JB Weld for secure screws

The screws holding the sturips on my front clam shell keep coming loose. Can anyone think of a reason not to secure them with JB Weld?

[Bill]

I've done this kind of thing, but I'm always a bit nervous about it.  I'm never sure what will happen if I ever need to get the screws out for some unforeseen reason.

Before resorting to JB Weld or epoxy, I would suggest two other approaches.  First, make sure there is a lock washer on the screw - and I would use a hefty split washer, not one of the wimpier star lockwashers.

Second, go to a Home Depot, Lowes, or a good hardware store and ask for Loc-Tite.  They will probably recognize the trade name, and even if they don't have Loc-Tite itself, they will have it under another name.  Seems to me my Home Depot has a blue liquid called ThreadLok.  You drizzle it on the threads before you screw the bolt in.

Be aware that the original Loc-Tite came in at least two "holding strengths".  One (I think red) sealed the threads so tightly that you could never get the bolt out - it would break first.  The other (blue) is less strong, and will enable you to remove the bolt if necessary.

Hope this helps.

Bill

[Bill]

Windy -

I may need to modify my earlier reply to your question.

The latch has two parts.  The hook part, with the black handle, is attached with machine screws ("bolts&quot and nuts.  If these are the screws you are referring to, then my previous answer is still relevant.  I like lockwashers, and I like Loc-Tite.

However, it sounds like you were referring to the other half of the latch.  "Stirrup" is a good description.  This half is attached to the lower edge of the body shell with coarse sheet metal screws, not machine screws.  In this case, loctite won't do any good because there isn't sufficient threading for the loc-tite to lock.

Why am I suddenly conscious of this?  We returned from a  four-day trip to the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona yesterday, and discovered that the big coarse sheet metal screws that hold the stirrup had ripped right out of the body shell.  Not unscrewed - RIPPED!

Apparently I am not the first to whom this has happened.  A search on this board revealed a long thread on the topic, with good posts by Oilspot, DenTed, and several others.  There is a factory fix, it is not too hard to implement, and it should work (fingers crossed ...).

Bill

Yes, that is what happend to mine. I did the factory fix and it plays to the weakness that caused the orignal problem. (they too ripped out)

Your post got me to thinking about needing to remove them at sometime in the future so . . . I sanded a little spot on the screw and on the sturrips. Then applied a little JB Weld as a tac to the sanded spots only. Thus I can use a Dremil to cut the tac should I need to.

I'm starting a two week trip May one and will let you know if that worked or if I had to do more retofitting on the road. If I do, most likely it will be to enlarge the tac until it holds.

Just before going to sleep last night it dawned on me that I had left out the most important step to my fix.

I packed the screw holes with Weld, let it set for 24 hours then drilled out (so the screws would fit without putting upward pressure on the Weld) the screw holes. Then I did the steps above.  I also fould out the hard way to: make sure the shell is up, set in a chair to save your back when packing, and to ware a glove to keep the Weld off of your fingers.

Sure hope this works. Just in case it doesn't I've designed a fix that I know will work but I haven't built it yet. That is a summer project.

[Bill]

Interesting!  I would have thought that the JB Weld would be brittle when it set up, so that driving screws into it would crack the lump.  I gather this didn't happen.  Shows how much I know about materials!  I'll be interested in hearing more about your experiences.

Thanks

Bill

When packing it in I tried to force a lot to the foe and aft of the hole and there was a small hole left in the middle. The drill had no problems cutting it. I did use the Weld that said "steel" thinking it would be a little stronger. My worry was that the screw would cause it to crack, maybe it did but I couldn't tell at the time.

Bill, we just got back from two weeks mostly on the road and two day of off road. My stirrup fix held. But I still think I'm going to build the "fix" I sent you and carry it along next time just in case.

Did your repair hold? Any other problems?

I think if I ran into that problem, I would simply remove all the screws up to the point I needed to stop a "treated" 12 inch wooden dowel just small enough to slide into the square aluminum tubing. Push it down the aluminum till it stops at the proper point. Drill a couple of pilot holes, and simply put my screws up through the wood filled aluminum combo, then replace all the screws back, (drilling new pilot holes for the ones that had to go in the 12 inches of wood that are around, but not holding the brackets). Wonder if that would hold just as good? The screws holding the two brackets would be imbedded and have a bite on both the wood and aluminum...and the surrounding screws hold the wood well in place to prevent movement of the wood wearing on the holes the screws from the bracket holds to....my $0.02.......Any thoughts on this approach? (And I was taking into account the weight issues involved).


[glow=red,2,300]Happytrails...........[/glow]

[Bill]

Happy -

I gotta admit that your knowledge of the innards of a TM is much deeper than mine, but I don't agree with you on this one. The problem? When I peered into the end of the 1" square aluminum tube that we have been talking about, the inside looks like a porcupine! The pointed ends of a ton of sheet metal screws poke into it, all along the length. You can't push very much into that tube, and a 3/4" wooden dowel is impossible in mine. But the floor of the tube was clear to a depth of about 1/8", so it was possible to insert a piece of thin metal strap. You can anchor a bunch of stuff here.

Bill

------ Oops, just reread.  You really meant to remove ALL of the screws, including all of those that come in through the sidewall of the tube.  Then insert the wood, and reinsert all of the screws into the wood.  Yup, this ought to work quite nicely, especially if you don't have access to a tap-and-die set for threading holes in a metal bar.

Sorry I misread your suggestion.

Bill