spydee's Modification for broken skylight swingarm gliders.

[joetiger]

I did a similar repair to mine, but I used nuts and bolts instead of rivets; I wanted to play with it and see if I could make it continue to work using only old crap I could find in my garage. It lasted about 600 miles.

I went ahead and bought the replacement mechanism from Van Cafe for $16 or so and am installing it this evening.
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[PDXWesty]

[debbiej]

we did replace the seal on both the pop top and the skylight. I think maybe the hinges are loose too. I am trying to decide if I should order the part.

is there a non-operable skylight replacement idea out there?

[K58]

[Classicvibe]

HOw funny, I had no idea those little plastic things existed. I just assumed that skylight was the single worst designed product I had ever seen. I mean, it still is, but it is nice to know just a tiny bit more thought went into it. Bookmarked!
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[debbiej]

ah, like the search. this is why my skylight rattles and leaks!!

[riceye]

Great save!

The next time mine wears out I'll try that. The last time I rebuilt it I used rollers I was able to locate at the hardware store in the patio screen door parts selection.

And, just last week I was able to eliminate the incessant rattle of the skylight. As it turns out, the rattle was caused by a baggy hinge at the front of the skylight. I took both off and did some pinching with a vise grips to tighten the hinges up.

No more rattles!
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[Raynor Shine]

very mcgyver! i have this one noted. thanks for the pics

[Rodknock]

I was thinking of doing this exact same thing to mine. Thank you for the pics and write-up.

[spydee]

Here is a modification i just finished today on my skylight swingarm plastic gliders that are on both ends of the glider. These things pretty much fell off when i began removing my skylight hardware to install my new skylight.Because of age the plastic is now very brittle, so be very carefull when removing. ok here are the pix, hope this can help someone else with this issue.

this is roughly what it looked like originally.

here is what it looked like broken, use a bench grinder to remove the old rivet from the swingarm.

here is the piece now removed fom the swingarm, notice that i have drilled a hole through the aluminum piece to fit a new rivet through.

keep these

the 2 pieces together

old pieces, new rivet, new washer

how it looks on the rivet

here's what it looked like after i applied the rivet using the rivet gun.

another angle

the old plastic pieces, going in the recycling.

old vs new

one last thing i will add is that when i was reinstalling everything i did notice that the plastic gliders were no longer rolling like they are suppose to.most likely cause the rivet is too tight, so maybe the final modification would be instead of a rivet maybe to use a small bolt and a nut with a nylon insert, the nylon in those nuts will allow it stay tight wherever you decide to tighten it to. i may make a quick alteration if i can find the right size bolt/ nut. anyhow this is spydee's first mod. i will contribute as many ideas as i can to this forum, as it has served me well. thanx everyone for the advice.

spydee
90 westy