Stupid fix today, don't do what I did.

[old-iron-habit]

Today I lost one of the weight brackets and the rear weights off one side of my NH LX665. Both bolt heads had sheared off leaving the threads in the hole. Drilled them and they came right out with an easy out. Installed new 1/2" bolts 3/4 inch long and rehung the weights. Got back in machine and noticed fuel leaking in the snow. It appears that the plastic fuel tank fits real tight in the c-channel of the frame and I either drilled a hole or run a bolt into it. Looks like a fun one to take the tank out the bottom to repair. Could a 3/4 inch long bolt be to long for these weight brackets? I am going to run with a half a tank of fuel to avoid leaking until the weather warms up in a month or two. It only gets occasional use.

 

[MX45]

Don't feel so bad. I had a 4wd RV Mitsubishi which had a standard bus chassis 4wd it was mounted on. Got it serviced at the local Truck dealership where the mechanic decided after two bushes were replaced on a stabiliser rod that ran transverse and limited rear diff movement to replace the bolts that held it to the chassis and diff. The old ones were fine thread and new were coarse - not such a great move but worse was he used longer bolts.

Well later the RV started to move around a fair bit on the chassis. Looked under of course and the transverse stabiliser bar was in two pieces. Eventually they worked out that the longer bolts hit the chassis stopping the diff essentially from moving anywhere. Hope I have not confused as I don't know the technical term for the stabiliser bar that stops sideways movement of the diff.

It was I think three attempts later and two more transverse stabilisers before they got it right. I guess he was trying to do the right thing but needed to think a bit more.

I guess the old carpenter saying of measure twice and cut once should apply more broadly. Anyway the point was even the professionals could do what appears you have done.

I am in my golden tarnishing years and am more cautious as time goes by and double check my measures/repairs. Not worth a mistake. Recently acquired s second hand Greenfield mower with clutch driven heel toe pedal. It almost drove me through my front door and equally in reverse = clutch grabbed and slipped unpredictably. Just got back from the repair shop today. Clutches glazed, corks full of filth = glazed, mechanical engagement links at full limit not allowing pedal to control engagement. Good thing the owner is honouring his only warranty being on the clutches as his shop had repaired same he said only a few work hours prior to my purchase. No finger pointing but someone stuffed it up. Hopefully now it will be right.

Don't feel so bad - stuff happens - if you did not hurt anyone it is all good -

Regards, MX45.

 

[caterpillarmech]

Got to love Mondays. Some days it actually pays to stay in bed!

 

[kshansen]

Sounds like the time I had a radiator support bracket bolt strip out a hole in the radiator frame. Nice thick aluminum casting so decided to drill out and use Heilicoil to fix. Yea, drill grabed fast and pulled right through into one of the tubes of the core.! "Hey Billy can you fix this for me?" our shop radator guy.

 

[3X8]

One time I drilled an 1/8" hole through the palm of my hand and got a bad infection. I think that may have been better/easier to deal with than a hole in the fuel tank.

 

[durallymax]

Yes those tanks come out the bottom, although its not as bad to drop as it may seem, getting them back in perfect can be a challenge. Get everything cleaned good and its pretty easy.

Weld a washer to the bolt, then a nut to the washer. Works faster than drilling and works for the bolts that drilling does not work on, plus no broken easy outs. If you must try and easy out, use the multi spline style extractors that the major companies all offer. They don't break. Worst case scenario if welding doesn't work and extractor doesn't work, keep drilling large until you get close to threads then the stuff usually pulls out if you are using a reverse bit, otherwise a few heavy picks will get the rest out. Have to make sure you are drilling perfect to begin with though. For really sensitive stuff, letting some paraffin wax work its way down into the threads can help a lot too. Patience is key there though.

 

[old-iron-habit]

Yes those tanks come out the bottom, although its not as bad to drop as it may seem, getting them back in perfect can be a challenge. Get everything cleaned good and its pretty easy.

Weld a washer to the bolt, then a nut to the washer. Works faster than drilling and works for the bolts that drilling does not work on, plus no broken easy outs. If you must try and easy out, use the multi spline style extractors that the major companies all offer. They don't break. Worst case scenario if welding doesn't work and extractor doesn't work, keep drilling large until you get close to threads then the stuff usually pulls out if you are using a reverse bit, otherwise a few heavy picks will get the rest out. Have to make sure you are drilling perfect to begin with though. For really sensitive stuff, letting some paraffin wax work its way down into the threads can help a lot too. Patience is key there though.

These broken stubs were no problem to get out. They were broke flush and came out easily with a small tapered square style easy out. Just nothing to get a bite on before drilling. I hear you on the welding but it appeared easier to drill and turn. I went at looked at the bolt stubs. I never drilled all the way through either one. The 3/4" long bolts I put in to hold the weight bracket must have cracked the plastic tank. At 10 degrees the plastic probably had no give in it. I will find out the full story when I get it out.

Anybody ever patch a plastic tank. I was told that they can be welded using heat and plastic rods like model builders use but the person that told me that is a BS'er so not sure about it.

 

[lantraxco]

They do make a kit with special epoxy to patch the plastic tanks, try your auto parts and truck parts stores.

 

[buckfever]

Had one of our guys put a piece of 1/2" rebar threw the plastic hydrolic tank on my skid loader. We use JB plastic weld, the stuff that comes with the mesh. Fixed it about 3 months ago and it is still going strong.

 

[Todd v.]

Yes you can weld plastic, most any body shop should be able to handle it if you don't want to tackle it yourself. I would think a high quality epoxy should do the trick also as long as it won't be affected by the fuel.

 

[durallymax]

Anybody ever patch a plastic tank. I was told that they can be welded using heat and plastic rods like model builders use but the person that told me that is a BS'er so not sure about it.

Yes you can weld it with a heat gun and the proper filler rod for the material the tank is made from. The material type is usually molded into the tank somewhere. There's also ways to tell what the material is by doing burn tests. There are welding attachments for heat guns that make it easier. There's also stainless mesh you can add for reinforcement. Any body shop should be able to do this for you if you don't want to.

There's also a lot of good epoxies out there that would probably do the trick as well and be less hassle.

 

[old-iron-habit]

This is all good news. I would expect that a dealer purchased replacement tank would be quite expensive.

 

[durallymax]

Actually they aren't too expensive. Only about $150.