Can epoxy fix this console door?

[Bennylava]

I know this doesn't really have to do with metal, but I didn't really see anywhere else that it would be a good fit. So here it is.

Do yall think that epoxy could fix this problem? My friend's wife somehow lost her sanity and did her best to rip the center console door off of his 2007 F-150. As you can see she largely succeeded, as only 1 good tab remains. A steel rod (not pictured) runs through all of those tabs, which forms the hinge. But it appears this will be an expensive fix, if he has to buy a new one, because you have to buy the whole center console with it.

So do yall think that there is a strong epoxy out there, that we could use to just glue all the tabs back together? We still have the broken pieces. And if so, which epoxy would you recommend?

 

[Kevin54]

I wouldn't see why it wouldn't. It's at least worth a try. Just make sure you get a good two part epoxy.

 

[p928sfan]

I've been a big fan of JBWeld products. They have a Plastic weld that I'd try. (if I'm accurate in that being a ABS looking plastic).

 

[firworks]

What's the diameter of the metal rod? I would probably try dremeling one of the broken ones down and then epoxying a small nylon or plastic bushing on it.

Something like this:

Just make sure to insert the rod while you are letting the epoxy set so your alignment is good.

 

[straps57]

Scrapyard

 

[kkroger]

A plastic welder from Harbor Freight and some ABS tubing or just put the wire in there, then bead it with the plastic welder.... Easy Peasy... Or Scrap yard... I am a fan of PC7 Epoxy Putty... I have rebuilt a lot of plastic bits with it, it can be machined and so forth just like JB Weld but comes in two CANS not tubes, it is thicker...

 

[jsaw]

We been using stuff called K-bond. You position the pieces where you want them and then sprinkle a powder around the area you want to build it up. Then you put drops of a super glue on the powder. It sets up immediately and is strong.
I have not tried it, but have heard that you can also use baking powder followed by drops of super glue

 

[Hammer1963]

Very doubtful that epoxy alone will last. See if you can find any ID of the type of plastic it's constructed from. Possibly ABS or PE. Find donor material of the same and use a combination of Epoxy, reinforcement mesh and hot staples to replace the lost sections. Allow maximum curing time

 

[encantofred]

i started using Plast-Aid 5 years or so ago. it is a two part system that cures in under ten minutes. a cool demo is mixing a small batch of the power and activator fluid into a paste, then i put a small ball of it on a pvc pipe fitting and stand a penny upright in it. with over half of the penny exposed. in ten minutes then taking a pair of pliers and bending the penny over just holding the fitting.

you can file it, you can drill it etc.

it is amazing stuff. i highly recommend it. on my coach one of the dump valves broke at the top. i repaired it, filed and sanded it to the right shape and drilled and put a screw in it. still is intact after several years.

tom

 

[airrj]

I've been a big fan of JBWeld products. They have a Plastic weld that I'd try. (if I'm accurate in that being a ABS looking plastic).

+1 on the JB Weld 50132 PlasticWeld. I was working on a 25 year old RV this summer that had lots of ABS repairs needed and on a whim I tried this with good results. I also use allot of PC7 Epoxy Putty, but for the ABS the PlasticWeld was pretty hot stuff and melted the ABS nicely.

Good Luck.

 

[Daveo]

3m Weldbond type epoxy will fix that...

 

[jimgood]

I agree that epoxy will probably work if you have the pieces. Make sure you clean them and put epoxy on both pieces before you put them together. You're going to have some squeeze out in the hole so you'll have to deal with that. Maybe run the rod through there while it's setting up?

 

[Bennylava]

Why would it be necessary to find the same type of plastic as a donor? Is there any reason Firworks' idea to use little nylon tubes wouldn't work?

 

[jonjon1]

I would over think it and machine all of them off in the bridgeport, them put a real piano hinge in there with some rivets... Never break again, at that point, lol, but it will move on down the line, in the end I would end up machining a billet piece to replace the entire cover. lol.

judging by the picture and your labels, you may be just as crazy as me...

 

[Slowbra]

I've used the JBweld plasticweld with good results lately on car parts. Give it a shot.

 

[Bennylava]

I would over think it and machine all of them off in the bridgeport, them put a real piano hinge in there with some rivets... Never break again, at that point, lol, but it will move on down the line, in the end I would end up machining a billet piece to replace the entire cover. lol.

judging by the picture and your labels, you may be just as crazy as me...

I thought about the piano hinge, but it looks like it would have to be mounted inside that L shape that the current hinges sit in. I think a piano hinge would only work if it were completely flat, where it needed to mount to.

 

[firworks]

Why would it be necessary to find the same type of plastic as a donor? Is there any reason Firworks' idea to use little nylon tubes wouldn't work?

I don't think there's a reason his idea wouldn't work. I say go for it.

 

[Chris Stapley]

Small section of piano hinge and short rivets! Carefully grind the profile,flat with a small hand held grinder first..

 

[CJM8515]

Ebay or a junkyard will have the lid and be way easier than trying to fix that.

