Can you post a close-up pic of the misaligned tooth, both inside and outside?
Is it just the outer tooth that appears to be out of position? Does the zipper tape seem damaged or stretched under that tooth?
If it's just the former, I think there's hope for a repair; the latter, not likely.
I just did a little experimenting with an old drysuit zippper. Try to visualize the following:
The small inner tooth is T-shaped, but with a small base added to the bottom of the T, like an "I" would have. The small base is what is showing on the inside of the zipper tape.
The outer tooth is C-shaped, but with little inward hooks on the ends of the C.
The zipper tape is wrapped around the big end of the T and the C is pinched around the fabric, pinning it down firmly between the top and bottom of those "flanges" on the T.
Your zipper tooth probably hung up when the zipper slide was being pulled to one side or the other, perhaps because the fabric buckled when the zipper wasn't anchored well enough. The outer tooth was pulled along the folded zipper tape until it was out of position.
The inner tooth may still be in the original position. Is it?
It might be worth a try to slide the outer tooth back into position, but very carefully.
A needle nosed plier with an end about the width of the outer tooth will give you good purchase on the tooth.
After lubing the tooth and tape with spit and using such a tool, I was able to slide the outer tooth to a new position. It helped to rock the rounded end of the outer tooth side to side in the same direction as the zipper itself, letting it "walk" its way along the zipper tape. Hopefully, the inner tooth will stay put while you do this. Rocking should help.
Tightening the outer tooth is tricky because it's very easy to pinch the "C" too much, distorting its shape. If you have a small vise and a way to put the pressure of the vise just on the ends of the "C", you'll probably do alright. It won't take much tightening at all.
If it were me, I'd probably just try to slide the outer tooth into position and skip the tightening, even if slightly loose. Then, just be very careful of that section when lubing and zipping. :shocked2:
If you want pics of a typical tooth, let me know.
Dave C
