Gaming Cracked NDSL hinge - what can I do?

[Fel]

So about a month ago or so I noticed there was a straight line on the right hinge after taking it out of my jacket, looking exactly like the ones in these two articles: a thin, straight diagonal line like in the gamegrin article.

https://www.gamegrin.com/articles/nintendo-ds-lite-broken-hinge-scenario/

http://3gsupportedmobile.blogspot.com/2011/08/does-your-nintendo-ds-lite-have-hinge.html

At the time I didn't know it was a well-known issue with the DS Lites and thought it might've gotten damaged in the pocket by another object (although I only had a credit card and paper in it, so I was surprised it happened), so I didn't do anything about it since it looked like just a cosmetic issue. However today when I was closing the DS normally as always, for some reason the hinge cracked and it's now bigger - instead of a paper-thin line it's about 5mm wide and deep, so the crack goes all the way through the upper side of the hinge - you can still close it and open it, however due to the crack you can see this metal/silver object in the crack (or rather below it) whenever it's not in the closed or open position. Most guides say you should put superglue in the crack, but since mine is so big now, what should I do? Is it still safe and do you put the glue inside the crack itself? Or because the hinge.

So far I can open and close the DS without issues, however it's a little bit more stiff and you can see how the crack widens a little bit and then goes smaller again when opening it, due to the hinge not being connected all the way through.

Thanks!

 

[FAST6191]

You can glue it. Disassemble it if you can, or otherwise prevent glue from getting in places.

If it is a larger crack then you might want to try the baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) method. Here rather than just trusting the glue alone you also add some baking soda in layers at a time to build back up what might have been lost and make a better joint overall. I would definitely disassemble for this. You might also want to enlarge the area with a rotary tool or something to get a bigger surface area but play that one as you will.
Try it on something else first though to get the hang of it all.

Alternatively, though probably not right now, I am still seeing DS lites go for next to nothing in car boot sales, swap meets, yard sales, flea markets and the like. You could grab a case from one of those if you are that way inclined. You can probably still also find replacements, though some of those are dubious quality.

 

[Fel]

You can glue it. Disassemble it if you can, or otherwise prevent glue from getting in places.

If it is a larger crack then you might want to try the baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) method. Here rather than just trusting the glue alone you also add some baking soda in layers at a time to build back up what might have been lost and make a better joint overall. I would definitely disassemble for this. You might also want to enlarge the area with a rotary tool or something to get a bigger surface area but play that one as you will.
Try it on something else first though to get the hang of it all.

Alternatively, though probably not right now, I am still seeing DS lites go for next to nothing in car boot sales, swap meets, yard sales, flea markets and the like. You could grab a case from one of those if you are that way inclined. You can probably still also find replacements, though some of those are dubious quality.

Thanks for the answer! I looked at disassembly videos, but right now I think I'd prefer to try to fix it without that or leave it like that, since I'm not sure how safe would it be. And if I'm careful it should stay the same, since it's already cracked, right? Or is it possible it could get even worse?

Since the crack goes all the way through that part of the hinge, how would you put the superglue in without disassembling it? It looks like a plank or a bridge where a section is completely missing - the upper part hinge split apart/cracked, and since it's so wide I'm not sure how to begin putting the superglue or soda in, esp. without disassembling it, so that it wouldn't just fall through the crack and onto the joint/stuff below it - I can clearly see whatever is underneath the white case through the crack (some metal stuff) when the NDS isn't completely open.

Also whenever I open it, the split/crack widens and the space between the two parts becomes bigger and then smaller again when opening it, no doubt due to the hinge pulling on it. Is the superglue meant to just glue both parts back together, or put a new "section" in between the two split parts? And if it's the latter, how do you do it without making the superglue+soda section too small or too big, so that it's able to close and open? If it's the former, I'm not sure if it's possible to do it as right now the closer side of the crack (when holding the NDS normally) is slightly up above the level of the NDS, and I can't force them back together since they seem unmovable.

I-

 

[FAST6191]

I believe there is a little lobe/cam on the hinge that acts as a detent (the thing that makes the click and holds it in place). The opening will happen as it exerts force on it and as there is technically nothing but air holding it together courtesy of the crack (air being famously low in tensile strength).
This will also mean even more force being applied to the remaining section (probably about 7 or so mm down) and will see that snap in due course.

Is it possible to repair without splashing glue around all over the place and just have it where you want (or get it before it cures). It is however going to be very slow (one drip at a time) and still very accident prone, especially if you are new to it all.