 

[gayler]

I can't believe no one has said it yet!

 

[driz]

That's not going to be a fun fix. In the end you will be lucky to get it anywhere near as strong as it was. That's even more of an issue if you are dealing with someone who is habitually ham handed. Especially if he is planning to keep the truck a long time.
If it was mine I would call a couple salvage yards and price out the whole console. It might just be worth it. Also check around the net. You might just find a console lid in good shape. You never know. It could save you a lot of messing around. While you are at it get some handcuffs for your wife's friend.

 

[Bennylava]

Ebay or a junkyard will have the lid and be way easier than trying to fix that.

Yeah, its just that its kind of an expensive piece and we're trying to save money on this repair. He's between jobs right now, so a cheap and easy fix is in order on this one. If the piano hinge or the nylon tubes worked, it would cost $10-$20.

 

[Blake150]

Get some 3m fiberglass 2 part repair and polyolephin adhesion promoter put the rod where it should be and just rebuild the tabs with the epoxy. Once set you should have a nice new hinge with very little play. I use it to glue tabs back on at the shop I'm at and it's stronger than their superfast plastic repair. Plus it's black in color so it won't be as noticeable with the door open

 

[Bennylava]

We ended up going with the Piano hinge idea. Very simple and cheap. Got it screwed down to the base, but not the door. Seems real strong.

Turns out the top of the hinge doesn't extend out far enough, for us to be able to screw it into the console door itself. As you can see from that pic, there are some gaps between the old hinge, and those are what need to fill to be able to screw into something.

I ordered some of the JB plastic weld as someone recommended. Gonna really scuff it all up and then clean it up, then clamp some other hard plastic into those holes and let it dry. Then screw into that. Hopefully it holds up over time. Some people here seem to think that it will, others don't.

 

[KRB52]

What happens next month when the pms kicks in again?

 

[Bennylava]

lol I think the destruction of the interior was the last straw or close to it. He has moved out.

And moved in with me! He's staying in my weight lifting room. We built him a bed frame out of home depot wood. My wife doesn't really like it all that much, but she's coming around. Bro time! We're having a blast.

 

[ilovevocs]

If he is going to divorce her its time to move back in before the court system bends him over. Been their, done that..

 

[Bennylava]

What all can happen in that situation? There are no kids, so at least that is not going to come up. They both moved out. They were living with her mom, and oddly enough she ended up moving in with his mom just to get away. He moved to my house. And he really didn't have a whole lot except for his truck. Well, I guess she could make him sell that... he did say it pays off in less than a year.

 

[ez-duzit]

Scrapyard

This.

 

[Bennylava]

This.

They don't want to sell just the door. They want $300 for the whole console. In typical junkyard fashion.

 

[Jcrapola]

FWIW... I use a small piece of fabric from a polyester shirt (work shirt) to reinforce plastics repairs. Also, instead of epoxy, I find that ordinary superglue does a bang up job when laid over the polyester "mesh"

 

[ilovevocs]

What all can happen in that situation? There are no kids, so at least that is not going to come up. They both moved out. They were living with her mom, and oddly enough she ended up moving in with his mom just to get away. He moved to my house. And he really didn't have a whole lot except for his truck. Well, I guess she could make him sell that... he did say it pays off in less than a year.

In Ohio... I ended up paying all the bills while the B#@ch lived in my house for almost a year and half while I was going through the divorce. If I wouldn't have moved out I wouldn't have been stuck with her bills. I also had to pay child support basically from the moment I filled for divorce. My wife basically got everything she wanted because I was painted as the **** who left her. Sadly I just couldn't handle her any more and she wouldn't leave.

Since I was paying the bills she didn't work for a year and half. I even had to pay for her birth control and doctors visits. Basically all our monthly expenses and an additional $600.00 per month. Since she didnt work, and didnt have too, her income was only like 8K for the year. She set me up to get bent over on alimony and child support. Spent 20k fighting her in court. and pay 24k a year in alimony. Sadly I spent that on her and the bills for the year and half it took to get divorce.

Here in my county the women are always on the winning side.

All in all I lost 250k in assets through the divorce. Money I made and saved.. She only made about 20k a year because I never really made her work a job that made money.

Glad to hear your friend doesn't have kids or a ton of assets. Its makes it less painful.

 

[Bennylava]

Ended up fixing the console door by just attaching another flat piece of metal to extend the necessary part of the piano hinge. Didn't want the questionable reliability of epoxy. Used rivets so the heads would be flat enough. Works great and seems strong. Good easy cheap fix.

 

[Jokeman]

Next time try Fusor 142/3. Its a 2 part plastic adhesive thats used in the autobody industry.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[gf0012-aust]

Next time try Fusor 142/3. Its a 2 part plastic adhesive thats used in the autobody industry.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

a tube of 142 would be 10x the value of what he's trying to repair

 

[NYBODYMAN]

Buy used or try gluing a bushing or some type of hollow round stock in there.

 

[Bennylava]

Already fixed it. We didn't use any adhesive, we just used more metal. So it'll hold up well.