Welding the right side clutch cover?

[Hucker]

After the first ride of the season I noticed my clutch cover was leaking oil. After a closer inspection I noticed that where one of the screws goes into the case, there is a crack on one of the flanges that the bolt goes into. It doesn't leak alot of oil, but the point is, it shouldn't be leaking anything. Think I could get it TIG welded? I have access to a TIG/MIG and pretty much any other welder you could think of. I don't feel like buying a new one, cause first of all its to much money, and second of all, this should be fixable. Just wondering if anyone has welded up a cover of some sort and know of any ill affects after doing so...

Thanks

 

[SFO]

If you are confident with welding go for it.
If not hang some epoxy on it and laugh...

 

[CRguyStan]

Very touchy stuff to weld. Most cases have a large portion of magnesium or such that makes it really tend to pull apart when heated. I had one fixed about two years ago with so so luck. It happened to be in a tight location, so I had the best certified tig welder do his handywork.
Before you try that, you might want to try to clean it well and then use JB Weld. This or some silicon might be a better alternative.
Stan

 

[biglou]

Not sure about magnesium, but if it is aluminum or steel, you can have the crack ground out a bit to form a groove, filled with weld, and then (if necessary) redrill the hole if the crack traveled into that opening. Then grind the weld down for a cleaner look.

 

[KelvinKDX]

I had the crack my clutch side cover repaired with GTAW. The only problem was the the guy slightly warped the cover. I now use "Yamaha Black" silicone gasket sealant when i put the cover on the engine to stop the leal.

 

[biglou]

Warpage-Good point. I forgot to mention that. When welding, clamp it to a flat table and weld a bit at a time to reduce the risk of warping the cover.

 

[Hucker]

The screw hole is fine, its just the tap itself that has the crack. I"m going to take it off today and inspect it some more. Silicon or Epoxy would be the easiest, but I do have someone that welds for a living so I'm guessing it would be a snap for him. Brassing might also be another answer, probably look the best to...

 

[Ol'89r]

Hucker.

If your case is magnesium it should say so somewhere on the case. Tig welding would be your best bet. If it is mag, then use mag rod. Magnesium is hard to weld because you have to "Boil" all of the impuritys out of the metal.

Like BigLou mentioned, you can grind the crack back to clean metal and clamp it to a flat table to prevent warping. If your not sure if it is aluminum or magnesium, clean the weld area using a stainless steel brush until it is bright and shiney. Weld the crack using aluminum rod. If it is mag, the weld will not stick after it cools down. Chances are, the whole weld area will just pop off of the case. If that happens, clean and grind it again and use mag rod. Cover the case and let it cool down slowly to prevent cracking.

Another way to tell if it is mag, try grinding an area of the case with a rotary grinder or belt sander. If it is aluminum, you will have small chip like grindings. If it is magnesium, your grindings will be more of a fine powder.

Just my $ .02

 

[eunos]

Lots of kwackers have their covers welded due to kickstart spring coming off during assembly and jamming in the case joint.everyone I know including me has welded the case with no problems. If you get distortion, buy gasket paper from auto shop & cut your own.

 

[Hucker]

Ol'89r

Thanks for the reply, you helped me to figure out what the cover was made of. Its aluminum for sure, I remember sanding it down with 1000/2000 grit sandpaper during my rebuild to make it chrome like. The stator cover on the other hadn IS magnesium as it says right on it. TIG is definetly my best bet for fixing the prob. I was also told to try something called FB Weld? Something like that, I"m not to sure, I guess its like a epoxy or something. I might give that a try first to see if it holds up. If not I"ll go bug my buddy's uncle at work for him to TIG it up for me.

Thanks for the help, you got my mind working the proper way for once :)

 

[biglou]

Hucker-That's "JB Weld". It is an epoxy sealant/glue that has worked miracles for some in the past. Just ask Papakeith! I think it may be just the thing for this case. :)

 

[Hucker]

Thats it, JB Weld. I'll drop by the local hardware shop and pick some up today....

Thanks guys..