Anybody use JB weld?

[Trapper Bob]

I was cutting trees in my pasture. I went to pick up several with the grapple. 1 slipped & ended up hitting the front tire, then rolling against the side of the motor. Not sure how it missed the plastic side cover & hood, but did break off a bolt that was holding a bracket with 2 wire bundles in it. This is on a 2018 L 4701. Unfortunately, the bolt didn’t break, the threaded pocket cracked & the threads stayed on the bolt.
Thinking about filling in the pocket with JB weld, drill & thread the pocket again.
Or make a stud to JB weld into the broken pocket. The stud would have the proper threads inside it. Shorten the spacer & bolt, then reassemble. Or make a stud to JB weld into the broken pocket. This stud would be cross drilled to allow me to Zip Ty thru the stud, to the wire bundles. I believe the original bracket was controlling the wire bundles. It would be expensive to replace the gear case.
All ideas or opinions welcome.

 

[Lil Foot]

I use it a lot, with about a 95% success rate.

Years ago I met a drag racer & his wife at the strip. They were campaigning a small Chevy V-8 rail dragster that they found in a storage facility they bought in Colorado. Someone had left straight water in it &it froze, breaking the block. It had a 6-8" crack on both sides front to back down by the block drains. The guy took a grinder & "V"ed out the cracks, then troweled in JBW. He claimed it was still holding after years of racing. I was sold on the stuff.

 

[Pau7220]

If that’s it’s only job to hold a wiring harness in place you really have nothing to lose.

Or make a stud to JB weld into the broken pocket.

I think you’d have better success with this rather than trying to drill and tap the JB.

A nutsert may also work well in what’s left of the hole.

You can also fabricate a sheet metal bracket mounted to the bolt that goes perpendicular to the one that is damaged. Bend, weld, and twist as needed. Two holes for a cable tie and you're all set.

 

[Roadworthy]

You may consider removing the top bolt from the gear case, fabricating a sheet metal bracket, and using that bolt to hold it in place. Of course you'd lose nothing (but time) by trying the J-B Weld approach first.

 

[NCL4701]

We have several non-structural repairs such as that on my father’s 9N. The oldest I’m aware of is a 1969 water jacket repair. Prior owner let it freeze causing a crack about 10” long. There had been prior repair attempts that weren’t fully successful. Dad ordered this new miracle putty as long shot hope based on a catalog ad. It’s still holding as of yesterday. As with most similar products, getting the area thoroughly cleaned of all grease, dirt, oil has a significant impact on chance of success.

You might consider using some kind of sleeve around the outside to add some mechanical reinforcement when you glue it up. A piece of metal tubing that’s just the right size to slip over it would be swell but not likely to be handy. Assuming a true sleeve isn’t available I’d probable take some small wire (something like picture hanging wire) and wrap it kind of like a motor winding, then encase the outside in J-B Weld to fully cover the sleeve as the last part of the glue up process.

Agree with others who suggest making it into a stud. Also agree with others fabricating an alternative should be doable if the repair attempt fails.

 

[Motion]

Maybe a metal plate the thickness equal to the height of the threaded boss drilled to the OD of the boss, clean the area througtly and JB weld the plate to the housing.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Could you find some alternate 'things' to tyrap the '2 wire bundles' to ?
Hard to tell from the picture how 'easy ??' it'd be to 'fill and drill' and as others have said, may not be strong.

 

[lynnmor]

You might consider using some kind of sleeve around the outside to add some mechanical reinforcement when you glue it up. A piece of metal tubing that’s just the right size to slip over it would be swell but not likely to be handy. Assuming a true sleeve isn’t available I’d probable take some small wire (something like picture hanging wire) and wrap it kind of like a motor winding, then encase the outside in J-B Weld to fully cover the sleeve as the last part of the glue up process.

I like the sleeve idea, if you can't make one that is tight enough to push the gaps back shut, consider using Super Glue and a hose clamp. Work clean and work fast.

 

[D2Cat]

Can't tell by the picture, but you mention the threads came out with the bolt. If this is correct, I'd find a bolt that fit in the hole with course threads. Wrap the bolt threads with teflon tape REAL tight, stretching the tape into the depth of the threads. Then fill the hole with J-B weld, smear some on the taped bolt, then put the bolt into the hole. Let it set for a couple of days, then unscrew the bolt. Use the original bracket to go around the wiring.

 

[ve9aa]

Although JB is probably going to work, there's no telling if that wire bundle will get yanked again, ripping the side off your case.

