Belly Pan Repair - adhesives/glue

[volcano buster]

I'm working on a '94 Indy Lite and have some cracks in the belly pan that need glued up before I can fishplate with something else.

3M has a product that looks interesting, but thought I would ask if anyone else has experience with anything that might work. I believe the pan is made of TPO plastic so that limits some of the products that can be used. I am swapping a pan from another sled so it is pretty easy to get to all sides at this time but would like to glue the seams up, then double them up as necessary.

 

[mike_s]

Weld them. There isnt much glue that i have ever seen that will 1) stick to this kind of plastic and 2) hold up in the extreme cold that sleds see. Cracks gennerally wont stay fixed no matter what you do, but a good plastic weld job will hold up better than any glue ive ever seen or used.

 

[volcano buster]

I've tried welding this type plastic before and for whatever reason it didn't turn out very well. Maybe I'll give it a shot tomorrow to see what I can figure out.

 

[Zachmandu]

Weld them. There isnt much glue that i have ever seen that will 1) stick to this kind of plastic and 2) hold up in the extreme cold that sleds see. Cracks gennerally wont stay fixed no matter what you do, but a good plastic weld job will hold up better than any glue ive ever seen or used.

Agreed.......

 

[mike_s]

I've tried welding this type plastic before and for whatever reason it didn't turn out very well. Maybe I'll give it a shot tomorrow to see what I can figure out.

I have found that the welds i have trouble with are ones that i dont get hot enough, and/or deep enough. Make sure you get the plastic hot enough that it gets shiney (untill it cools...if that makes sense...) and make sure you penetrate at least half way through. I even go so far as to go almost all the way through one side, and then about half way through from the other side, if you can access both sides. I feel this is the next best thing to replacement, and should work well if you are planning on reinforcing the cracks with some sort of plating.

 

[volcano buster]

Did a search on youtube and there was a guy reinforcing plastic crack welds with a stainless steel mesh that he would melt into the plastic. Would there be any advantage or disadvantage to do this on a belly pan? I think I could clamp the pieces tight, then mesh it up, then fish plate for a good straight strong joint.

Too much effort? I have the belly pan panels off and ready to go. Since they are actually 3 pieces to the belly pan I have broken them down so they are easier to handle to fix both sides.