Cracked Front Window Stone Cover

08-10-2009, 11:30 AM

The Mrs. and I were washing the TM for the epic journey to Texas at the end of this week. I noticed that the front window stone cover has an 1 1/2" crack on the street side where the rivet goes through to the hinge. Does any one have a quick sturdy fix for this other than duct tape. Since we are leaving in less than a week I would not be able to get a replacement in time. So looking for easy and somewhat durable fix to get us there and back. Thanks

08-10-2009, 11:42 AM

I had a similar crack in my stone guard, but it was to the hinge bar instead. I drilled a hole (maybe 9/64th or 5/32nd) at the very end of the tear, centering the drill bit over the end of the tear. That relieves the stress so that it shouldn't tear further. That method seems to work pretty good on aluminum as well as plastic and fiberglas.

**commodor47** · 08-10-2009, 12:19 PM

I second mtnguy's recommendation. Our stone guards had cracks showing up along the edges of the hinged area. Drilling two small holes has stopped any further cracking.

Dick

08-10-2009, 01:31 PM

commodor47, the crack in your photo was just like mine. But in all honesty, I had to drill a 2nd stress relief hole plus do some reinforcing to stop the spread.

After drilling the 1st hole (which usually works for me on things), I noticed that it didn't rememdy the situation. After looking at the sag there from the pressure that the prop exerted and the weight of the stone guard trying to pull down on the aluminum hinge bar, I drilled and installed rivets and washers closer to the edge of the hinge bar. That extra 3/4 inch or so closer to the outside edge of the hinge bar took some of the sag out of that area and relieved the stress of the orginal crack (as well as a 2nd drilled hole). I also installed a rivet at the other end as a preventive measure. I, or the current owners have had a problem with that since.

BTW, that is a great photo to show how the drilled hole at the end of a stress crack is done.

08-10-2009, 02:24 PM

Thanks every so much, this will look much better than a bunch of duct tape...should I perhaps drill a second hole a bit further down just in case it should spread further? Or tackle it if and when the crack spreads furhter?

**commodor47** · 08-10-2009, 02:24 PM

mtnguy,

Thanks for the additional information regarding a fix for the cracking issue. I do have a photo of the other end of the front stone guard, which I am keeping an eye on. It looks like some lateral cracking is starting to branch off the original run. I like your suggestion of adding additional support closer to the edge of the hinge - something I will probably have to perform soon. My rear stone guard has a crack on just one end, which has been stopped with a drill hole - so far.

Dick

08-10-2009, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nelAndKen

Thanks every so much, this will look much better than a bunch of duct tape...should I perhaps drill a second hole a bit further down just in case it should spread further? Or tackle it if and when the crack spreads furhter?

nelAndKen, a 2nd hole would not be beneficial as a preventive. If the 1st hole doesn't work, then there is no telling where the crack will wander, and might even bypass the 2nd hole. commodor47 had good luck with just 1 hole drilled, and I have had the same on all other like projects around the house. My suggestion is to drill 1 hole and wait to see what happens. If the crack continues to spread, then a reinforcement remedy and 2nd hole might be in order.

08-10-2009, 08:27 PM

Now I'm new to TM, but the cover on mine looked to be made of fiberglass. It's fairly trivial stuff to work with. Little bit of the fiberglass cloth on the backside - then paint on the resin. Stick to the back and it should be fairly invisible from the front. Use it sparingly, and you'll have to look close from the back as well.

08-11-2009, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Watters

Now I'm new to TM, but the cover on mine looked to be made of fiberglass. It's fairly trivial stuff to work with. Little bit of the fiberglass cloth on the backside - then paint on the resin. Stick to the back and it should be fairly invisible from the front. Use it sparingly, and you'll have to look close from the back as well.

Ah, that would be the final touch once you have the stress crack to stop growing.

That crack with the 2 little holes never bothered me enough to do the fiberglass repair thing.