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I wanted to do a quick write up on how I repaired my cracked speaker cover. As we all know the rear speaker covers on the second gen like to crack where it screws into the shock tower.
My repair is to hold the plastic together and hopefully keep the crack from spreading.
THINGS NEEDED (WHAT I USED, YOU CAN MODIFY AS NEEDED)
3M TRIM/WEATHER STRIP ADHESIVE OR SOMETHING THAT WILL ADHERE TO ANYTHING.
METAL HOSE CLAMP
JUST LOOK AT THE PICTURE AND YOU GET THE IDEA.
Last edited by littlebit421; Nov 21, 2017 at 08:40 AM.
Reason: TYPO
better off with something like metal strands, heated until they sink into the plastic then continue to plastic weld over the top of the reinforcement. surface repairs on plastic are just temporary and always fail again eventually.
Last edited by insightful; Nov 21, 2017 at 10:27 AM.
better off with something like metal strands, heated until they sink into the plastic then continue to plastic weld over the top of the reinforcement. surface repairs on plastic are just temporary and always fail again eventually.
In general I agree with you, but in a low-stress location such as the speaker cover (which is only under stress when being removed or installed, or when the screw is over tightened) this fix is probably fine.
I would like to add that a good way to strengthen the screw hole locations on the speaker covers (or anywhere else really) is to go to the hardware store and find a washer that is relatively thin and fits the profile of the mounting hole. Then gently roughen the surface of the plastic, and epoxy it into place over the screw hole. This will reduce the chances of the speaker cover cracking when the screws are tightened. Alternatively, you could just put a layer of JB Weld on it, but JB Weld does not have particularly good surface adhesion, so this would be less effective.
In general I agree with you, but in a low-stress location such as the speaker cover (which is only under stress when being removed or installed, or when the screw is over tightened) this fix is probably fine.
I would like to add that a good way to strengthen the screw hole locations on the speaker covers (or anywhere else really) is to go to the hardware store and find a washer that is relatively thin and fits the profile of the mounting hole. Then gently roughen the surface of the plastic, and epoxy it into place over the screw hole. This will reduce the chances of the speaker cover cracking when the screws are tightened. Alternatively, you could just put a layer of JB Weld on it, but JB Weld does not have particularly good surface adhesion, so this would be less effective.
I agree with the washer, i actually had a couple small washers laying around and almost installed one with the screw, but for my situation I did not need to, and what I did here was quick and effective without having to use a heat gun or embed the metal into the plastic etc, what i did was to just add some reinforcement so it didnt continue to crack and rattle like crazy... My post had the intent to give people a direction, you can modify any way necessary. As for the trim glue I used, it seems to be pretty strong, I have used on some of my S4 body molding that was coming loose and it hasn't let up yet. And thats plastic to metal on the outside of the car.
I recently learned a handy trick used by helicopter mechanics to fix chips in carbon fiber rotor blades that works great on fixing cracked rx7 plastic. It's super simple, take super glue, apply to the edges of the break, press them together, and then sprinkle baking soda on the glue. There's a chemical reaction between the baking soda and the active ingredient in super glue that causes it to harden INSTANTLY! Once you're done, brush away the extra baking soda with an old toothbrush and you're done. I've used it several times on my S5 and it works great.
I recently learned a handy trick used by helicopter mechanics to fix chips in carbon fiber rotor blades that works great on fixing cracked rx7 plastic. It's super simple, take super glue, apply to the edges of the break, press them together, and then sprinkle baking soda on the glue. There's a chemical reaction between the baking soda and the active ingredient in super glue that causes it to harden INSTANTLY! Once you're done, brush away the extra baking soda with an old toothbrush and you're done. I've used it several times on my S5 and it works great.
