Problems with fiberglass?

[Boondox]

I'm looking to upgrade from my Kubota B1750HSD to something heavier and in the ballpark of 3000#. My finalists include the Kubota L3010 and 3410, as well as the JD 4300. I liked the Deere, but that fiberglass was a real concern! I had visions of a relatively minor blow from a branch etc destroying the hood. Rather than ruling out an entire line on the basis of what may or may not be a real life problem, I thought I'd ask the experts -- owners.

Please rate the durability of the fiberglass parts on your Deere. Thanks in advance

Pete

 

[Anonymous Poster]

First, It will never ever RUST! It doesn't dent or even have signs of dings. Hit it with a hammer and it springs back to "normal". Still looks "new" when it's older. Hey,what do you expect for the new millennium? You drink "Tang" don't you? This is space age technology!

I don't think it's true fiberglass however... some kind of plastic composite. It's actually impressive and probably the wave of the future... not just tractors, but auto's etc. Similar to Saturn (I think?)

You be the judge... if you wacked a metal hood and you wacked flexible plastic, what would be the results?

 

[Harv]

The biggest problem I see with fiberglass (or whatever) hoods and fenders is that Chalkley Cups won't stick to them. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Having said that, I'm making a Chalkley Sippy Cup for my 3-year old and his tractor, which is pretty much all plastic. I glued a powerful magnet on the underside of the fender and a large flat washer to the bottom of his cup. We'll be testing it out next weekend.

Oops! I think I interrupted a serious discussion. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

Sorry 'bout that. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

 

[Muhammad]

You forget, Harv, that while the Chalkley cup won't stick to the fender, there is a cupholder... a 4000-series owner needs to make an adapter, I think, to solve the problem. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hey...Harv & Muhammad this is serious business... you broke my train of thought... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Glad it was only plastic and not metal...

 

[radman]

I have a 1995 JD5300 with the composite/plastic-type hood and fenders. In general, I am overall satisfied with them. The only problem I have had is the paint will occassionally chip off in small to moderate sized pieces. I don't know if this is secondary to a default with the painting process or a result of something hitting those areas. I don't remember anything striking those areas. This may no longer be a problem on the newer tractors. I have not had any crackes and they are dent resistent.

 

[jyoutz]

I think the paint problems have to do with the paint and not the material. If you will think about it, many of the cars made during the mid 80's to mid 1990's had problems with flaking paint. A friend in the body shop business told me that that was the era when everyone was experimenting with the 2-step paint process (base coat, clear coat). The paint chemistry didn't work. Of course the 2-step process is universally used now, but the chemists have had time to perfect the process.

 

[jfakerj]

Pete

I have a 1999 4300 I just bought. While puting a coat of wax on the tractor (probably it's first) I notice a crack in the hood going foward from the fuel fill opening. I don't know if I did it by slamming the hood or if it was already there as the tractor was very dirty when I bought it. In any case I'm very unhappy that my hood is cracked. Like I said, I can't say for sure how it got cracked so I don't know how much force it took to crack it. The hood is a lot lighter material than the fenders. I think you could hit the fenders with a hammer and not crack them. I don't think that would be the case with the hood.
I do like the tractor though. I really like the pedals for the hst in comparison to the kubota and also I can see the fel bucket better than on the kubota L3010. I'm not saying anything bad about the kubota L3010, it's a great tractor, just what I like better about the jd4300.

Jerry

 

[cowboydoc]

Jerry,
If it's still under warranty they will replace that. Anyway my dealer did.

 

[bpence]

I can't speak to the newest tractors in the JD line-up, but I have a late 1980's JD 316 with a fiberglass hood. That little tractor has been used and abused for all types of things (although always well maintained) and the hood has held up better than a metal one would have. It's had things dropped on it, ran into some things, and been slammed shut a few times in frustration. It has some chips, stratches, nicks, etc. in it, but seemed to hold up OK. It was a bit of a concern when purchased new, but has held up well.

