Big Kahuna
Administrator
- Location
- Tuscaloosa, AL
You want the bare alum, trying to bond to paint is asking for it to fail.
Broken steering bracket, can this be repaired? How do I fix this?
- Thread starter streetroc
- Start date
Big Kahuna
Administrator
- Location
- Tuscaloosa, AL
You want bare metal.
Big Kahuna
Administrator
- Location
- Tuscaloosa, AL
3/8 or 1/2" been almost 20 years since I messed with stock pole.
- Location
- Cumming, Georgia
Just as a tip, excess 5200 is a pain to get off of things. Acetone will take it off before it dries, but it sucks. I’d dry fit the bracket and mask off up to the edge of the bracket on the pole and also on the bracket itself.
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That's a good point I appreciate the tip. I used it a couple of years ago to put in a pump shoe on my superjet and I almost forgot about how hard it is to clean up.
I would not use alu rivets ever again, sheared right of the next ride. Get big head SS rivets and a good rivet gun.
Big Kahuna
Administrator
- Location
- Tuscaloosa, AL
Rivets are only there to hold it in place until the epoxy/adhesive sets up.......... If they sheared, it was because there was not enough adhesive or proper adhesive used.
it's been a long time since I've worked with rivets. Where is a good place to get good stainless steel rivets? A marina? A hardware store?
That's what I thought too. But it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra strength. Is there any downside to using stainless steel rivets?
Big Kahuna
Administrator
- Location
- Tuscaloosa, AL
No, Just find an ACE Hardware, they should have them...................
I picked up some aluminum rivets at Ace hardware. They didn't have any stainless steel ones. How tight should they be in the holes? These are 3/16" diameter with a 3/8-1/2" grip range. They seem like they would work but they do have a little bit of wiggle room when they sit in the holes. Is this going to work?
(obviously I still need to sand down the end of the pole before I apply the fast cure 5200 and rivet it in place)
(obviously I still need to sand down the end of the pole before I apply the fast cure 5200 and rivet it in place)
- Location
- the jetski grave yard
you shouldn't have even used the aluminum rivets. they aren't going to hold. drill them out and throw them away. get steel rivets.
the tighter in the holes they are, the stronger its going to be. if they wiggle, just drill it out and get the next bigger size and use them. I think I used 1/4" steel on one of my repairs.
the rivets are critical, not the glue. I didn't even glue mine. somebody that rode locally used aluminum rivets and they sheared off in 2 seconds and he wasn't even a gorilla thrasher
the tighter in the holes they are, the stronger its going to be. if they wiggle, just drill it out and get the next bigger size and use them. I think I used 1/4" steel on one of my repairs.
the rivets are critical, not the glue. I didn't even glue mine. somebody that rode locally used aluminum rivets and they sheared off in 2 seconds and he wasn't even a gorilla thrasher
Yeah I was concerned about that too but I wasn't able to find stainless steel rivets in the right size. I went to the local Yamaha dealer and showed it to their lead mechanic. He said that he stopped using stainless steel rivets on all of his jobs because even the high grade ones still tend to corrode over time. He said that as long as the aluminum rivets were able to pull the fiberglass tight to the bracket that the adhesive would do the rest. These rivets pulled up nice and tight and I was careful to make sure that every bit of surface area on both sides was covered with 5200.
I am concerned about this pole breaking again though. I've been working on a secondary kill switch that I should have done tonight. That way if this were to come apart at least it won't take off at wot. Worst case scenario, I'll take my chances having to push it back to shore if it comes apart again. Then it will just be time to do what many people have suggested already and replace the entire pole.
I am concerned about this pole breaking again though. I've been working on a secondary kill switch that I should have done tonight. That way if this were to come apart at least it won't take off at wot. Worst case scenario, I'll take my chances having to push it back to shore if it comes apart again. Then it will just be time to do what many people have suggested already and replace the entire pole.
- Location
- the jetski grave yard
i said steel rivets, not stainless and they do rust. use black nail polish to paint the heads and the plastic pole base cover covers the rivets anyway.
stainless is softer than steel also but better than aluminum. you can always drill holes and put rivets between the stock rivet holes adding more strength. thats wat I did.
I just looked at one of my broken and repaired ones and I used 6mm bolts,nuts and washers instead of rivets. you can use bolts at the base but you cant use bolts at the head cause you cant get in there to put the nuts on. the head is were it was loose once and I shortened it too and thats where I used more and 1/4" STEEL rivets
stainless is softer than steel also but better than aluminum. you can always drill holes and put rivets between the stock rivet holes adding more strength. thats wat I did.
I just looked at one of my broken and repaired ones and I used 6mm bolts,nuts and washers instead of rivets. you can use bolts at the base but you cant use bolts at the head cause you cant get in there to put the nuts on. the head is were it was loose once and I shortened it too and thats where I used more and 1/4" STEEL rivets
Big Kahuna
Administrator
- Location
- Tuscaloosa, AL
You coming back out today?