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Number: 2619
From: "InfoSysSec" <infosyssec@i...>
Date: Mon May 12, 2003 9:26 pm
Subject: Re: [ASC McLaren ] ashtray not staying close on 89
Body:
I don't really know if it was an 'over usage' flaw or just a poor engineering design to begin with for the ashtray and the armrest console box button
When you look at the spring arrangement, you will see that the tension spring is not the most noble piece of engineering on earth. It also is installed in a situation where it is metal in contact with plastic. Well the simple law of wear and tear tells you that when metal is continuously rubbing against plastic that wear is going to occur. Unfortunately for the ashtray the wear results in the spring effectively cutting a hole in a downward direction until it finally cuts through the plastic hole and gains its freedom ( at which point the ashtray no longer benefits from the tension provided by the spring ). I guess that in some cases the force of the tension spring was also able to snap the plastic that retained it when hit hard enough or when the plastic might be particularly vulnerable in cold weather.
The same probably applies to the open/close button on the arm rest. When you open up the arm rest and take a look at the flimsy piece of plastic that Ford used to make the open/close button, you will easily figure out why it was doomed to failure at some point in its lifetime. You basically have a piece of plastic that looks like a button with a bow attached to it. The bow gives it the flex to be pushed in and to return the button back to its starting position. But the bow portion of the button is fairly thin. So I can imagine that in a COLD climate this thin piece of plastic will break much quicker than say the same piece in a warm climate. But just imagine a thin piece of plastic being flexed and you can easily imagine that its life expectancy is pretty limited. Some sort of metal spring with a button arrangement would probably have lasted a lifetime - but for purposes of economy ( errrrmm cheapness ) Ford went with a piece of molded plastic.
Marq
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 9:13 PM
Subject: Re: [ASC McLaren ] ashtray not staying close on 89
hey thanks for the info. are they easily broken? I have a 93 se
mustang and mine is fine. but no one has ever smoked in the car.
maybe that's the secret :)
susie
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