heat tape?

S

stealther27

Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
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393
Age
42
Location
Jefferson, WI
Hey guys, I was cleaning out my sleds belly pan the other weekend took the pipes off and figured out why when skipping a lil water my belt got wet! I then found the culprit directly underneath the pipes there is a crack about 12 inches in length right where a skidplate should be bolted up. what do you guys recomend should I just put some silicone on it and hope that seals it up? Also while cleaning in belly pan found out that the heat tape they put in there is starting to come off and looks like alot of it is junk, where can I get some more of this heat tape stuff that will hold up to cold weather?
 

stealther27 said:
what do you guys recomend should I just put some silicone on it and hope that seals it up?
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Lightly grind or sand approx 2 inches on either side of crack to insure there are no impurities. Epoxy (24 hour)and fiberglass mat/cloth the sanded/ground area. Once it's all cured, get a drill and drill small holes on each side of the crack, approx 1 inch from each other. Grab enough safety wire and do a Frankenstein sew job.That will keep the crack from ever opening up.
 
stealther27 said:
Also while cleaning in belly pan found out that the heat tape they put in there is starting to come off and looks like alot of it is junk, where can I get some more of this heat tape stuff that will hold up to cold weather?
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I believe O'Reillys has it too. At our store, it is behind the counter beside the Thermal wrap that we use on our pipes.
 
well sounds like this might turn into quite the lil project I can say Ive never used epoxy or fiberglassed anything but Ive done plenty of sanding so I will def give it a go. Also thanks guys for the tips on where to get all this stuff. So does anyone know how these cracks start I mean the pipes arent really close to the bellypan in this part, just trying to figure some stuff out.
 
stealther27 said:
So does anyone know how these cracks start
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Stumps,bolders and once in a while.......large frozen cow pies. Also with the repair process, drill a 1/4 inch (or so) hole at each end of the crack. This will disperse the fatigue and stop the crack from growing.
 
stealther27 said:
well sounds like this might turn into quite the lil project I can say Ive never used epoxy or fiberglassed anything but Ive done plenty of sanding so I will def give it a go.
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It sounds like a big project but really isn't. When you start stitching, it would help alot, if you had another set of hands to help. One person underneath the pan and one on top. It's not good on my knees getting up & down 50 times in an hour.
 
ok thats a gud idea I will have one of my buddies help me with this project Im pretty sure this same thing has happened on his 99vmax sx he used to have to hopefully wont be too bad. I hope to get this started soon and then order some new heat tape as most of mine basically peeled off. I will let you guys know how the progress goes and I appreciate all the help and great info ;)!
 
New belly pan?

How about buying that section of the belly pan from one ofthe fine sellers of used items on this site? If it's the front center section of the bally pan it will probably be about $20. Maybe a little more if it's one of the side sections. Buy one & rivet it on! Tell the seller you want one with good heat tape on it. Why the hell would you try to repair a crack in that plastic........in May! Fix it right.

Madmatt
 
well I mean its probably been this way for the past year or so, the crack isnt very wide or anything id say under .25" and maybe 6 or 8inches long just enough for some water and crap to get in the bellypan when doing the ocasional water skipping. I just didnt have access to a rivet gun or I wouldve already got my skidplate on and tried to silicone it up and get some new heat wrap. Ive never replaced a bellypan before or know if thats what my sled needs?
 
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