welding cast aluminum block

[vanci]

i have a early 70's aluminum block from a snowmobile. i have no idea what type of Al is used for casting. and i have to weld some stock on the block. i am going use the GTAW process. any helpful tips on what type of aluminum is used for casting or what typr of filler to use would be helpful

 

[MaxRaceSoftware]

i wonder where all the old beer cans and pop cans go ??

just kidding !!!

take the block to an aluminum welder expert , because you going to have to pre-heat in oven correctly before you weld
on it ...and you need an opinion as to the heat treat , alloy, a good guess on impurities in block's aluminum , also check if any kind of "sealing" process the block might have had applied to aluminum at factory for porosity ??

somewhere around # 5356 filler rods ??? ask Dart or Brodix , others about what they would use !!

might have to re-heat treat block ..depends upon where and amount of welding ....the early 1970's stuff had bunch of impurities !
Larry Meaux (meauxracing@mindspring.com)
Meaux Racing Heads
MaxRace Software
ET_Analyst for DragRacers

http://www.mindspring.com/~meauxracing/

 

[NickB]

Larry, what DON'T you know? lol

I've found most sand cast aluminum used for engines can be welded with the same rod used for 6061-T6 extruded aluminum. I don't know the rod # off hand, since they only have one type at the shop where i do my welding, and it's always done a good job. They do 6061-T6 tubing and structural shapes exclusively, and i'm assuming they're using the right rod for it.

I wouldn't have even though about heat treating..... It'd be a good idea if a lot of welding is done. The block may distort, and would need to be remachined if it does.

 

ok i have a yamaha warrior. i need to weld on a piece of my engine. im pretty sure its aluminum. is this hard to do? if i need to how much will it cost if someone does it for me?