Repair for Driver Mounting Hardware?

[Charles218]

I suspect that I am not the first to deal with the problem of the particle board that holds the lip of the driver becoming unusable. On my AR 4X, as with most or possibly all AR's, there is a mounting hole in the particle board for the drivers. You insert the screw through the frame of the driver, through the particle board and it then threads into a metal piece that is mounted on the underside of the particle board. Does all that make sense? Well, the particle board is broken and missing here which makes it impossible to thread the screw. I just tried repairing it with plastic wood but no luck. Has anyone found a way to repair this?

Thanks!

Charles

[JKent]

Hi Charles

Plastic wood won't work. Try the epoxy that comes in a "tootsie roll" shape, like this: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3959143&cagpspn=pla

Color doesn't matter. It's available in hardware stores. You cut off a piece and knead it in your fingers. Make sure all the loose particles are brushed away and then smoosh the epoxy in there and mold it to shape. You can use a plain wood or sheet metal screw when it's dry.

Plan B: Rotate the woofer until the mounting holes line up with un-damaged particle board. Take one of the mounting bolts to the hardware store and get the matching "T nuts". Drill new holes in the particle board and mount the T nuts from behind.

Here's an example of T-nut. They come in different sizes: http://www.parts-exp...number=081-1075

Hope this helps.

Kent

[Craig25]

I had the same issue with one of my AR 5's. I didn't know about the Mohawk "tootsie roll" at the time but I used JB Weld. I let it run around the top and dry with the screw installed to keep the threads uninvolved. It seemed to work good enough.

[pb8000]

Another option: I put the original screw in the old hole in the particle board and refilled in the particle board around it with wood fill. I removed that screw before the wood fill hardened and thus preserved the original hole. I then drilled a hole in a small piece of wood for the new screw (a piece larger than the damaged portion of the particle board), glued that piece on the inside of the particle board lining up the original and new screw holes. I bought a longer screw, painted it black, and put the new T-nut on the new piece of wood and re-installed the woofer.

[Charles218]

Lowe's had the same product that you linked to, it was labelled Loctite, probably made in the same factory and then sold under various names. It seems to be holding, though I'm nervous about repeated attempts to remove and then reinstall the driver. Time will tell.

I too thought of adding a piece of wood inside and installing a longer screw, but the temptation of a really quick fix using the epoxy won. If the epoxy does not hold up I will try adding a piece of wood as you described.

Thanks for the responses!!!

Charles