View attachment 928
broke some plastic.
View attachment 929
fixed!
View attachment 930
Harbor Freight butane soldering torch!
broke some plastic.
View attachment 929
fixed!
View attachment 930
Harbor Freight butane soldering torch!
Broken Plastic
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
Joined
·
63 Posts
how did you crack it ? which part is that?
It's the right rocker panel. It got caught on a downed tree limb while I was traversing the woods. I almost threw it out but after fitting it back together I figured..heck lets see if I can melt it back together. A few clamps and an extra pair of hands holding the pieces together and VIOLA!.
I also broke the plastic winch mud guard jumping a log. Welded that too. It's been a week now going through the same type of terrain.
BTW: I got a puddle going of the joining parts. I wore light electricians gloves and pressed the melted joining pieces together. They are holding very strong and really don't look too bad.
Cheaper than buying new parts!
please do...i'm still learning.I'll be happy to rotate your pics for you if you like.
Here you go:
View attachment 926 View attachment 927 View attachment 925
Interestingly, it was only the PREVIEWS that were rotated. When I clicked the bar to show them full size, they were OK.
Once I downloaded them to my PC, they were the same way - thumbnails upside down, but when I opened them in an image editor, they were right side up.
So I just had to re-save them and upload them again. No rotation needed to be done.
That definitely sounds like something wonky with the camera settings in the iPhone.
Once I downloaded them to my PC, they were the same way - thumbnails upside down, but when I opened them in an image editor, they were right side up.
So I just had to re-save them and upload them again. No rotation needed to be done.
That definitely sounds like something wonky with the camera settings in the iPhone.
Thaks!..i'll figure it out............someday.
The weld is holding up great so far though!
I welded the back sides first. I did not try to do a continuous weld. I jumped around quite a bit, then I went over the outside continuously while gingerly patting the weld with my index finger to get the plastic to mix and bind. The same technique was used on the inside to force the melted plastic to combine.
The weld is holding up great so far though!
I welded the back sides first. I did not try to do a continuous weld. I jumped around quite a bit, then I went over the outside continuously while gingerly patting the weld with my index finger to get the plastic to mix and bind. The same technique was used on the inside to force the melted plastic to combine.
Joined
·
63 Posts
Great pics and info thanks for sharing Fred
Joined
·
196 Posts
Great fix because you don't want to have to buy that winch cover again at almost $200 is what it is right now!
This last weekend I just did almost exactly the same thing - went over a down tree, it bounced up after the front tire left it, and it cracked the right rocker panel.
How many plastic rivets and other screws do you have to remove to get that panel off? Did it require removing any other panels?
I'm going to try your repair and see how it goes.
Thanks!
BTW, in case anyone is interested, this is Polaris part# 5450069-070 and the going rate for it is about $42.
Update: I just fixed mine. It was a lot quicker and easier than I was expecting!
There are eight plastic rivets, all in plain sight, plus three star head bolts, and one small star head screw (the net anchor).
The panel just lifts right off the side, easy as can be.
Mine was not cracked as badly as fred's, and I hit it with a propane torch.
I used the flat end of a really large allen wrench to push the plastic around once I had it all mushy.
I let it harden up a bit, then took it over to the sink and ran it under cold water.
I don't expect that my weld is terribly strong, but it does not need to be. The plastic rivets hold the panel's shape pretty well.
If I hit something else that tears it apart again, I'll buy a new panel for $42.
I don't think I would have tried this if I had not seen this thread. Thank you!
There are eight plastic rivets, all in plain sight, plus three star head bolts, and one small star head screw (the net anchor).
The panel just lifts right off the side, easy as can be.
Mine was not cracked as badly as fred's, and I hit it with a propane torch.
I used the flat end of a really large allen wrench to push the plastic around once I had it all mushy.
I let it harden up a bit, then took it over to the sink and ran it under cold water.
I don't expect that my weld is terribly strong, but it does not need to be. The plastic rivets hold the panel's shape pretty well.
If I hit something else that tears it apart again, I'll buy a new panel for $42.
I don't think I would have tried this if I had not seen this thread. Thank you!
Joined
·
203 Posts
On my last trip out I broke the same piece on a rock. There is nothing at the bottom to make it stronger, just plastic hanging down. If it breaks again I will look at trimming it down to match the frame.
I have welded plastic with this Harbor Freight plastic welding kit.
View attachment 1161
This is the URL. 80 Watt Iron Plastic Welding Kit
It is just an 80 Watt soldering iron with a triangle shaped head. The nice thing about it is that it comes with about a dozen strips of black plastic. You can also get an assortment of different color plastics. The plastic strips allow you to add plastic to a weld for extra strength. I repaired my license plate holder on my Duramax Diesel pickup about 3 days ago. One-Shot has repaired several cracks in the bed of his Ranger. He sanded the weld and painted it and you can hardly find the repair.
View attachment 1161
This is the URL. 80 Watt Iron Plastic Welding Kit
It is just an 80 Watt soldering iron with a triangle shaped head. The nice thing about it is that it comes with about a dozen strips of black plastic. You can also get an assortment of different color plastics. The plastic strips allow you to add plastic to a weld for extra strength. I repaired my license plate holder on my Duramax Diesel pickup about 3 days ago. One-Shot has repaired several cracks in the bed of his Ranger. He sanded the weld and painted it and you can hardly find the repair.
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
