'94 850 Glove Compartment frozen shut

spdykat · Post by **spdykat** » 07 Jul 2005, 11:48

Ok I don't see this one listed on the repair list, maybe I missed it. My 94 850 sedan has many, many issues. Currently the right front wheel bearing is going out which I can't afford to repair yet, so I'm driving it and no doubt risking a lot. Anyway, about 3 years ago (can't tell you at what mileage since the odometer froze the following year at 164,500 exactly), the glove compartment just refused to open one day. I asked my mechanic, he said yeah, his wife's S70 had done the same thing, it was about a $360 repair if I wanted to keep the original lock, about $250 if I was willing to have a new lock. I opted to keep the fused-shut glovebox. Has anyone else experienced this? My mechanic did not seem surprised. He also is not surprised that my driver's power seat has twice had to be repaired after reclining all the way and not coming back up, or that all the side mouldings repeatedly fell off until I gave up trying to make them stay, or that the odometer froze, or that the Tracs and ABS lights are permanently on, or that the only way out of Park is always to use the Shift Lock Override.
anyway I just thought I'd post the glove box issue because I didn't see it. Oh and the seat heaters don't work any more and, um, I haven't had the fuel tank repair done yet...what else? I can't afford another car and can't afford to fix this one as it has slowly become a cash cow for repair shops.
by the way I noticed my volvo mechanic drives a PathFinder.

yeagermeister · Post by **yeagermeister** » 07 Jul 2005, 13:32

unfortunately it's a rather complicated mechanism in the glove box release and lock. mine was stuck and the previous owner drilled some holes in the glove box to get to it. i've fixed the problem, and if i can take some pics when i get home (it will likely be dark and/or pouring down rain with the impending hurricane-forced storm coming) i'll post them. it wasn't a bad fix, but it's getting the glove box open first to get to the mechanism.

there's a small cast metal piece with a tiny pin sticking off one side that activates the release. i drilled through it and put a tiny screw it. pictures would help explain this, but in any case, i was able to get it fixed after some serious toying with it. and if you disassemble it, be sure to sort out the spring configuration first, as it's also complicated.

i will try to write a better description, and give an exact location of the release lever so you don't have to drill the "trial" holes mine has in it...

more later....sean

Jot · Post by **Jot** » 07 Jul 2005, 13:38

If you do a search on www.brickboard.com you will find info on the glovebox. As I recall it involves placeing tape on the dash and door edge prying the door and useing a hacksaw blade to cut the loop

yeagermeister · Post by **yeagermeister** » 07 Jul 2005, 13:39

Jot wrote:If you do a search on www.brickboard.com you will find info on the glovebox. As I recall it involves placeing tape on the dash and door edge prying the door and useing a hacksaw blade to cut the loop

if you're willing to put a small hole in the glove box instead of cutting the loop, i'll give you the spot to do it, maybe with a coat hanger or something, when i get home (7pmish EDT).

yeagermeister · Post by **yeagermeister** » 07 Jul 2005, 19:24

here are the measurements:

225mm from the right hand side of the glovebox, and 10-11mm from the top edge of where the face of the glove box starts. drill a small hole (1/8"), and pull on the handle while pushing in and up with the coat hanger. it might take a few tries to hit the release, but it doesn't take much to pop it loose.

too dark to take pics, and the flash was whiting everything out. lemme know how it goes if you decide to do it...

spdykat · Post by **spdykat** » 07 Jul 2005, 19:38

Great, thanks I'll try it on the weekend.

yeagermeister · Post by **yeagermeister** » 07 Jul 2005, 19:43

saturday i'll get try to get photos of the inner workings so you'll better understand exactly what all the pieces look like- and if that's what the problem with yours is, i'll better describe what i did to fix it...

yeagermeister · Post by **yeagermeister** » 09 Jul 2005, 10:03

here goes:

overall glove box, with dimensions as mentioned in previous post:

the shiny spot that's dimensioned is the release mechanism.

closeup of the release mechanism as seen from the outside:

overall pic of the inner workings of the handle/release mechanism:

once you are able to get the glove box open and remove the screws that hold the face to the backplate, you'll see the inner workings as shown above. the mechanism itself contains a lot of small parts, but the piece that's probably broken is the release. there is a small pin that protrudes from the right side of the actuator, and most likely it has been broken off.

once you are disassemble everything and are able to see where it's been snapped off, that's the point at which you need to drill a hole to insert the screw. i don't know the size of the screw, but it's very small, possibly 3/32" by about 3/4". once the hole is drilled, you may have to wiggle the bit to get the screw to start threading it in. i did not tap it, as the actuator is made of a pretty soft metal.

the screw must protrude far enough to catch the release, as you can see in this pic:

all of the pieces are very small, and careful notation of how everything comes apart is a necessity. PM me if you need any more information...

(the other) sean

spdykat · Post by **spdykat** » 09 Jul 2005, 18:41

wow, that's great, thank you for the details! It may be a couple weeks until I actually have time to do it, but this is awesome.

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 09 Jul 2005, 20:32

Wow, now this little pic diagram thing you've done Yeagermeister should be pinned somewhere. Superb if I must say so myself. The glovebox problem seems to be rather common, so I'm sure this well help quite a few people with it.