Bob Pence

 

[roysallis]

I bought a 5210 which has the "high-density composite material" last March and have not had any problems with it. It will show scuff marks but they can be waxed and buffed out.

 

[Bird]

Sheet metal vs. composite material wouldn't be much of a factor for me in deciding what to buy. The first time I saw a "plastic" impact wrench, I couldn't hardly believe it, but they may very well be the best ones on the market right, and when you let the lift down on one and crush it (like one I have right now for repair), it's cheaper to repair than the all metal ones./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

 

[jfakerj]

Richard

Out of warranty when I bought it.. Any ideas on how to fix it? I thought of trying to super glue it from under the hood so it won't crack any farther. Do you think that'll work.

Jerry

 

[ronjhall]

Jerry:
Don't use super glue. It won't fix the problem permanently. I have made a few fiberglass repairs on my boat. You won't be able to repair the crack as fast with resins, but the crack will not come back. It gets quite lengthy to explain how to make the repairs. Try this Link http://www.boatus.com/boattech/fiber.htm. There are several West Marine stores around your area.http://www.westmarine.com they have all the supplies to repair the crack. Then it's off to the <font color=green>JD dealer to get some green paint.</font color=green>

 

[Anonymous Poster]

There is a "plastic" repair kit available.

From what I understand, a couple methods could be used. 1. is like a "chemical" bonding and 2. a "thermal" welding. Check with the guys at a body shop for finite details.

One method looks like a "welding" rod going down the crack actually "melting" both halves and bonding, a little buffing, voila looks like new! (Imagine a "hot glue gun" going down the crack, with the melted plastic coming out the end to seam the crack at the same time "melting" both sides to become "one")

 

[Bird]

Jerry, I'd suggest talking to a body shop. This is something I know nothing about, but my brother sells a plastic welding rig of some kind and told me about a local body shop with a guy who really knows how to use it if I ever need something like that repaired. I still haven't seen one in operation. Apparently it must be about the same thing as John's talking about.

Bird

 

[RobS]

Jerry, I worked in a body shop years ago and we did the occasional Corvette. Cracks are hard to fix right and if not done right, they'll come right back. Our method back then was to grind the back side clean (if you can get to it) and apply a layer or two of glass fabric with resin. After that's cured, grind the crack on the face side and open it up a bit. Use good 'ole Bondo to finish the repair. If you can't get to the back side, do the same on the face side. It'll require more blending to cover the patch, but can be done.

Plastic welding only works with thermoplastics (can be remelted). Fiberglass resin is thermoset and won't remelt.

Any decent body shop should be able to do a good job repairing your ride, including paint.

Hope this helps,

Rob

 

[cowboydoc]

Jerry,
If you have a farm and fleet there they make resins for all different types of plastics, fiberglass, and metal. Last year I tore up my cab step on my pickup pretty good and fixed it with that stuff and it worked really well. I have also fixed 4 wheeler fenders, water troughs, etc. and it works really well.

 

[dmccarty]

Jerry,

The hood on my 4700 and I assume the rest of the 4000 line is not fiberglass but some kind of plastic product. I said "fiberglass" when talking to my salesman and he told me that it was a plastic. He went into a bit of detail, I think he would have given me more information if I had asked, but I was not that interested. The salesman really liked the product and I don't think it was any sale hype on his part. He just liked the stuff.

As people have mentioned there might be other ways to chemically weld the split. You might try a dealer and see what they say.

For the origional poster. I have not had any problems in 130 hours. It was not a concern for me and I think I would rather have a composite fender/hood than metal. At least it won't rust and I assume its not going to get brittle from UV exposure. I can't imagine breaking the stuff, at least the fenders. I could see putting a tool or something under the hood and then trying to shut the hood causing some damage. Heck I've done that on both vehicles at this point.

Hope this helps...
Dan McCarty

 

[Boondox]

Fiberglass and bitter cold?

Okay, so the stuff does well with routine bumps. But what about when the temp hits the minus twenties? I've had plastics break in my hand from the pressure of picking them up. What's the verdict from the snow belt?

Pete in Brrrmont