Need advice for a friend's tractor repair

[armylifer]

My friend (neighbor) has a BX2350 and his fenders are cracked. I mean BIG and LONG cracks His model has plastic fenders and they are cracked from hitting trees in his yard. His learning curve on tractors included hitting some trees in his year and my cattle fence. Anyway, both his right and left fenders are cracked on his tractor.

What I am asking for is advice on repairing his fenders, if possible. Since they are plastic, I fear that it may not be possible to repair them. However, I am hoping that if someone knows of a way to repair the fender cracks, that they will let me know what can be done to repair these fenders.

He has tried using epoxy and various different glue products but none of them seems to work. I was thinking that some form of a plastic welding product would be able to fix it but I really don't know of any products on the market that can weld plastic.

If anyone is able to provide advice on how to fix this, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[PHPaul]

Plastic Welders are common and like most things can be had from cheap to second-mortgage money. Google them.

The key is knowing WHICH plastic the fenders are made of and then using the appropriate supplies and techniques. Mechanical fasteners to back up the repair are a good idea IMHO.

Haven't priced replacement fenders but unless you plan on doing a lot of plastic welding, that may be the more cost effective approach.

 

[William1]

'Glues' rarely work. Expoxies and mesh tape do, if you get the right stuff and proper properly. Welding is best and if done right, the damage/repair is completely invisible.

First, you need to know what kind of plastic you are working with.
Next, you have to stop the crack from propagating. This means drilling a hole where the crack ends.
Next, plastic 'welding' does work but it can get pricey (tools and filler rod) if you are not doing a lot of repairs to spread the cost over. Done right, the repair is invisible. Most drill the crack and pop rivet a few strap 'bandaids' spanning the crack to keep vibrations from stressing the areas. The expoxies and mesh tape can work very well but prep is key. Unless you repair both sides a bump and cause a bend to occur the repair fail.
Tell your friend to stop crashing into trees. You should see the hood of my 20 YO garden tractor, it looks like a mad man went at it with a ball peen hammer.....

 

[fruitcakesa]

Wash and dry the fenders then wipe the down with rubbing alky, then put a couple of layers of bituthane adhesive rubber roof membrane on both sides of the fenders. That will hold them together forever, that stuff sticks

 

[SidecarFlip]

Wash and dry the fenders then wipe the down with rubbing alky, then put a couple of layers of bituthane adhesive rubber roof membrane on both sides of the fenders. That will hold them together forever, that stuff sticks

Sounds cosmetically ugly....

 

[Newlyme]

.....only until the next tree or fence!

As long as no ones getting hurt let’em go.

 

[thebicman]

Do a search for one of the mobile car dent companies. A lot of them have started doing the plastic welding due to the cost of replacement plastic bumpers. I was also going to suggest buying replacements, until I looked up the price. Ouch.

 

[fruitcakesa]

Sounds cosmetically ugly....

Black on Orange....the perfect color complement

 

[Stmar]

JB Weld fixes anything, used it to do all kinds of repairs on my 8Ns. I have a feeder with metal bars, broke one of the bars when moving slapped some JB on it for a temporary fix. 20 years later that temp fix is going strong. It is sand-able and I think paint-able.

 

[wgator]

From a older TBN thread about this same repairing cracked plastic fender thread a member suggested trying (link to) Permatex Plastic Welder. Said he used it to repair snowmobile hoods and that worked well. I haven't used it so I can't confirm it.
A less permanent and easier fix that may work is stop drill the ends of cracks then use clear gorilla brand tape on both sides.

 

[Wbk]

We have an old JD at the ball diamond, some idiot smashed the top of the hood with a bat so I gathered up the pieces then I used JB plastic weld and put them all together. After doing that i found some light aluminum and shaped it on the underside then I drilled a few holes through the 2 pieces and using large head pop rivets to keep it well secured. I then used some touch up green paint on the rivets and believe it or not walking by it's hardly noticeable.

 

[motionclone]

Only thing that Ive had work with fender cracks is zip tie stitching

 

[Tropical Jack]

Hey! Those stitches look pretty good! When can you take them out?!?

 

[bearbait]

Should be a few places in the hood that do plastic welding, seems to be getting quite popular.

 

[armylifer]

Thanks for the posts guys! All of these ideas seem viable. I'll let my friend know.

 

[mikester]

My friend (neighbor) has a BX2350 and his fenders are cracked. I mean BIG and LONG cracks His model has plastic fenders and they are cracked from hitting trees in his yard. His learning curve on tractors included hitting some trees in his year and my cattle fence. Anyway, both his right and left fenders are cracked on his tractor.

What I am asking for is advice on repairing his fenders, if possible.

There's no fix for stupidity...but we all have our brain fart moments.

1. Take a 1/8 to 3/16 drill and drill a hole at the end of each crack. That will help prevent the cracks from propagating further from fatigue.
2. Take a saws-all and cut off the fenders parts that stick out where the neighbor is hitting them. Take the fenders completely off if you have to.

The best advise is prevention.

If the shame of driving around a nice tractor with no fenders doesn't work then they need to spend $$$$ on a new set of fenders from Kubota. The price shock should be enough to make him/her more careful in the future.

In some cases the person simply doesn't have any mechanical sense. The best thing to do is to take the keys away from them before they hurt themselves - or worse - other people. By the sounds of things that neighbor is clueless when it comes to equipment and other people's property. You don't learn to drive playing bumper cars.

In no way lend that person any tools or equipment.

 

[bearbait]

There's no fix for stupidity...but we all have our brain fart moments.

1. Take a 1/8 to 3/16 drill and drill a hole at the end of each crack. That will help prevent the cracks from propagating further from fatigue.
2. Take a saws-all and cut off the fenders parts that stick out where the neighbor is hitting them. Take the fenders completely off if you have to.

The best advise is prevention.

If the shame of driving around a nice tractor with no fenders doesn't work then they need to spend $$$$ on a new set of fenders from Kubota. The price shock should be enough to make him/her more careful in the future.

In some cases the person simply doesn't have any mechanical sense. The best thing to do is to take the keys away from them before they hurt themselves - or worse - other people. By the sounds of things that neighbor is clueless when it comes to equipment and other people's property. You don't learn to drive playing bumper cars.

In no way lend that person any tools or equipment.

Well I guess not everyone can be perfect like you, other people make mistakes. There is no need to call other people down especially when you've never met them.

 

[armylifer]

Mikester, I mentioned in my first post that this friend and neighbor had a learning curve on his tractor. He is old and has never operated a tractor until recently. Add the fact that he is operating a new to him piece of equipment with implements attached and he is going to make a few mistakes. Fortunately, he is a stand-up guy that not only owns up to his mistakes but he made things right when he did cause some damage. No argument, no discussion, no excuses, he just made it right.

I understand that too many people would not make things right when they cause damage but this guy takes responsibility for what he does. I also understand your reaction to what I wrote but to paraphrase what I think bearbait intended to convey; judge not lest thou be judged.

Anyway, the suggestions that were given by all are very much appreciated, including yours. Thank you all!