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On second row passenger side door, the horizontal leather wrapped grip bar that's used to pull the door, is broken on both sides of the grip section.
The grip bar is #150 shown in attached picture. and the red lines are the broken location
Under the leather wrap, the grip bar is made of hollow black hard plastic that has cracked.
A quick online search showed that this is common for Mercedes ML and C class. Where the door handle is made of hard plastic, that cracked with age.
Seems the solution is to somehow repair/strengthen the bar using glue (epoxy) and steel wire. will get back with updates.
Please share your experience if you could, thanks a lot,
Last edited by texas008; Jan 31, 2024 at 02:47 PM.
Reason: clarify the part that is broken
Plastic is very difficult to repair unless you know the exact kind.
Certain plastics, such as vinyl (PVC) and ABS are easy to repair with hardware store glues. Others, such as polyethylene and nylon, can, practically speaking, only be welded.
Epoxy is hit-or-miss; mostly, it works because it freezes into the shape of the plastic; hence, it can hold reinforcing wire in place. Forget about epoxies claiming to glue plastic; it's a lie except possibly for certain types.
If you can figure out what kind of plastic it is, it might be worth a try. Otherwise, I would not atttempt it unless you are of a mind to spend your time tinkering.
See if you can find any identifying marks on the plastic. For example, I remember seeing materials stamps, such as ABS, on certain plastic parts.
Last edited by eric_in_sd; Jan 31, 2024 at 03:17 PM.
I can't say I've heard of this before - maybe not really all THAT common?
But being in the marine industry, I have some experience with epoxies and plastics and such. As Eric said, some plastics are hard to "glue" - most notably is HDPE. I doubt this handle is made of HDPE, though. Even so, decent success can be had by first heat treating (flaming) the plastic to get rid of it's "slipperiness" and then physically roughening it quite well with corse sandpaper and even a razor blade.
Regadless of whether or not it's HDPE, I would still roughen up the bonding surfaces A LOT - you want to add both more surface area for the epoxy to bond to along with some "tooth".
A wire screen, or even fiberglass mat (more flexible) inside the epoxy resin will definitley reinforce it - it's like the rebar inside cement.
I think you'd have a decent shot of making this work... but are there any "clearance" issues? Meaning, the repair is going to be slightly thicker/wider.
Clean the area with alcohol, then rough up the area with a 40 grit sandpaper and make it really rough. Then use JB Weld, NOT JB Quick.
As long as the area is clean and really scratched/roughed up, JB Weld will stick. I like it better than most other epoxies because it will stay somewhat flexible. Whereas most epoxies become brittle when they cure.
You can even add some drywall fiber repair patch before you add the JB Weld, almost like adding rebar to concrete. (Thats the roll of fiberglass tape that looks like a window screen, used for drywall seams/joints)
haven't got a chance to work on it. my in-laws are driving it now.
but I did prepared the JB weld, long screws, and a rivet gun kit.
will update once I get it fixed.
haven't got a chance to work on it. my in-laws are driving it now.
but I did prepared the JB weld, long screws, and a rivet gun kit.
will update once I get it fixed.
If it was me, as I mentioned above, I would definitely be adding the re-bar. Might as well give this the best shot at lasting as you can.
photos added for the broken armrest / pull handle
black plastic failed due to age and fatigue loading cycles. would be better if they insert a piece of steel / aluminum bar in it.
Maybe you can put a thin strip of metal on the top and bottom of that screw hole, then a couple rivets and JB weld them in place. Almost like a splint or bracing across that hole. I would do four rivets per strip, two on each end, so it can't flex as you pull it.
Maybe you can put a thin strip of metal on the top and bottom of that screw hole, then a couple rivets and JB weld them in place. Almost like a splint or bracing across that hole. I would do four rivets per strip, two on each end, so it can't flex as you pull it.
Thanks for the suggestion. yes the challenge is to still be able to put back the shiny silver plastic trim piece that covers the black plastic after all the repair work.
One possibility is to use a 3/8 wide thin steel sheet, along the black plastic, and rivet it down (combined with JB weld), and then put back the silver trim piece if that's possible.
I was thinking along the same lines as you guys - adding a reinforcing strip. But can you do it on the backside to avoid interference with the aesthetic trim piece? You could cut a slot with a Dremel cutoff wheel to insert the metal perpendicular to the black plastic - that would be stronger than just laid flat on it.
I was thinking along the same lines as you guys - adding a reinforcing strip. But can you do it on the backside to avoid interference with the aesthetic trim piece? You could cut a slot with a Dremel cutoff wheel to insert the metal perpendicular to the black plastic - that would be stronger than just laid flat on it.
That's a good idea. I was thinking about embedding a metal strip inside of the black plastic, like embedding a red-hot strip of steel (with pre-drilled holes) into the plastic, and then rivet it down. so that the covering trim piece won't feel any protrusions.
That's a good idea. I was thinking about embedding a metal strip inside of the black plastic, like embedding a red-hot strip of steel (with pre-drilled holes) into the plastic, and then rivet it down. so that the covering trim piece won't feel any protrusions.
I think if you melt the strip into the plastic it's going to be more work than you think - and probably create more work after you melt it, too. I don't see that working out as well as it might sound. I would do something where you have more control over the process. However holes in the strip are a good idea - it will give more "purchase" for whatever epoxy you use to grab onto.
Do a trial with the epoxy - put a small amount somewhere (after cleaning the plastic with something like alcohol) and see how well it sticks. 2-part liquid epoxy (which can be easily thickened) will likely stick better than JB Weld - but maybe the JB will be good enough? Check out PC-11, too.
I prefer JB Weld for most repairs, as it remains a little flexible after it's cured. Most other epoxies are sort of brittle once cured.
I'm not discounting JB (although the PC-11 stuff I mentioned is pretty mucht the same thing). But I work in the marine industry and use epoxy/resin all the time - it would work extremely well here and "glue" better.
This is assuming that this plastic is not HDPE- nothing works really well with that stuff. Heat treating helps - but it's not perfect.
It is glossy. I suspect ABS. @texas008 have you inspected carefully for type identification? If it is ABS, you can get cement for it at the hardware store.
It is glossy. I suspect ABS. @texas008 have you inspected carefully for type identification? If it is ABS, you can get cement for it at the hardware store.
Hmmm. Not a bad idea, at all. If you could get your hands on a piece of ABS you could still do what I mentioned above about cutting a slit on the back side and sliding in a length of ABS stock perpendicularly. And glue it in place with normal ABS pipe cement.
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Might as well give this the best shot at lasting as you can.
