Gluing plastic? What to use?

[D189379]

I managed to break off a part of my transmission throttle cable while trying to remove my cylinder head. It's a small plastic piece located on the cable that connects it to my throttle body. Now the plastic piece didn't come off of the cable, but the small part of it that holds it to the TB did.

Is there something that I could use to glue it back on? It would need to hold up to hot and cold temerature extremes as well as resist about 1-2lbs of pressure from the transmission. Any thoughts?

Oh yeah, the only reason I don't want to replace it is because it involves pulling the entire transmission pan off to get at the place where it connects inside of the transmission.

Here's a pic.

 

[Pablo]

Good luck. Loctite 404 or 380 might be worth a shot - but.....

 

[bdai]

JB Weld or some other epoxy-type adhesive? I've never had good results gluing load-bearing plastic. Usually I fabricate some sort of metal support to go around the broken part, if space permits.

 

[obbop]

Pondered for an entire two seconds when an absolutely brilliant idea plopped into my brainy brain brain.

Dunno' if it will work but, by gosh, it IS a heckuva' idea.

Use glue made for plastic.

Then, after the stuff dries, grab your local frindly Mr. Soldering Gun and plug it in. Then, after attaining maximum heat, melt the plastic so that the top half that partiall melts flows down upon the bottom half.

Wonder if that would assist in holding the two halves together.

Of course, that type of part is likely found on a multitude of engines down at the pull-it-yourself place. That may be the best route to take.

But, if the thrill of watching plastic contort, melt and flow with gleeful abandon tickles your innards you may wanna' give my most splendid idea a try.

 

[bdai]

I've tried "welding" plastic before with a soldering iron, but the melted part always peeled off like skin. I have heard stories of it being done successfully though, so I guess I just need a hotter iron.

What I did wasn't to let the top melt down, but I took layers of plastic from nearby non-cracked areas and pushed them onto the crack, before pressing the iron into the plastic to kind of melt it all together.

 

[Colt]

Gorilla glue.
A great glue but don't know about the heat issue.

 

[TallPaul]

Goop. Comes in many varieties, presumably most the same, but it has always worked for me.

 

[97f150]

I would just replace it. To me, it just seems that on a part like that, replacement is ineveitible. I would rather replace it when I have the convenience of time and place rather than on your way to church, work or vacation.

 

[paulo57509]

If that cable controls shift points, it would be much better to bite the bullet and drop the transmission pan and replace the cable.

You might try solvent welding it together. Tap Plastics should sell some kind of solvent that works with polycarbonate and other types of plastic.

 

[moribundman]

Quote:

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I don't want to replace it is because it involves pulling the entire transmission pan off to get at the place where it connects inside of the transmission.

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I am waiting for buster to ask if this is a VW.

Probably it's ABS plastic. Gluing that stuff doesn't work well, but there are solvents that allow fusing. As paulo said, try TAP plastic or a well-stocked hobby shop. I'd replace the part, because it can't be trusted.

 

[Hirev]

I would not waste my time gluing plastic in this kind of environment. I would replace the part or.

It is hard to tell without looking at it up close if this would work. But you may be able to make a small steel clamp out of two halves of steel with small bolts fastening the two halves together with the cable running thru them?

 

[tom slick]

make sure to coat the ball in grease so that the glue doesn't stick. if it is abs you can use ABS pipe cement from the plumbing dept at the hardware store.

 

[D189379]

I think I'm going to buy a new cable and try to get the new connector onto the old cable. The cable doesn't seem like it's something that "wears out". I just need to figure out how to get the washer type pice off of the end without destroying the cable. (Or cutting it)

Here's some better shots.

 

[D189379]

It would have been a good idea for me to take a picture of the piece that broke off, now that I see those. Oh well.

 

[DriveHard]

Loctite makes a true plastic glue. Its called loctite all plastics glue. You can find it at your local Menards/Lowes/Home Depot

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/glue.asp?PLID=661

Loctite® All Plastics works on all hard and soft plastics, and is the only Loctite® super glue that bonds polyethylene and polyproplyne materials

 

[another Todd]

None of the glues or epoxies will work on poly-propyline or poly-ethyline. For these you must weld with heat. Most other plastics can be glued, epoxied, or solvent welded.

Buying a new cable and removing the end like you suggest is a good option. You can get a new piece to crimp on the end at any hardware store and crimp it with a vice grip. Remove the old crimp by carefully grinding or splitting.

 

[Auto-Union]

Any suggestions on how to glue a cracked washer fluid bottle? I like the plumbing primer w/HDPE glue.

 

[JustinH]

buy a new bottle at the junkyard bud.

Probably 10 bucks.

 

[Auto-Union]

It's a 2006 and I'd have to pull the bumper to R&R it. Thanks anyway.

 

[another Todd]

What cracked it? Warrantee?