Gorilla Glue. check.
WeeDeeForty. Check.
Baling Wire. Check.
Duct Tape. Check.
Vise Grips. Check.
Wife took the damned charge card. Check.
Great items to have about. The LAST one, surprisingly, can be the best variable:Cash stifles creativity (seen Ice Age2? -I want my two hours BACK.), and nothing is more permanent than a temporary repair.
Most would order the metal gear goodies, and be done with this. My hat's off to you for yanking it apart, analyzing the bits, understanding them, and making a reliable fix yourself.
ANYTHING can be fixed forever, given a will, and a way.
I would LOVE to spend a week in Cuba, just looking at jerry-rigged vehicles. They haven't had money OR part spares since I was fighting my brother for Cap'n Crunch toys. So much could be learned, from an engineering standpoint.
My old boss went to Freeking YALE, and MIT. Had the engineering degree, but poor Ritchie Rich, he NEVER, EVER, had to fix a broken car in his whole life. Simple machines stymied him for hours.
Me, however, grew up in Dogpatch, Washington. My SISTER can rebuild a smallblock Chevy, fer chrissakes, and she runs a Mini-Storage.
Oh yeah, some point to this.
Never be afraid to ask the online community for help, we ALL had a first time.
And don't be afraid to dissect things when they die.
It's how I've attained my own MIT degree: Mistakes I've Tried.