Plastic duct repair
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 229
Likes: 3
From: Highland MI
Plastic duct repair
Several sections of my air ducts are cracked. Has anyone found a glue to repair these or know what type of plastic they are made from? These things are expensive and being they are hidden behind the dash, I thought repairing them makes sense.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 12,682
Likes: 3,135
From: Shamong, NJ
I think the factory ducts were ABS. If so, it's not easy to glue it together, it really needs to be fused, melted, or "welded" together.
You might be able to use one of the "plastic welds", or the adhesive made for use on plastic plumbing pipe? Check the local hardware store, for a plastic epoxy that lists ABS, as one of the materials that it will bond.
You might be able to use one of the "plastic welds", or the adhesive made for use on plastic plumbing pipe? Check the local hardware store, for a plastic epoxy that lists ABS, as one of the materials that it will bond.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 441
Likes: 1
From: Windsor Ontario
When I bought my 74 I found a mouse, or mice, had chewed a hole through mine and nested inside it. I used a fibreglass patch on the inside so it would be so obvious as if it were on the outside, even though its behind the dash and can't be seen.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 6,842
Likes: 285
From: Palmdale CA
GBvette has the answer you need. I used the plumbing ABS weld succesfully on my cracked ducts. It's black and gooey, drying to a shiny and pretty strong finish when done. If you have cracks, I recommend drilling a very small hole right at the end of the crack. This tiny circle or hole stops the crack from spreading further, by spreading the force that's splitting it, around the circumference of the hole, versus the intense concentration at the single point at the end. Learned this decades ago, from an WW II, B-29 Gunners manual, and that's how they did temporary repairs to cracks in the clear plexiglass bubbles. Works like a charm to stop the crack from spreading!
Last edited by F22; Mar 31, 2013 at 02:54 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,022
Likes: 33
From: Lokeren, Belgium
I'm not really sure it's ABS. Ducts (like the hollow ones : defroster LH and RH duct, center one) are usually made with a rotomolding or blowmolding process using PE or PP ('greasy' appearance. The heater core housing and footwell duct devider seemed to be a glass fiber reinforced material typically a RIM process. These can be glued with JB weld. The others (PP PE) can be welded with special glue (exemple 3m pp pe glue)
I don't know if it was mandatory to mark the material on plastic parts back then, but wouldn't hurt to check
Nick
I don't know if it was mandatory to mark the material on plastic parts back then, but wouldn't hurt to check
Nick
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