cracked plastic

[yamahardr15]

I was wondering instead of buying new rear plastics for my 02 400ex is there a way to stop a crack from spreading or to hold it together. The crack is under the back part of the seat.

Thanks

[JOEX]

I've heard that if you drill a hole at each end of the crack it will help stop the crack from groing. This may not help in all situations.

you can take it to a autobody place and they put some slime type stuff in the crack and not only does it fill the crack but it as well keeps it from growing any further its real cheap to.. like 1.90 for a whole bottle

[yamahardr15]

ok thanks i'll try the guey stuff

ok thanks i'll try the guey stuff


sounds dirty... lol.. It worked for mine but I ended up gettin fullbores and sellin my 400 and buyin a 450r:macho

[eganracing]

when my fenders cracked i drilled holes about an half inch from the crack on each side and then ran a zip tie through. i did this about every inch and it held up fairly well. alot cheaper than new plastics.

[-copyguy-]

I had a crack that ran from the back of the plastics to halfway up the seat on one side. Went to Home Depot and got a small sheet of aluminum. I took the plastics off and clamped them together at the back. Then I trimmed the out a couple pieces of aluminum to length to cover as much of the crack as i could. I cut both pieces double width and then folded them over to increase the strength. I kinda worked the metal with a hammer and my hands until I had it so it would fit tight against the fenders.

Then I took the metal and drilled some 1/8" holes in it, held it up to the underside of the fender and used it as a guide to drill through the plastic. After that, just use some stainless steel rivets with their washers on both sides.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it's not that bad. It took me about an hour and $10. The repaired side of the fender is about as good as the unbroken side and it doesn't look too bad...just some rivet heads on the top side of it.

I can send you some pics if you want to see how I did it.

[WickedATVer]

do it how the last guy said works great i did it to the plastics that were destroyed on an old lt-80 just put metal on the under side and rivet it down through the top I don't know how the glue ****e wouild work though.

[ride_red666]

Originally posted by -copyguy-
I had a crack that ran from the back of the plastics to halfway up the seat on one side. Went to Home Depot and got a small sheet of aluminum. I took the plastics off and clamped them together at the back. Then I trimmed the out a couple pieces of aluminum to length to cover as much of the crack as i could. I cut both pieces double width and then folded them over to increase the strength. I kinda worked the metal with a hammer and my hands until I had it so it would fit tight against the fenders.

Then I took the metal and drilled some 1/8" holes in it, held it up to the underside of the fender and used it as a guide to drill through the plastic. After that, just use some stainless steel rivets with their washers on both sides.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it's not that bad. It took me about an hour and $10. The repaired side of the fender is about as good as the unbroken side and it doesn't look too bad...just some rivet heads on the top side of it.

I can send you some pics if you want to see how I did it.

that way holds up the best and dosent look too bad either

[<DRS>GPF]

trim away about 1/8" to 1/4" strips off from an unseen place that isnt necessary for support(like under the seat..).. this will be your welding rod.. youll need the exact same material, or itll never stay when the plastic is flexed..

then use a large soldering iron, a heatgun with a funneling tip, or an actual plastic welding iron(which i was lucky enough to get ahold of..) to weld a seam on the cracked area..
something like this: http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/7584/2196 ... its not what i used, but similar..

practice by welding the strips youve cut away together..

worked great for mine, and at least 3 other guys that im aware of.. it was so clean, i had to point out the weld when i sold that particular quad.. the new owner still has it, going on 5yrs..

[yamahardr15]

thanks i'll try the guey stuff cause that sounds the easiest and my friends that has an autobody place but if that doesn't work could i get some pics of how you folded the sheet metal and made that hold it together
thanks

[coryatver]

I drilled small holes and zip tied mine all the way down the crack. It worked good and you can't see it becuase it is under the seat unless you are looking for it.

[400exc]

plastic welder made mine hold together, just like a regular welder, except plastic kind of.... its holdin great too

[yamahardr15]

where did you get the plastic welder
thanks

[dragracer101]

hey, i cracked my 300ex fender when i had it...i took it to an autobody place and they sealed it off with some black tar...holdsu up great...

[boricua]

drilling holes at the very ends of the crack can help, it adds strength to the crack seam and resist it from getting bigger. the patch of metal on the underside is a really good idea as well, more of a repair than temporary fix like drilling holes. the guey stuff, never heard of it.....soldering plastic.....thats a more permenant repair. on a scale of 1-10, ten being the most difficult....i'd say its a 6.5 - 7. only cause if your not careful you can create waves, fingerprints or melt a bigger hole in it than you started with.

good luck

[yamahardr15]

thanks you all for the advice i'll let you all know how it tourns out once i get to it after finals are over this week.

thanks