Triumphrat

Railmonkey

Posted before about a problem with chain breaking off a portion of my crankcase I have been asking local tig welders to do the job but no one seems keen or has he right experience anyone know someone who has done the casings? I dont want to chance someoe messin them up

duncan67

I am a welder with over 20 yrs experiance with most of that being aluminum TIG. The most recent thing I have done like this was the front brake housing from a 72 daytona. In the case of that job it was some material around the vent area that was completly gone,I built weld up to replace the lost section. It was probably 4 to 5 sq inches of material that I built then dressed off to the point that it was un noticable. PM sent

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I admire harly riders greatly.How brave they must be to take to the hiways and byways on a motorcycle so bereft of handling and horsepower!

Snakeoil

Sounds like Duncan knows what he's doing. The basic issue with welding on old alum crank cases is the alum is a bit porous and saturated with oil. Aluminum is hard enough to weld when clean. Add a dose of old oil and it can be nearly impossible.

If you want more names, I suggest you post similar inquiries on vintage Harley sites. When Harleys break rods they often take out the cases and when they only crack the cases, there are specialists out there that weld them up and you cannot tell they have been repaired. Just think how much goo has sunk into early 1900's cases and it give you an idea of how good those guys are.

regards,
Rob

GrandPaulZ

I've got a local guy that has welded cases, brackets, covers, etc. Fairly inexpensive, and beautiful looking weld beads.

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willtheking

Slowly preheat the surfaces. I had a friend try to weld up the small cracks in my primary cover. Pre heated too fast and it started blistering. Never seen anything like that in my life. Want to try something yourself? http://www.cotronics.com/WEB%20SHEET...%20%207032.pdf. Durabond 7025. I used their aluminum putty on the head of my '72 last year. I figured I would try it before buying another head. It is still holding. Good luck.

dl.allen

I found a local guy that builds aluminum spiral staircases so welds like an artist.

I preheated the weld area a lot with propane and cooked out all the oil I could and soaked in parts cleaner. It held. He also closed a hole in the chain case where the footpeg went through it. It looks perfect but after a long hot ride oil actually sweats through the repair! Crazy. My little routine is a quick wipe when I get home and when it cools off its seals again.

DAVE M

maybe you could heat the chaincase (off the bike) and get it clean, then paint the inside with some kind of sealant? I mean a varnish type stuff nit bitumen!

dl.allen

tried that. I cleaned it up best I could and put some JB weld on the back side. No dice. Now I just ride and like the hot oil perfume!