I am definitely in the camp of "find some other place to attach your wire bundle to"

Surely there's something else under there?

Even if it meant bolting a long bracket to something solid that hangs down from elsewhere ??

 

[mcfarmall]

I filled, drilled and re-tapped a hole on the exhaust port of a 14hp lawn tractor engine and it worked great!

 

[Mowbizz]

Coming home from a cross country motorcycle trip back in 1973, an unlocked bolt backed out and fell onto my primary chain while motoring down a Utah highway. Long story short a tiny Harley dealer in Richfield UT had the primary case off and said the transmission main shaft was bent along with some spider cracking of my bottom end case. They ordered a main shaft from Salt Lake City and while waiting for the part to “snail mail” from Salt Lake City, they used JB WELD on the bike’s lower end case. As far as I know it’s still holding.

 

[D2Cat]

I've used J-B Weld on several projects including cracked blocks like Bill mentioned. If you're needing to use it on the side of something where gravity wants to move it down, I've used duct tape on the bottom side to restrict it's flow.

The two part epoxies are a benefit of the space program!

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Just be sure to get the area completely free of grease before you apply the JB Weld. Brake cleaner should do it.

 

[Trapper Bob]

I should have supplied pics of the parts with my original posts. The 3 wire bundles are pretty tight against the side of the motor & run over the oil filter. I do not believe I could get them around/under the oil filter without damage. I am not sure why they have the additional support. If Kubota put the bracket on the bundles, I shouldn’t 2nd guess them (I think).
I am going to try D2Cat’s idea of forming new threads out of the JB weld & with the same sized bolt & Teflon tape. I will test this off the tractor first. If successful, I’ll do the tractor. If it does not hold, I’ll make a stud that fits inside & completely around the outside of the boss (more contact area), thread it & install the shortened bolt & spacer. If all this fails, I can mount a sheet Al or steel bracket to some other point.
Many thanks to all those who responded with the great ideas.

 

[Daferris]

Yes the teflon tape is a great idea. Also from the looks of the boss you should have room to put a small hose clamp around it to reinforce the repair. If you have some pipe the right size (for example a bit of EMT tubing that would be a good reinforcement idea as well.

 

[South 40]

I am not sure why they have the additional support. If Kubota put the bracket on the bundles, I shouldn’t 2nd guess them (I think).

Hey Trapper,

By all means second guess, it doesn't matter, if an engineer thought of it there is always room for improvement, lol.

I'm sure if you take a good gander you can find someplace else to secure a 3 wire bundle, but yes as long as you make sure you remove ALL the paint, and then clean and clean a few more time, then JB should hold, I have made several repairs to my L1500DT with it has been working for over 25 years.

Another thing you can do is have a stud brazed into the threaded pocket, any old time or really good welder can do that and shouldn't be that expensive.

Good luck and be sure to let us know how it goes,

Cheers
Samantha

 

[pigdoc]

Ya, boy, looking at those parts the engineers never counted on that bolt having to sustain any side load! Just a few threads to hold it.

Is there any chance you could drill the hole slightly deeper and to a larger diameter and then tap it out for a larger bolt? You could always get a larger sleeve to match.

You could try the J-B Weld, but I doubt it's going to be able to handle the leverage from that long bolt with just a small area of adherence.

Keep in mind too that J-B Weld does NOT like oil or grease. I've tried using it to fill pits on seal bosses, and it doesn't last in that application. When it's continuously exposed to oil or grease, it gets soft.

-Paul

 

[Trapper Bob]

I tested D2Cats suggestion of forming threads with the JB Weld use a bolt wrapped with Teflon tape. It worked. The bolt released very well, leaving very good threads. I tested the strength of those threads & was not pleased. The 1/4-20 bolt stripped the threads pretty easy. I tapped the JB Weld to 5/16-18 & had more strength, tapped again to 3/8-16 & found this to be pretty strong. Good enough for my needs. I believe the strength issue was related to the surrounding thickness (to the bolt) of JB Weld.

 

[Trapper Bob]

My plan is to use this cap & JB Weld it into the boss on the tractor. I will wrap the bolt with Teflon tape so I can remove the bolt if needed. The cap gives me 3/8” more threads. I believe the key to success lies in the bond of the cap to the tractor, by the JB Weld. I will thoroughly clean all the parts before bonding. I made a shorter spacer. I’ll assemble all the parts after the JB Weld cures.
Thanks for all the ideas.