Can you weld cast aluminum??

Jcampbell54 · Jan 29, 2015

I bought a teryx with a blown motor. Threw a rod through the top of the case left about a half dollar size hole. It's high enough no oil sits in It. Anybody had luck with a tig on cast aluminum? Or maybe just some quick steel and a aluminum patch. Shouldn't be much pressure there ( I think ). Anybody got some input on it I'm all ears.

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patooyee · Jan 29, 2015

Tigging cast aluminum is easy peasy if you know how to TIG. 5053 filler and it will weld like butter.

Jcampbell54 · Jan 29, 2015

I'll take a picture tomorrow. Just trying to figure my options.

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zukimaster · Jan 29, 2015

Yea, someone gave me almost a new lawn mower one time, it had slung a rod thru the block, took it apart, had it welded up, ran for many years!

tyldyl12 · Jan 29, 2015

Re:

Please don't flame me for my "poor engineering" ways, but I actually put JB Weld on a cracked 400ex motor once. It held for about a year, until I sold it.

Disclosure: It was only a crack that leaked oil a little, and the buyer was well aware of the cobbled up mess. It did work though.

wannabe · Jan 29, 2015

The problem with cast aluminum is getting a clean piece. It might weld beautiful and then halfway threw just go to ****.

Jcampbell54 · Jan 29, 2015

Well like I said its high enough I don't think leaking will be a big problem. That's why i mentioned the quick steel. I used it to fix a crack in a Intake on one of the coolant ports. Still holding now.

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sledneck · Jan 30, 2015

wannabe said:
The problem with cast aluminum is getting a clean piece. It might weld beautiful and then halfway threw just go to ****.

^ this. It really doesn't matter if it's around the oil or not. I have welded a good amount of cast aluminum and sometimes it's just the material it self that sucks. That's a big hole to fill if the material around it sucks, you might be chasing it for awhile. It's definitely do able.

mac5005 · Jan 30, 2015

Clean it well and take a torch and preheat it. Not only will it make it easier to weld but it will burn some of the oil out of the surface as well.

After that I always run a few passes over the area, low amperage, with the balance cranked for max cleaning. I do this until the deodorized area all looks white and no black spots.

This again will preheat the area some and make sure the area to be welded is clean.

I definitely prefer 5356 for castings over 4043 but either can be used if that's all you have.

I've had good luck performing repairs on cast alum this way.
Cleanliness is everything.
Also depending on your machine size is how much you want to preheat. The smaller machine the more preheat you want.

If it's a large hole, put a piece of copper on the backside to help with filling it.