Hello all. I found this useful thread from 2012 but I was curious if there were any more current thoughts on the topic of rear door fatigue, cracking, failures, and replacement options. Especially in the Seattle area. We have a cracked rear hinge and a 2-4 week lead time on the hinge part. Any creative ways to source a hinge or rear door? Salvage door? Anyone end up with an extra hinge (tagged etc)?
We got some rough estimates for time and materials. New hinge parts are ~$500 ea. 30-40 hours of labor to remove the door, saw out the hinge, set in the new hinge, set up the autoclave and do the carbon fiber baking process, paint, and remount. Good news is a few different mx shops have recent experience with this particular procedure. I was curious if a speciality carbon fiber / composites shop might have equipment and expertise to do it faster / cheaper?
It looks like one hinge is failing the torsion test (needs to be replaced) and the other has a crack but not structural. Wondering if we should get both replaced while the door is off and the autoclave is built since parts << labor on this one.
Rear Passenger Door Hinge (2022 editon)
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maestretti
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Re: Rear Passenger Door Hinge (2022 editon)
Boats have had carbon spars (masts, booms, etc) for 20yrs. Look for a rigging shop in Seattle.