The pushbutton switch on the new-to-me 1987 4Runner was permanently stuck (i.e. always on). So I pried it out, and saw that the push button was jammed in the body of the stalk, and the spring permanently deformed. I was able to re-form the spring, and clean up the debris that caused the jamming. But the push button is falling apart - one leg completely fell off, the other is hanging by a thread.

I'd like to avoid having to buy an entire used switch assembly just for the push button. But it also looks like it's be quite hard to repair the broken one. I could try to 3D print a replacement, but I doubt it'll be strong enough.

Any other ideas for this? I wonder if a button from another vehicle would fit - of course the next question is which vehicle?



Button stuck

Button Removed

Broken Button

 

I don't have a good answer.
You can get replacement stalks for some applications, but yours, like mine, has cruise on that stalk. and that's a problem
Mine is still okay, but I'm aware of their tendency to do what yours did, so I've been looking for a possible replacement, just in case.
One possibility is getting another stalk and swapping the parts over to your old.
The tricky part will be getting the button out of the donor without breaking.
I did take my turn signal assembly completely out awhile back and removed all the old grease that was becoming "thick" and lubed with new grease. But this was mostly for the actual turn signal application. there's not much preventative maintenance you can do on either stalk end. The left stalk where you turn the headlights on often went bad, too

 

I'm going to start with the easy (though tedious) approach - I'll try to fix mine with some reinforcing sheetmetal behind the broken tabs. Not sure how well the epoxy will hold, but we'll find out.

 

Nothing lost in trying. Sometimes with old parts you have to improvise. I'd apply a thin coat of JB Weld using hobby style paint brush to all the interior surfaces for added strength and support of the reaming good sections.

 

I had the retaining tabs break off of my washer button. Same stalk with cruise control. I ended up buying a broken assembly off of eBay and harvesting the button out of it. To get the washer button out without breaking it requires destructively removing the cruise control collar (gray part).

 

That's my Plan B, but with the cost of used ones on EBay being close to $200, I figured I'll try the bandaid first. I stepped up to the JBWeld 50139 Plastic Bonder urethane adhesive, supposedly a good choice for metal to plastic bonding. Here are some photos:






I popped it back into the stalk, it fit nicely and to my pleasant surprise, operated smoothly:




For the ultimate test, I turned the ignition on and pushed the button.. and voila, we have spray again! No idea how long this will last, but I think it's pretty robust for what it is and does.

 

Seems like something a 3D printer could replicate

 

Indeed, that was my plan B (or C). But I imagined a decent investment of time would be needed to create the CAD model, plus my fairly basic 3D printer would probably not be able to make a strong enough version where the tangs wouldn't break off. But if someone with a better printer wanted to go into mass production of these.. wink...

 

I’m totally ignorant to 3D. Once the correct plastic is found, I’d need something where it’d be fairly easy to “scan” the sample and have the printer go to work. Having to render a drawing, programming, etc. needs to be pretty simple to keep my enthusiasm.
I watch on YouTube “HowStuffWorks” and I’m in awe of the various components he can crank out, plastic or metal.

I haven’t messed with those buttons in ages, but I do remember sitting in the Parts Dept with a broken one trying to reverse the assembly to see if there was an easy fix. Besides the tangs breaking a common failure was the spring going bad and the button not popping back up all the way. I was trying to see if there was a way to remove the button and just replace the spring. I concluded that the button was the last step, and once snapped on there was no way to remove. But I wasn’t nearly creative back then, and being surrounded with every conceivable part for a 1st gen 4Runner, there wasn’t much need to be too creative. “Discontinued” really makes you step up your game.

 

No doubt, 3D printing is the future.. they are working on 3D printed rockets and houses, after all. And yeah, there's technology out there to scan the part and create the 3D model. Although that's a bit more complicated when you're working with a broken part to start with.

I think it may be possible to remove the pushbutton without damaging it, using a thin stiff piece of metal (like spring steel) and shove it into the space between the pushbutton and the outer housing, thus depressing the tangs. Not sure how well that would work - I don't plan to take mine apart unless it fails again.