Weld a cracked crank case

[TyBlast1123]

Hey i was just wondering. i just bought my new blaster and it has a cracked crank case on the left side and my father recommended that i could have it welded but im kindof afraid to do that. should i get it welded for free or should i buy a new crank case. i just dont want to run into this problem again. Thanks

 

[cole454]

You want to talk to sicivicdude here. He has fixed several cases that I know of. He's getting good at it.

 

[sicivicdude]

welded crankcases are just fine to run as long as the repair is done right. If you have a professional welder who can heliarc it for free, by all means, have it done. It's as permanent as the factory aluminum and if they're good it will need minimal after-treatment to get it ready to run.

Technically what I am doing to repair case halves is called aluminum brazing. It's an alloy rod which, when properly heated and treated, will bond to aluminum much in the way tin solder bonds to copper or steel. It's a finicky process which has it's limitations but it also has it's advantages. In the right areas, it's as permanent as a heliarc repair. The alloy bonds to the aluminum and creates a metal repair (not like epoxy or any type of bond glue) which can be machined and can withstand impact as well (or better actually) than the factory case area.

The material is this:

 

[Antec1200X]

thats the stuff to have

 

[blasterfreek30]

ive fixed alot cases using that stuff

 

[Surfrjag]

i gotta get me some of that stuff...

 

[roadkill]

i need to get some of that stuff how much does it go for?

 

[sicivicdude]

It's $65 for a pound plus shipping. It comes out to about $80 for 34 rods. Little more than $2 per 18" long rod.

I show cased the repairs in this thread:

http://www.blasterforum.com/do-yourself-20/case-repair-37072/

 

[Surfrjag]

is this it? http://www.aluminumrepair.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?page=1

 

[sicivicdude]

HTS-200-, that's the stuff although your link partially didn't work surf. The shopping cart is stored on your cookies, not all of ours.

I know what the video shows but before everyone runs out and buys some, there are a few things to know!

First, it advertises you can use this with a propane torch. That's not exactly accurate. If you put your work on a a VERY hot oven and pulled it straight out, a propane torch MAY get the work hot enough for the rod to work. Otherwise you'd heat a case with a propane torch for HOURS to get this material to work. A MAPP torch is hotter than propane and even that's questionable... an oxy-acetylene torch is recommended.

Second, you'll go through a pile of rods before you get your hand down for heat expect to waste $10-$20 in rods just for practice.

This material will not repair all breaks. It does very well on mushes, cracks, and small missing sections. It will NOT replace entire chunks of the case because as the case cools, the material cools at a different rate and will crack back off the aluminum.