Bondo on Headers?

I tripped over an old bench seat leaning against the wall, and it fell on my passenger side lake header. It put a big ding in the top of the collector, toward the end.

I cursed in several languages!!!

The question is, will body filler survive the high temp if I try to fix the ding?

Suggestions?

Thanks,
Rich

 

wont work but that 2 part metal repair stuff will hold up to the heat and can be shaped with a file and sand paper.

 

slag you talking about jb weld?

 

They must not be coated or chrome. Why not just heat the inside of the collector and 'roll the dent out' ?

 

.....or carfully use a dent puller/slide hammer then file/sand smooth, tough luck if they were coated or chromed you'll just have to re coat/chrome.

 

If they dented that easy,shouldn't be too difficult to straighten.

 

Bondo On The Headers Will Crack From The Heat

 

Heah I've been drinkin here, and I don't know how bad the dent is but. I would worru more about restirction than pertiness. But all that aside. You coulg mig it if not too bad and fill it down. or mig a stud to it and use a dent puller. But once again I'm a drunk polack.

 

As much as I worship Bondo I'll have to admit that this is beyond its limitataions.....

If you cant get to it to straighten it from inside,clean it bare on the dent with a wire brush,then weld a nail/small rod to the dent.
Then clamp on vise grips and with a pry bar and a block of wood pry the dent out/twist off the nail/ sand with a grind disc to smooth the spot out.

 

Bondo will NOT dig 1200 degrees...


Either live with the dent, or try LabMetal or JBweld.


What are you using for coating?

-Abone

 

JB Weld will probably bake off. There are some higher temo epoxys out there, but I cant think of the brand names off the top of my head.
Maybe you could call one of those paintless dent repair guys? Their specialty is taking dents out of hard to reach places.

 

Obviously they're not chromed or you wouldn't talk about using bondo. You should drill several holes, use a slide pull hammer to pull out the dent and TIG weld the holes shut. Then metal finish and re-coat or paint. If you don't have the tools I would think that your local body shop would do it for a reasonable charge...Good luck

 

To get a dent out of headers try running a chain through them with a trailer hitch ball or any correct size ball bearing attached to the end of the chain,
pull the chain through the tube and heat up the dented area and the hitch ball or bearing will push the dent out from the inside.

Bondo might last about five minutes on headers.
Dave

 

Ever wonder how they get dents out of dirtbike exhausts? Make caps for both ends of the headers. I used old gaskets to make patterns on 1/4 plate (or whatever thick scrap you have around). Drill and tap the collector plate for 1/4npt. Screw in a male airhose fitting. Us regulated air at 10lbs. Doesnt take much to push it out. Gentley heat the dent with a torch. It will pop out. Done it a few times and it has always worked very well for me.

 

devcon?

 

i bet that bondo would smell good.

 

What he said. . . and what could be better than flaming bondo?

 

Wow, some great ideas here. That's what I love about the HAMB. You can be a pretty handy guy but, someone's almost always got a better, more clever solution. Thousands of heads are certainly better than one.

Penfifteen and a/fxcomet, nice ideas.
-David

 

Bondo will not last long enough to drive the thing aroundthe block! I would also think about restiction (if the dent is big enough)
Try welding a piece of 1/16 inch rod to the center of dent, gently heat up the area and pull out dent with slide hammer! Repeat if needed several times. Have done this my self to motorcycle pipes, works great!
GOOD LUCK

 

If you dont have a stud gun and slide hammer take it to a shop and have them pull it out. Or if you just want to fill it. Put some of the epoxy stuff everyone is talking about and dress it down with a file.

 

can you post what it smells like when you run it?

 

Would kinda give new meaning to smokin the competition

 

haha!!