Travis Mudrich

Alright, so after battling this problem twice, I finally have it beat on the third try. The stock armrest has a common problem where the internal mounting posts for the hinge tend to break fairly easy. This is how I overcame this problem.


This is my stock armrest that came with my jeep when i bought it. Apart from the very noticeable gouge, the tabs have broken twice.


This was my first and second attempt at fixing the problem. I had used JB Quik to try to remedy the problem.


Here is the internals of the new unmolested armrest.


The excess foam was removed and the entire area was cleaned.


I filled the entire crevice with JB Quik to make it the posts solid and secure. I contemplated throwing some up on the otherside but figured this should do fine.


Th reason why these normally break, is because of three reasons: first, they are not supported well on the inside. Scondly, the plate allows for movement when the armrest is being both rested on, and when it's opening and closing. Finally, the hinge has stopping points to control the maximum opening position but it still pulls away from the center console when fully opened.


With the internal void already filled, half my problems are already gone. This picture shows how I filled in these two divits to allow the hinge to make full contact with the plate when tightened down.


Finally they were drilled out smaller than stock to prevent as much wiggle room as possible. Now they are as sturdy as they can be, apart from filling in the other side of the barrier mentioned before.

This is the inside of the plate where the latching mechanism mounts to.


It probably is overkill but i already had the tools out so I flled that in also. I seriously do not want to try to do this a fourth time.


Just as a side note incase if anyone didn't know, Chrystler also updated the latch. The rounded one is from a Renix (dont know the specific year) and the pointed one is from my 96. The tabs also have different hole placements.


My 96 one went back in and I lubricated it with white lithium grease.


I also used full length screws to minimize the stress on the fragile plastic posts.


You can see at full lungth of the post, they are nearly double than stock. I even bought the same thread pitch.


With that being said, the whole thing was reassembled and reinstalled.


Better than factory.

straws

The latch on my 99 console is broken, like most. I fabbed up a new metal latch but was annoyed with the side to side movement of the lid, even when latched shut. I felt like that would eventually break the plastic at the hinge or something so I drilled two holes in the lower portion and mounted two plastic studs in the lid that when closed would mate with the holes and keep the lid from sideways movement when leaned on.


You can see the studs here


And then the female ends drilled into the bottom.

Travis Mudrich

There are guide rails on the -96 that are supposed to prevent side to side movement but it's loose just like yours. I like what you did