Hi Guys - I知 wondering if you can help me, I知 fairly mechanically minded but this one has got me a bit stuck? My Spoiler Motor and the cables work absolutely fine but those silly plastic clips keep giving way! Does anyone have any ideas about what I can do/ use to keep the spoiler mechanism together?

Could I perhaps weld them with them being metal?

Thanks to all for any advice?

Thanks

George

 

Good morning and Merry Christmas.

If understand your predicament correctly, the reason that the mechanism comes apart is because the metal tube joiner is no longer retaining the two halves of the tube, because it doesn’t extend over the swages.

Unfortunately those metal tubes are too thin to weld, or even to braze.

It looks as though the clearances are too large to be filled by solder, though you could try silver solder, but you’ll have to strip the mechanism first so that you can properly clean the tubes with flux, and then afterwards thoroughly clean them of flux to prevent subsequent corrosion which will destroy the entire assembly.

I’m sure that some would suggest a metal epoxy (e.g. Araldite Rapid Steel), which might work if you can build a mould around the tubes to retain a sizeable amount of the glue as it sets. You could probably do something using modelling clay around the pipe, and with a 6mm band of epoxy around them, I doubt that the pipe would readily come apart.

Alternatively, and assuming that you can dismantle the components sufficiently to be able to slide something over the existing tube, then apply a longer (i.e. beyond the existing swage lines) ferrule, or even simply a thin piece of copper/brass/aluminium wrapped around the tube. Then use a double ear hose clamp of the appropriate size (you can get them intended for as small as 5mm diameter), one each end, crimped up tight to pull the ‘wrap’ tight around the swage.

Finally, if you can’t dismantle the existing assembly to the point where you can slide something over it, then I think your only option, other than plastic metal, is to try to work the existing ferrule to open it so that it slides easily over each of the swage joints, and then re-crimp it using a sacrificial pair of pliers ground specifically for the purpose.

You would need a dremel type tool with a grinding wheel of the same diameter as your pipe, in order to grind a suitable round hole between the jaws, and then a thin cutting disc to grind at 90 degrees a notch to accommodate the swage.