Welding Repair of VW Engine blocks

[Michael Edick]

Not sure if this post should be here, or elsewhere, but:
Is it possible to do a TIG welding repair on a VW Brazil engine case, or is the alloy that's used such a red-headed step child that nothing out there will work, 'cept a splash of JB weld and a prayer?
Thanks!!!

[graham bahr]

i have had large cracks in alloy V8 merc blocks successfully welded, so i dont see why it cant be done, but heat is a real drwback a lot of heat needs to be pumped into something as large as a block to weld it, so there a strong chance it will be somewhat distorted afterwards and will probably need lineboring.

in the case of the merc i couldn't get another block without paying stupid money £5000 from memory so it was worth the risk, te block did distort a little but was reusable, it has to be born in mind the VW crankcase is a lot more flimsy in the first place.

as you would need to strip it down to a bare crank case to get it welded i think i would just get another crankcase, either a new one and assemble the motor into that or just put another motor in full stop.

[Chris Y]

What about something like Lumiweld? Would that work?

[Al Weyman]

Never had much luck with all these magic mixtures meself and I used to trade cars and did get stuffed on occassions, for racing I think it will let you down. Another method is to have the block stitched which is basically two holes drilled each side of the crack and between the holes a slot narrower than the holes machined out and a metal stitch whacked in (it looks a bit like a keyhole slot but on both ends) which does not involve heat but again how reliable is it going to be in a race car.

[tzei]

German VW parts (block & tranny) have a lot of Mg in them so welding might turn out to be very enlightinig experience? Dunno about Brasilian alloy... take caution...

[Michael Edick]

thank you all for your feedback...it turns out that my friend's FV block is leaking at the oil fitting, so he wants to weld an Aluminum fitting to the case.

I've welded on a lot of items that have gone up on the space shuttle, along with cruise missles, and A-10 Warthogs, headers for the Star Mazda Pro car, and Huffaker Trans-Am cars, but I have never run into this issue!

I'm thinking of welding up the crack the best way possible with mag rod, throw in some sealant on the pipe fitting, and keep an eye on it...

[knighty]

be real careful doing this - as stated above both the beetle and engine and gearbox casings are quite soft as they have a very high magnesium content....its not normal aluminium.....the idiots at VW shows actually throw then on camp fires at night, and they light up the sky.....go to a speciatist who has done it before......I think it might need to be done in a inert gas chamber.......Devcon is great stuff if you feel you could get away with it.......do a web search for John Maher racing - he will be able to help you for sure

[tassuperkart]

Why would you bother?
VW cases are so cheap, even brand new its not worth the headache.
L8tr
E

[Michael Edick]

Originally Posted by tassuperkart

Why would you bother?
VW cases are so cheap, even brand new its not worth the headache.
L8tr
E

We're talking Formula Vee Racers here! They can squeeze pennies so tight they can make them cry!

[tassuperkart]

Originally Posted by Michael Edick

We're talking Formula Vee Racers here! They can squeeze pennies so tight they can make them cry!

hhehehehe Ur right Mike.

Im a dedicated F-Vee race so I can feel the pain!!!
L8tr
E

[norman-normal]

I've had many of them welded for customers, no problems, no come-backs. (TIG)

[Michael Edick]

success!
a little grinding and cleaning, a little mag rod applied via TIG on AC, with a really low setting on the wave balance (I have a Miller Syncrowave machine), and she welded like a dream. I could tell there was some foreign substance (zinc?) in the block by the color of the arc, but by keeping the AC balance on the machine turned way down it seemed to help...