Crack's...Am I scr#%ed?

[rfs mike]

In March I collided with a 4-wheeler. Put a hole in my clutch cover and took out my ACL. I fixed the clutch cover but the ACL is another story. Doc say’s I’m too old to rebuild. Rehab, rehab, brace. Still riding & racing though. Can’t blame it all on the 4-wheeler, I should have been watching better.
Anyway, I was cleaning my 2000, 400 EXC the other day and noticed two small stress cracks in the case right at the edge where it’s molded for the mounting bolt to go through the front of the case and secure to the subframe. They are no bigger than a half-inch long, one on top and one on bottom. I didn’t notice them right away after the crash so I don’t know if they have gotten any bigger or if it even happened then.
What I want to know is. Am I screwed? Is there any way this can be repaired or does this mean a new case. Just bought a new house ($$$) and bike money is scarce right now. Thought about just slapping some JB Weld on and riding till it goes but if I don’t catch it, there goes my oil and engine. ($$$$)
I hate to say it but I think this is major.
I have some pictures if anyone wants to e-mail me I’ll send them. I haven’t figured out how to attach pics yet. [email protected]
Any help? Or maybe just some pity.

 

[biglou]

I wonder if you can get them welded? Maybe grind a groove into them, and have a tranny shop or a machine shop that can heli-arc weld them up? If you want to email me the pics, I'll post them here so those with more knowledge of welding Al can share their wisdom.

Email link in sig line:

 

[biglou]

Here's the pics:

 

[biglou]

#2:

 

[biglou]

#3:

 

[jboomer]

:scream: :scream:

That's a scary sight!

 

[darringer]

I would think they can be welded by any competent welder. The odds are they won't look very pretty. It gets really hard to get the oil out of the cracks. When I had my crankcase cover welded, I removed and soaked it in laquer thinner overnight. I thought after washing with soap and water there would be no oil left. But I was wrong. The welds are strong, but not pretty. After heating the aluminum, oil was leeching out of the aluminum. Once that stopped, the welds looked better. A workable solutuion though. I have not had any problems since.
Darrin

 

[jmics19067]

Take the engine out and either take it to a either a machine shop or a welder . If the mounting boss is for a thru bolt and is not continuing into a sealed part of your case it should be a rather easy fix. If it is a threaded mounting boss and or the crack goes deeper than it appears it will be more complex repair but still should be repairable. I doubt epoxy will hold since the crack is at a critical mounting point. You are not just trying to plug a leak, that is what is holding your engine in.