Cracked Sump

I guess try was a bad choice of words.

I talked to the dealer and we are going to get it looked at by a professional welder first. First, to determine if it can be repaired by welding, and also to see if we can figure out what was the cause.

It could have been a stress fracture, fatigue or bad luck. The only way to crack the aluminum like that is if I was using my torque wrench like I would a rowing machine. The dealer is interested in why this happend too... they have never heard of this happening before.

Maybe it was just bad luck, or a manufacturing defect. If it was the latter that would be good to know. If it can't be fixed by welding then I'll have to get a new one.

I have only good things to say about the dealer. He takes his time and does things right... that makes it worth the long drive.

[kuhlka]

Lol, aluminum is pretty touchy when welding. Good to hear you've got someone reasonably local who can do it for you. Aluminum has this strange ability to just drop out all of a sudden if you don't know how to read the puddle and know how much heat a given piece can withstand.

It doesn't oxidize anywhere near as easy as steel, but it distorts a LOT easier at lower heat and fracturing like you mentioned is generally from heating and cooling issues. Never quench a hot piece of metal in water unless you want problems like that. Not saying you did such a thing.

If your welder knows his/her stuff then it should be a relatively painless fix.