Body/Trim: 240 petrol filler cap flap

[Velorum]

Despite being on my 9th 240 this is the first one I have encountered the following with. Must be luck!

The filler cap flap doesnt close all of the way. Not by much and hardly noticeable but enough to niggle at the obsessive in me.

Ive studied the mechanism - cant see anything bent or amis. Could it be that that the springs have lost a bit of vitality and need tweaking?

Anyone succesfully fiddled around with their flap?

Thanks
Ian




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[Clifford Pope]

Yes, I had that once.
I think what happens is that the bit of the bracket that attaches (spot welded?) to the flap is attached only about 3" back from the front edge, so once it bends, for example if the hinge gets a bit stiff, it is impossible to bend it back because it is already virtually flat against the inside of the flap.

What I wanted to do was to spring it away a bit, without deforming it further, then insert a thin rod and squeeze it back hard against the flap so that with the rod removed, it had taken on a new set back in its proper alignment.
Sorry, not very easy to explain.

From memory, this half worked, but I could see I had weakened the welds so probably it would have bent again or fallen off in time.
I found another one instead.

I was tempted to drill a hole and use a countersunk pop rivit.

It's a bit like a miniature version of the bonnet hinge - too complicated, not quite strong enough for the strains imposed.

[Velorum]

Thanks Clifford

Armed with this I will sit and study it again. I might just leave it as it is - its not a big problem

If its anything like the dreaded bonnet hinges then its probably best left alone anyway as I remember once messing about for days with a couple of these and they ended up worse than when I had started!

At some point I might look for a replacement white one and see if it fits better

Cheers
Ian



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[Antz]

Mines the same. It sticks out a couple of mm and I wondered why. Doesnt bother me enough to worry about it though.

[Velorum]

Ive greased the pivots etc so it should be under no great strain - in theory it shouldnt get any worse

Given the bonnet hinges a good lube as well - cant be doing with trying to replace those again, one of the worst jobs Ive ever attempted



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[honestjoe]

Hi all..one reason this happens is when the flap is pulled beyond its open position as in my case this was done by one of my customers brats..now it sits a few mill proud of the body of the car and now matches my raised bonnet hinges..This was many moons ago as i did get advice off clifford but every time i looked at it i went blind..but maybe this thread might be the one to get me to fix this...maybe?...cheers hj.

[93240se]

Duplicate post, sorry!
Regards, Richard

[93240se]

Possibly worth checking that your filler cap is actually screwed right on tight, if not then that would make the flap stick out a little bit.
Also found my cap was seized up a little last week when very cold weather, needed to squirt a bit of WD40 in to free off the locking mechanism.

Regards, Richard

[Velorum]

When the weather gets a bit better I am going to have a closer look at mine.

I am also going to keep an eye out for a used replacement that might have escaped being bent. Colour isnt too much of a worry I guess as it should be a straightforward job to spray it.


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[leftfootleashed]

Originally Posted by Ian Hutchinson

The filler cap flap doesnt close all of the way. Not by much and hardly noticeable but enough to niggle at the obsessive in me.

I have the same problem. It doesn't bother me either, but it doesn't get annoying when the first thing anyone says about your pride and joy is "you're filler flap's not shut right." Grrrr