Smudgemo
Intermodal Man of Mystery
I stripped my plastic to do LED headlights and install a USB outlet, and one thing that was bugging me was the posts in the side panels that hold the brass expanding nuts, and a number of them being broken where the nuts no longer hold properly. Since they are hidden, I figured I might as well give them a function over form fix.
So all I did was make some ABS washers to cement in place that either fix cracks or make up for missing material. There's probably more stress where the nut puts pressure on the thin walls than anywhere else, so I think this will be a permanent fix.
I used a mill and lathe, but a guy could make due with a hand drill if careful. Drillpress, for sure. First step is to partially cut the OD with a 3/4" or 7/8" hole saw, then eyeball the center and drill a 3/8 or 25/64 hole in the center. This gives you a more centered hole when you're just meatballing it, and when you finish the hole saw cut it mostly just follows where you started. 3/8 seemed just a tad small, but you could ream with a file if you don't have or want to buy a larger bit. Be sure the hole saw has an opening in the side to push out the donuts. And push them out after each one or you'll weld them together.
Then I grabbed a mandrel I had from some past project and spun down the OD in case there were any issues with space.
Sand off the paint as best you can, alcohol wipe down, some ABS cement and you're done.
This was how the final fix looked. I also spread a bit of cement over the prior welding work just to see what happens. A thin sheet of ABS might make sense, but I don't have any.
I'm finding that a combination of welding with a soldering gun and gluing in new bits of ABS as needed seems to be doing the trick in fixing things broken or cracked. I have some repairs to do on the rear section one of these day, but all the stuff up front is squared away. The nuts are available from Honda if you are missing any, and a bit of grease or anti-seize is probably a good idea since these seem to corrode even here in California.
So all I did was make some ABS washers to cement in place that either fix cracks or make up for missing material. There's probably more stress where the nut puts pressure on the thin walls than anywhere else, so I think this will be a permanent fix.
I used a mill and lathe, but a guy could make due with a hand drill if careful. Drillpress, for sure. First step is to partially cut the OD with a 3/4" or 7/8" hole saw, then eyeball the center and drill a 3/8 or 25/64 hole in the center. This gives you a more centered hole when you're just meatballing it, and when you finish the hole saw cut it mostly just follows where you started. 3/8 seemed just a tad small, but you could ream with a file if you don't have or want to buy a larger bit. Be sure the hole saw has an opening in the side to push out the donuts. And push them out after each one or you'll weld them together.
Then I grabbed a mandrel I had from some past project and spun down the OD in case there were any issues with space.
Sand off the paint as best you can, alcohol wipe down, some ABS cement and you're done.
This was how the final fix looked. I also spread a bit of cement over the prior welding work just to see what happens. A thin sheet of ABS might make sense, but I don't have any.
I'm finding that a combination of welding with a soldering gun and gluing in new bits of ABS as needed seems to be doing the trick in fixing things broken or cracked. I have some repairs to do on the rear section one of these day, but all the stuff up front is squared away. The nuts are available from Honda if you are missing any, and a bit of grease or anti-seize is probably a good idea since these seem to corrode even here in California.
