repairing broken cab roof.

fruitcakesa

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M 6040
Oct 26, 2010
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Cavendish Vermont
I smashed a hole in the cab roof last fall trying to park my new to me M in my low roofed drive shed.
I patched it for the winter with self adhesive rubber roofing and duct tape, which worked fine as a temporary fix but I want a more permanent solution.
The material appears to be a roto-molded sort of plastic or the like.
No fibers or "grain to it. Just some kind of monolithic plastic.
Anyone know what will adhere to this stuff. I considered fiberglass repair but am unsure if it will stay on.
Suggestions or experience?
Thanks, Andrew
 

SidecarFlip

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It's vacuum formed PE and I don't think any patch will survive. Might as well bite the bullet and order a new one and chalk up the broken one to your lack of foresight.
 

SidecarFlip

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Good time to take it off and clean the under roof components any way.
 

SidecarFlip

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You may or may not have an issue getting the screws out from inside the cab (that secure the roof on). I did first time and what I did was I bought myself one of those manual impact tools at Harbor Fright (think they are less than 10 bucks) that you tap with a hammer to start the screws out. I had a couple that didn't want to back out.

What I did was before I put them back in I put a little never seize on the threads to make it easier next time which was a few times ago. I clean mine yearly.

When you put it back on, make sure the perimeter seal is centered all around so it don't leak.
 

fruitcakesa

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M 6040
Oct 26, 2010
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Cavendish Vermont
When I pulled the roof off my old L, the screws came out easily as the PO must have removed it before and lost most of the screws.
I think there was only 3 or 4 actually holding it on.
I don't recall seeing any kind of seal on it.
 
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SidecarFlip

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Both my M's have a foam gasket all around. It's glued to the top of the metal structure, but then they are both older than yours.

I also added a sheet of Reflectix on the underside of the roof to reflect the radiant and absorbed heat. Mine gets real hot in the summer up there.
 

Russell King

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You may want to try and plastic weld it back together.

I think Harbor Freight has a machine to weld plastic with but you may be able to use a soldering iron.

Read online for examples of what plastics will be able to be repaired


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fruitcakesa

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M 6040
Oct 26, 2010
852
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Cavendish Vermont
First warm, dry day in months it seems.
I removed the roof, screws were free and the gasket remained in the roof channel.
I took out the cabin filter and have direct access to most of inside the break; just lucky that it broke there since the rest of the inner roof is sealed up.
I am going to used the still intact temporary patch as a form and use the epoxy to embed and coat FG cloth layup over it.
Once cured, I will remove the temp. patch and do the same FG patch on the outside using the cured inner as the form.
 

Newlyme

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Fruitcakesa,
How did the ventilation system and filter look?
Clean/dirty?
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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I am going to used the still intact temporary patch as a form and use the epoxy to embed and coat FG cloth layup over it.
Once cured, I will remove the temp. patch and do the same FG patch on the outside using the cured inner as the form.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the epoxy won't stay stuck, nothing does to PE. :(

At first, It will feel like it's holding, then the slightest temp change and it will just pop off or just loose bond.

Go to Harbor Freight and get a plastic welder and weld it back together, that will hold over the long haul. ;)
 

SRG

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Or some silicone (or some type of gasket maker), some PE sheeting, some pop rivets, and paint.
 

fruitcakesa

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M 6040
Oct 26, 2010
852
265
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Cavendish Vermont
Fruitcakesa,
How did the ventilation system and filter look?
Clean/dirty?
I had replaced the filter when I bought the M last November and put about 115 hrs on it.
The filter was slightly dusty on the outer surface and still white inside.
The inner cab roof was clean and dust free.
That was a surprise as the machine had 1100 hrs and 8 years of dusty haying etc.on it and it did not look like like the roof was ever off.
 

fruitcakesa

Well-known member

Equipment
M 6040
Oct 26, 2010
852
265
63
Cavendish Vermont
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the epoxy won't stay stuck, nothing does to PE. :(

At first, It will feel like it's holding, then the slightest temp change and it will just pop off or just loose bond.

Go to Harbor Freight and get a plastic welder and weld it back together, that will hold over the long haul. ;)
You may be right; but I felt it was worth a shot by following the manufacturers specific instructions concerning its use with various types of vacuum molded plastics.
To be continued....
 

Bob in WV

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I fixed a plastic bumper on a car once with thin aluminum and pop rivets. Didn't look the best but it passed inspection and I got a few laughs out of it.

Bob in WV
 

mbu

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Aug 28, 2016
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fruitcakesa,

I know people repair polyethylene Kayaks so do a google search with something like "Fixing a Plastic (polyethylene) Kayak" and see what you come up with.

Maybe a place that sells boats in your area might be of some help.

I'm fairly certain that polyethylene needs to be welded so you might check if Harbor Freight sells a plastic welding gun that will do the job.

Please report back to what you eventually do.
 

SidecarFlip

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One thing I found out pretty quick with Kubota cabs and ac (remember I own two Grand Cabs and that is the glass area of Kubota cabs is pretty great so there is a lot of cooling to heat loss no matter what you do to improve the cooling.

I've said before in the past that every spring I take the roof off and clean all the ac and heat components under the roof and I replace the air filter too.

The two things I did that seemed to make the greatest difference in cooling ability was one, I added a 12 volt fan right in front of the ac unit (condenser or evaporator) that sits in front of my charge air cooling unit in front of the radiator.

On both my M's, the radiator fan has to pull air through the ac unit, through the charge air cooler, through the oil cooler and the radiator and that is a lot of heat exchangers for the engine fan to move air through.

You get a bit of chaff on the removable screen and it really lessens the airflow as well and that isn't good. I cannot be stopping every 5 minutes to clean the screen either. Onece a day after IO get home should be enough.

The addition of a 12 volt fan in front of the ac unit pushing air toward the radiator made a huge difference in cooling ability (and the engine runs cooler too). I wired it in parallel with the ac compressor so when the ac compressor kicks in, the fan comes on.

Second thing I did was I added a layer of Reflectix foil / bubble /foil to the underside of the cab roof. Reflectix is an insulator and reflects heat. The cab roof being orange really soaks up the heat and the heat is sitting right on top of the ac unit up there.

Those 2 modifications made a huge difference in how well my M's cool, especially out in the field, especially on a hot summer day farming. Nothing worse that sweating your buns off in a glass aquarium with a marginal ac on a hundred degree day.
 
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fruitcakesa

Well-known member

Equipment
M 6040
Oct 26, 2010
852
265
63
Cavendish Vermont
fruitcakesa,

I know people repair polyethylene Kayaks so do a google search with something like "Fixing a Plastic (polyethylene) Kayak" and see what you come up with.

Maybe a place that sells boats in your area might be of some help.

I'm fairly certain that polyethylene needs to be welded so you might check if Harbor Freight sells a plastic welding gun that will do the job.

Please report back to what you eventually do.
This is what I did and this G-flex epoxy was recommended.
 

fruitcakesa

Well-known member

Equipment
M 6040
Oct 26, 2010
852
265
63
Cavendish Vermont
The roof repair is done. It is ugly, but the hole is patched and painted and now we will see if it stays put.
While I can make any wood working project look like new, unfortunately my resin/fiberglassing skills are limited and the fix shows it.