Advanced Engineering Tech - Welding LS anuminum oil pan

WHo all has done it, and what did you use to weld it tig or spool gun? Any recomendations of what rod to use and any tips to welding it. I just bought a pan that has a hole in the front patt of the pan from the #2 rod lutting go and going through the pan. Thanks in advance guys!

KC

I think spool gun will be easier, but i've tigged them.

first thing you have to do is waste a couple cans of brakecleen on it. Stainless steel wire bush it hard (in and out). I actually hit mine with a S/S wheel on a angle grinder, took it down to look smooth on the outside. pre heated it with a propane torch, cleaned it with the wire wheel again and welded. I had to stop a few times and clean it again..it will pull any oil residue into the weld that it can find. More time you spend cleaning the easier it will weld. Its a pain in the A

Its a decent size hole to fix probably have to weld it in a couple of shots so it doesnt warp.
Any specific resons to use ss to clean the surface?

make sure you groove the crack out too. Cleanliness is your best friend. If you are using brake cleaner to clean it off, make sure you blow it dry first. The offgasses that brake clean gives off are very bad for your lungs.
I'd probably clamp down the pan to something flat and heat the whole thing up so it helps keep the warping down to a min.

Make sure you get all the brake clean off before welding. Shit can aparently kill you or damn near.

Do a little searching on that.

I think getting it all cleaned off is just a given since most of it is flammable. Any ways pan is on the way i will get some pic up of it and the finished porduct when i get it finished...

Nobody else got an answer to why to use stainless steel to clean it up?

Aluminum has to be very clean and you have to knock down the oxidation on it that starts to happen fast when exposed to air the stainless brush well keep from contaminating it when cleaning it has to be new or only used on aluminum also use acetone to clean and not brakeclean chlorinated brake clean will make a phosgene off gas from the arc and argon and will poison you i also like to run the tig torch on a lower setting passing over the weld area with out puddling a few times and cleaning with brush inbetween before i start welding it helps get all the impurites out ull see black crap come to top keep doing that till its pretty clean then start welding it up good luck

Use 5356 filler clean surface with stainless bruch and wipe with acetone. They make brake clean thats non chlorinated fyi just check the can. The fumes can cause kidney failure but u have to be exposed to it for awhile. So if u smell something funny stop and soak parts in acetone to draw out the chemicals. Stainless steel brush is harder and less likely to leave contaminates in metal unlike a regular steel brush. Just think a regular steel brush can rust and when cleaning material guess what ur jamming into the area u will be welding.

don't use brake cleaner, when it's burned in the presence of argon, it gives off phosgene gas, which is lethal as hell. acetone leaves no residue and cleans effectively.

Use acetone to clean the area, about two inches around the area to be welded. when you're done cleaning the oil off of it, clean it again. then use a wire brush/wire wheel to clean it off some more and then, you guessed it, more acetone on a CLEAN LINT FREE cloth. I would recommend cleaning out the crack/hole to be repaired as well. your goal here is to get the entire weld affected, and heat affected, zones free of EVERYTHING besides aluminum.

4043 Tig rod would be my choice for filler. the trick to aluminum is cleanliness. i've welded up my fair share of oily, cast pieces with zero issues after i repaired them. i've welded professionally for the last 9 years in just about every industry, not saying i'm "the" authority, but as long as you clean it thoroughly, you won't have any issues.

All good advice!

Well looks like my welder doesnt want to weld it with his spool gun. He says that welding the cast aluminum and not having the pieces to put back together will be very tricky. Any body got any input on this?

.090 or .120 aluminum sheet trim the hole up to be able to cut a patch out of the sheet and tig it upwith 4043 rod or search one out of a junkyard i know getting a used pan out of a junkyard is ussally tough because they like to keep the motors sealed up but you might try camaro heaven in nh or billygrhams camaro/firebird yard down south i think

I have a truck pan i can square the hole out in my fbody pan then cut what need out of the truck pan does this seam like a good idea? my welder doesnt want to do it too bad idk what his problem is he just doesnt want to weld two different types of material together...

Mine has a square patch over the hole kenny. Looks tig welded on. But my hole is not that big

I can stick my fist through the hole ill send you a pic in a minute...

Where are you located im in the boston area and could do it if your close. If theres any custom motorcycle or machine shops around they could probaley do it for you

He is in Nebraska

Ya not gonna lie boston is a bit of a stretch for me, but my Dad is supose to be buying a heliark welder this coming weekend so i will be able to weld it my self instead of having someone else pussy foot around with it...

tig welded mine when i cracked it. worked really nice. easy to do. I used a miller dynasty 200DX.

Here's an idea.

Clean area. Get a square piece of 1/4 inch aluminum from scrapyard, enough to cover hole. Then:
http://www.alumiweld.com/

http://www.alumiweld.com/faq.html

Available at Harborfreight (online too)
http://www.harborfreight.com/pack-of-8-alumiweld-aluminum-welding-rods-44810.html
(Check out the reviews there. Don't take my word.)


You can search Youtube for some beginner videos on how to use it. It's actually a pretty good product. It' doesn't actually do a weld, but more like a brazing or soldering. Hard as nails though and will NOT come off if done right.

Seal all 4 sides of "patch".

Just an option...

Good luck.

Might try the harbor freight stuff since its cheap. But for future referance try not to post non sponsor sites. Mods get pissy, casue a sponsor may have them.

Might try the harbor freight stuff since its cheap. But for future referance try not to post non sponsor sites. Mods get pissy, casue a sponsor may have them.

Ahhh, whoops, right, didnt think about that. Still pretty new on here. I can understand (Sponsor's point of view). Thanks for the tip. Appreciate it.

Good luck with the repair. Let us know how it all works out.