snopercod
Well Known Member
I had one of the "lugs" (I don't know the proper name), crack off on one of my gear door hinges. I understand that RVs use lots of these MS20001-P5 extruded aluminum hinges so I'm posting this for discussion:
You will notice that the throats in these old hinges have almost no radius at the corners - I estimate .005" max, and all edges are sharp. It's my belief that a fatigue crack started in the sharp corner where the actuator arm bolts on (the dirty area in the photo). The replacement hinge stock which just arrived from ACS has a nice radius in those corners - I estimate .020" - but the edges are still sharp. So I just ordered some Craytex wheels which I intend to use in my Dremel to break all those sharp edges to eliminate stress risers.
Comments or suggestions?
You will notice that the throats in these old hinges have almost no radius at the corners - I estimate .005" max, and all edges are sharp. It's my belief that a fatigue crack started in the sharp corner where the actuator arm bolts on (the dirty area in the photo). The replacement hinge stock which just arrived from ACS has a nice radius in those corners - I estimate .020" - but the edges are still sharp. So I just ordered some Craytex wheels which I intend to use in my Dremel to break all those sharp edges to eliminate stress risers.
Comments or suggestions?