[Jimmie R]

I have a John Deere LT133 and the lower part of the hood broke on both sides. A new part is quite expensive (over $500). I was unable to glue the pieces back together because I could not find a glue that will adher to the plasitic used in the hood. However, I was able to fiberglass the broken pieces together using a cheap Bondo kit for very little expense. I placed a small piece of wood on the back side of the piece, secured the pieces by screwing them to the wood and then fiberglassed the pieces together. It remains to be seen how long the repair will last but it seems to be very strong.

 

[Austen]

Welcome to MLMF!

Good job on fixing the hood. It's unfortunate how the hoods on most newer model machines are a weak point and something that you have to be so careful with and around, but anything can be fixed.

 

[Brad]

Hello, Jimmie R, and welcome to the forum. Nice job on the hood repair. I have an STX38 with a similar situation. I used some fiberglass resin and fiberglass matting to perform a similar repair. Worked out real well. Glad yours is working out, too!

 

[Mark / Ohio]

Thanks for sharing that Jimmi!

I started to get a little nervous looking at parts prices and having some close calls back when I first bought my LT150. So I went ahead and ordered the optional bumper for mine. Just wish it protected the upper part of the hood. I keep tossing around ideas of how to add an upper loop with pins I could pull for when opening the hood.

 

[wh55]

sounds like a good strong repair...i know alot of auto body shops now "weld" plastic , i just wonder how well that would work and if the cost would be worth it

 

[Boudreaux]

I have a '98 JD 345. The hood had cracks about 16" on both sides. Two weeks ago I decided to do something before the cracks went to the top and I would lose half of my hood. I used two tubes of "J B Weld". Sanded the area very well, and applied a large amount of the stuff on and along the length of the cracks . It seems to be holding.

I have used the tractor a total of ten hours thus far, and everything seems to be holding...!!!

 

[Austen]

Nice! Keep us updated on how it holds up!