OK. I have been having a nightmare putting my 3 pillar pod on. Its mostly my fault. The Autometer triple pod goes over the oem a-pillar shroud.

Anyways, my entire problem is due to my ham-handedness. If you look at the oem a-pillar, the top mount is a plastic cylinder with a metal sleeve that locks into a circular hole in the a-pillar. At sometime when I was previously putting the cover back on, I smacked the top to pop it back on. I didn't have it exactly aligned. End result is that over time, I have deformed the hole, so the metal sleeve will not work.

So I tried to tackle this last week. Lets try using a metal screw to secure the a-pillar cover. I drilled a small hole and then enlargened it. However, the metal in the a-pillar I was drilling through is not weak sheet metal. No screw is able to do through and tap itself, the threads just strip.

There is not enough depth between the top metal, and the hollow behind it, to use expanding wall taps like they make for plasterboard walls.

That leaves me thinking about adhesive. Now, I know I could slap on some weatherstripping adhesive, but if I ever need to remove that a-pillar I don't think it will be possible without breaking the cover when removing it.

Ideas?

 

Are you certain that the frame hole is enlarged or is the sleeve just collasped after the abuse your ham hand dishes out! j/k

but i have seen the sleeves wear out on mine over time. I replaced the whole a-pillar trim instead because I hate the a-pillar pods But that is my opinion.

I would call Ray and see if just the sleeve is available.

An extreme thought/remedy i can think of would be to weld the hole shut and redrill it to fit the sleeve. BUT be aware of the heat and possible fire damage that could occur welding inside the car interior.

 

Oh yeah. Its toast. Its deformed more than enlarged, so that say from 1 o'clock to 3 o'clock, its pushed in. In addition there are places where it is scratched/chinked up from the metal retention sleeve hitting it at the wrong angle.

I don't think that sleeve is removable...

 

yeah wasn't sure if it was replacable alone.

about the deformation i am stumped for the moment. can it be pulled out with a dent tool? The rivet in kind and then slidehammer it out? Or does it just flex back out of form after pulling it out. Maybe screw/weld a thin sheet metal cover over the whole and drill that to what you need. A little "patch panel" if you will.

 

I don't think any pulling tool will work. The metal around that hole is thick and strong. I tried just using a needle nose to see if I could do anything, but no luck.