The seals need replacing in my wife's Mazda MX5 hardtop. I've got the seals but I see that the original ones are held into the fibre glass with a couple of pop rivets. On the soft top, the similar seals are held in with screws.
I don't think I can get to the back of the holes so I'm assuming that I'm going to have to use pop rivets again. I take it that they are removable with the appropriate bit of judicious drilling ?
Thanks
Rob
Yup. For this sort of app they are usually aluminium so drill out easily. Probably 5mm.
The best way to remove (non-countersunk) pop rivets (Tucker pops) is to use a single sided chisel* to remove the head and then punch the body through. There is a bit of a knack to giving the head exactly the right tap to remove it cleanly . Check first that the centre mandrel is not still in place - if it is then punch it out first. It can help to just start to drill them out but they often start to turn and end up making the hole larger.
*(Those of us who remove them a lot make our own chisel to do the job - it needs to be flat on one side but slightly curved up to clear the body - a bit like a bent wood chisel)Slatts
I think I qualify as an expert here as I am forever removing them to fit new seals! The best way to remove (non-countersunk) pop rivets (Tucker pops) is to use a single sided chisel* to remove the head and then punch the body through. There is a bit of a knack to giving the head exactly the right tap to remove it cleanly . Check first that the steel centre mandrel is not still in place - if it is then punch it out first. It can help to just start to drill them out but they often start to turn and end up making the hole larger.
*(Those of us who remove them a lot make our own chisel to do the job - you can make it from a 3/8" metal work chisel - it needs to be flat on one side but slightly curved up to clear the bodywork - a bit like the sharp end of a wood chisel that has been bent )Slatts
Thanks, guys - off to the hills tomorrow (snow and sun forecast, should be great) so that will be the Saturday job. My instinct is to avoid making a special tool but if needs must !!
Rob
yes. Normally if the steel inner has popped out, a 3mm or 3.2mm drill will have them out.
And more of a knack avoiding damage to the part the rivet is holding on?
I've removed hundreds of these things using the same size drill needed for the clearance hole. And never had a problem.
If the bit thats held on is to be replaced, then knock off is fast and effective..
I HAVE had problems drilling..the bloody rived catches on te drill and spins round and scratches..
Horses for courses I reckon,.
Might be if doing thousands all at once. On things like trunking etc where a scratch doesn't matter. But on a car most of the time a drill is the answer.
So no different from chiselling?
I still prefer the drill method. It's only likely to spin just before the rivet breaks in most cases where it does spin and moving the drill off 'vertical' slightly usually stops it. But you do need the correct size drill.
Re: Pop Rivets - Just as an aside...
If you want to make them stronger don't pull them up to the breaking point. Just pull until they are tight then remove the puller and snip the mandrel off with an end cutter. Leaving the mandrel in just about doubles the shear strength of a pop - but not of course the tension strength.
Slatts
I use to drill but when I reached the second thousand I finally realised a hammer is better :-) I find with the ally and fibreglass I mostly work with that the 1/8" ones spin far to quickly if drilled. I find this the best way to remove Cherry and Avdel rivets as well. I agree that the larger sizes and solid rivets can benefit from drilling but I drill them undersize then chisel off the heads - that way you don't damage the holes.
Slatts
You'll need some cutter - they're very hard steel.
Isn't it likely to fall out?
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