and glue a short section of panel-pin into the clip first, to create a small locating pin around which you could then mould the stud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Zydeco Joe - 2015-10-12 5:54 PM The small bit that got sheared of got lost, well its only about 3mm dia x 1.5 mm long. The catch itself is about 43 mm long. Don't know what happened to it must be on a aire in France LOL. :-S Joe hello again - I have just mended mine - although it had broken in a different place, I had a good look at the mechanism. If you saw a shallow slot about 10mm deep and about 3mm wide into the catch where the lug broke off, you could glue a 3mm diameter piece of rod into the slot to stand about 1-2mm proud (just like the small bit that got sheared off. You can afford to be liberal with the glue as the catch sits at an angle with the catch body so there is a sizeable gap. (You could use a small piece of bandage as re-inforcement having scored the surrounding plastic to key-in the surface). I hope you haven't lost the small spring that locates onto the peg on the catch and the hole in the body. If you have you need to find a compression spring about 20mm long that fits over the peg and into the hole - some ballpoint springs may do the job! (My catch sheared off from the ali extrusion carrier but I was able to drill and screw it back on) Good luck...Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydeco Joe Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 Now sorted. Drilled a small hole in the side of the clip and used a nail with the head cut off as a kind of hinge pin. A bit tricky drilling the hole in the correct place by hand but it's now fully working.This is not just a AT problem as many other makes and not British have the same type of plastic fitting and yes if it was made of aluminium as Gary pointed out no real extra weight but much longer lasting. Thanks to all that tried to help. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reenie Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Exact same problem as mine! Been trying to find a replacement but to no avail. Wondered if anyone had found a replacement catch since this thread started? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydeco Joe Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 Reenie, I looked around but could not find one but what I did has worked well so far (15 weeks van use or more since this was posted) in fact it is better never just fly's off like it did before. Worth a go and not too hard to do. Zydeco Joe. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C1mark Posted September 24, 2019 Share Posted September 24, 2019 I had trouble finding this catch too. I got one 3D printed here: michael.roberts@protoform.co.uk Hope this helps ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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