[pureel]

I was blowing out the yard and the blower picked up a rock and as it was throwing it out of the chute it put a hole in the plastic chute. Since the plastic is gone from the hole I cannot glue the piece back in. I am wondering what would be the best way to fix the hole. Would duct tape work???? Could I possibly get an entire new piece from the OEM. It is an MTD Yardman Snowblower.
TIA

 

[Wayne195]

How big is the hole in diameter? The duct tape would do a fine job for a temperory fix if the hole is'nt too big.

 

[pureel]

The hole is about 1" long and about a 1/2" wide. I will try duct tape on it once it sits in the shop and all the snow melts off it. Yes I am a bit father north I am in western Canada

 

[CharlesW]

What I am going to suggest might not work on the plastic the chute is made of, but......
I once repaired an automotive hard plastic frame of a seat back with a product sold in my area called "JB Weld". Chances are it's available most anywhere.
I duct taped a piece of smooth plastic that I had waxed with car wax on the back side of the damaged area and filled it with the JB Weld using a putty knife. I let it set for a couple of days, removed the plastic backing and the stuff had hardened and is still filling the hole yet today. I had to do a little filing and sanding to match the seat contour and once it was painted it was hard to detect.

There might be some product that is intended to repair damaged plastic that would work even better.

 

[Wayne195]

For a quick fix for winter I'd reccommend that you use electrical tape rether than duct tape. Then heat it with a torch which makes the tape bond better.

 

[dakota60]

Here's another thought... I don't know where you are located, but If it were me, I'd look around for a used chute off a parts machine. I think that the bottom of the chute is common to most makes, except for 2 different size collars at the bottom. maybe you could score an older metal one and paint it to match.. Just a thought. Larry

 

[dakota60]

another thought.. most body shops can do plastic "welding". When I had a skidoo with a plastic hood, I was looking into this if I couldn't find a used hood. Never got to inquire about price because I found a hood. You may be able to seek advice if you know someone in this line of work. Or what about a flexible plastic repair kit from your auto supplier ? these are used to repair the plastic bumper covers on newer cars, and are supposed to be very good. I've heard that for a hole that size, this should be more than adequete. good luck with it. Larry

 

[dakota60]

You could also price a new chute through mtdcanada.com if you have a model and serial #...

 

[Ingersoll444]

I have never seen one of them brake before!! Guess it could happan.

As for a repair... A replacement part would be best... lots of good blowers out there with blown engines. other then that, its going to be tough.. Those chutes are made out of a plastic thats pretty slipery. And that makes them real hard to glue, or bond anything to!! Add to that, the cold, and wet life they live... I belive your looking for a macanical bond to repair it. I would use eather a peice of some kinda a rust prof aloy, or a peice of plastic, cut and shape it to overlap the hole, coat the edges with sealer of some sort, and pop rivit it in place. That should hold fine.

 

[Shryp]

I have read about people lining metal chutes with the crazy carpet roll up slides or other types of plastic. If you can get a hold of something that is as big as the chute you can just line the whole inside with that.

 

[pfn]

West System Epoxy have a new product for plastic that in amazing. They have a video posted where they cut a kayak IN HALF, repair it with the new product and then take the repaired kayak out on the water. It is sandable and apparently very strong.
My neighbor used it to repair a vinyl BMW bumper. You can't see the repair and it has held up well.