Smart ForTwo Tailgate Hinges Replaced - THE Worst Job So Far

Smart ForTwo 451 Tailgate Hinges Replaced - THE Worst Job So Far
I bought ANOTHER Smart Car ... this time a 2011 Smart ForTwo Night Orange edition. One of only 235 ever made!
Why? Well because my Smart 450 is getting on in its life and the colour ... well I just fell in love with it.
In this video Dad and I repair the broken hinges on the tailgate - I did buy a kit to do the job ... but as you will see. It was IMPOSSIBLE to remove the old kit without some drilling and hammering. What seemed to be an easy job - turned out to be the hardest!
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[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for watching folks. What did you reckon? Would you have done the same or would you have approached this a different way?

[@interdec]

Quote of the week: “That looks a bit shite, dunnit”? As a painter, it’s my job to fix “that looks a bit shite, dunnit” situations on a daily basis! 😁

[@JonCoupland]

Ha i bet!

[@frednetherlands887]

My dad had the same exact Black and Decker drill...it is still working...

[@Zadster]

And mine! Exactly the same one.

[@JonCoupland]

Excellent!

[@JonCoupland]

Fab!

[@huwdavies6650]

I saw a Night Orange Smart a few weeks ago as I was coming out of London on the A4 heading back to South Wales.

[@JonCoupland]

Awesome!

[@interdec]

If they’re stainless bolts, they won’t rust, but they’ll never come out again!

[@JonCoupland]

Coming out again they do not need to do :)

[@romac9516]

Big fan of the original outtro haha, great fun as ever cheers :)

[@JonCoupland]

🤣🤣👍

[@jtfalcon89]

Family friend had someone run into her and it appears this what broke on hers. Looks like this will be a hell of a job and finding the parts

[@JonCoupland]

Our advice would be to do what we did in the end. Don't bother with the parts we bought just drill in replace with threaded Hex bolts

[@lozkemp2456]

A good video on an awkward job. Reckon there was plenty of editing to remove expletives after the drill bit snapped 😂

[@JonCoupland]

Yes ... Yes there was

[@fhwolthuis]

Well done, guys 👍😃

[@JonCoupland]

Thank you! 😃

[@zanefrag8269]

Why do i feel the dad just whats to say omg turn that crap off and stop saying everything your doing Haha😂😂 patience of a saint.

[@JonCoupland]

Maybe ... But then there would be no show ;)

[@interdec]

That last section where you showed the hinge…they’re really a “shite” design, don’t you agree? That fix was a good idea though…I’d have got some long drill bits and drilled right through and inserted the new pins…wasting time and energy and doubtlessly uttering many more swear words than necessary. Y’know, I reckon that there should be a scale of difficulty of jobs something like “two buggers” and one “shit” all the way up to “oh ffs just scrap the f*****g thing”! Just like the bodgers torque scale: “finger tight”, “very tight”, all the way up to “use the long bar tight”’

[@JonCoupland]

Great scale! Yes the design really is poor!

[@Brauschemann]

Well done ! - But - I would have taken the tailgate off, stood it on it's end, and then make a platicine bowl around each of the pins. Fill the bowls with PlusGas, and leave it for a couple of days if you're not in a hurry. After that, gradually try to turn the pins a little, whilst repeating the process if need be.

[@JonCoupland]

Sadly we didn't have time to do that 😊 but a good suggestion

[@terryatkinson899]

You're not like me, I never take anything back... just don't buy them again and leave a review on their site of your experience 🤔 I do buy cobalt drill bits when faced with this type of thing and they are quite good. You have to be inventive sometimes and have plenty of time to come up with a solution 😊👍🇮🇪

[@JonCoupland]

Looking after the pennies to save the pounds. Thankfully we got there in the end 🤣👍

[@ferrumignis]

Well done dad, though that is a disappointingly crappy design by Smart. Exposed steel pin driven into a steel bushing all open to the weather, what could possibly go wrong?

[@JonCoupland]

Right?! - we were shocked ... well i was - Dad knew it was coming

[@christineayres7199]

Glad you got that tailgate sorted Jon well done to your dad again for having the patience of a saint lol

[@JonCoupland]

Cheers :)

[@christineayres7199]

@@JonCoupland Thank you Jon 😀

[@tonylusardi2563]

Had the exactly same job on my Nightorange snapped drill bits ended up having to replace the full tailgate as destroyed the old. Job well done to you both!

[@JonCoupland]

Oh no! What a nightmare! We were lucky to get that bit it :)

[@danielrussell446]

Wow what a pig of a job that was such poor design by smart and not making it easy to repair but well done to you both for overcoming it and making it much better than it was! You both deserved your tea breaks! All the best Daniel

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks Daniel - glad the job is done!

[@mikejba]

This looks a massive pain the posterior. But never doubting your dads skills in doing a top job. Well done gents

[@JonCoupland]

It was 🤣🤣 cheers Mike ☺️

[@bradjohnson1627]

That did not look like fun at all 😢 your Dad’s a patient man. Glad you managed to get the drill bit out, would have been game over otherwise.

[@JonCoupland]

Absolutely - we were blessed that day with a bit of luck!

[@Jaxs2]

It's a lot poorer designed than the 450 Jon .. metal through plastic 🫣 fantastic you sorted it .. but i was waiting , for the backside test 😄👌

[@JonCoupland]

🤣🤣 I don't dare sit on this one!

[@Jaxs2]

@JonCoupland I would of loved to see your dad's face 😆

[@JonCoupland]

@@Jaxs2 🤣🤣

[@colinexely4321]

I would have tried boiling water on the plastic mole grips inthe end and pulled all the lot out then re bushed it

[@JonCoupland]

I really think that sadly wouldn't have worked. It was very very very stuck

[@Grumpyowd2hat]

Love the content again Grommit👍🏻

[@JonCoupland]

Many thanks ☺️

[@caspardelint3511]

Night(mare) Orange 😅

[@JonCoupland]

Apt

[@a11csc]

the legend heals the smart again

[@JonCoupland]

Absolutely

[@dronetime_flights]

I did it exactly the way you did it. There is no way that pin is coming out. The pin is also directional as it has splines and its a nightmare job.

[@JonCoupland]

Glad we werent the only people with the same issues!

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

“Tool of the Week” that drill extension thing ! Shame about the cheapo tools / drills….. cheap for a reason…

[@JonCoupland]

You say that ... But the Poundland ones did a better job than the expensive ones ... Go figure

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

@@JonCoupland The Bosch label doesn’t count for much these days… buyer beware all round unfortunately….

[@JonCoupland]

@@johnmoruzzi7236 sadly you are right! We nearly found that out the hard way!

[@AliMackMechanical]

Well that looked like a terrible job😂. I hate drilling anything with todays drill bits there rubbish i remember when they didn't just snap. 😊 I am sure you will know about the different stages of a service your Dad has Probably told you. I remember when i worked for Vauxhall dealership and we would grease door pins oil things unfortunately I don't think that happens anymore.

[@JonCoupland]

It certainly wasn't as easy as I expected

[@michaelgilbert3311]

These five minute jobs always take longer and somrtimes not resolved.But hey we have Dad at the helm, Well done guys. To fight another day.

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks :) - i really thought it was going to be easy!

[@IfInDoubt..]

The (lack of) quality control on that rear numberplate makes me ITCH 😂😂

[@JonCoupland]

🤣 good news. It's been redone for free as they also were disappointed the way it came out. I just need to fit it 🤣

[@paultaylor9652]

Probably a better design than the original Jon, team work did it again.

[@JonCoupland]

Yes maybe it is in hindsight. Thanks 👍