Cast iron repair?

[Arc weld]

I thought about epoxy too. I'm pretty sure it's cast iron. I don't think cast steel would pull apart like that. I'd much prefer if the threads had just stripped. I don't think the bolt bottom out. I'm not going back to look at it today but I think the part that pulled off, while still threaded on the bolt, is loose. By loose I mean the bolt with the broken piece will turn while still on the oil cooler. You would think it would be sucked tight on the oil cooler unless it vibrated loose after it broke?

yomax4, your post didn't come up right away when I opened the thread but where I work we have some specialty rod that I think is 312 stainless based. It says it's for welding difficult to weld steel and unknown types of steel. It's called EZWELD ALS sold by FSH.

• Superstrength electrode for the welding of all high alloy steels, cast steel
and unknown steels,between themselves or for dissimilar assemblies
• Outstanding mechanical properties(120 000 PSI)
• Easy to use
• Corrosion, heat and oxidation resistant
• Machinable, crack-free deposit
• Can be used for build-up
Applications: Repair of chains,spring steel, axles,parts of ATV,
gear teeth and splines,wear plate,small farm machinery,
stainless steel, extracting bolts and studs, and
where there is a need for high
tensile strength
in the joint.

 

[Gaemes]

Just a thought from the new guy. If you gave a thought to being able to tap deeper, did you consider Heli-Coil? I have drilled and tapped for Heli-Coils in cast and they worked great.

 

[Arc weld]

Another guy who's familiar with my engine said not to drill it deeper because it go into something it shouldn't. I wish I could have installed a heli-coil.

 

[muddstopper]

Its hard to make repair suggestions without seeing what needs to be repaired. With that said, on something as important as the engine I wouldnt want to take short cuts. If it runs, load it up and take it to somebody with the proper equipment to fix it right the first time. If you cant take to a shop, find someone with a well equipped welding truck to go to the field and do the work. While epoxy might hold and be an easier fix, braze or welding would be more permanate.

 

[CliffordK]

Here is an interesting YouTube video that was posted here on tractorbynet.com not too long ago. I haven't tried it myself.

"No-PreHeat" Cast Iron Repair Technique

In the video, he suggests hitting your piece with an angle grinder. If it sparks, it is cast steel. If it doesn't, it is cast iron.

Even if you repair it, you may consider changing your mount to alleviate some of the strain on the repaired piece.

 

[Arc weld]

I am a welder but haven't done a lot of cast. The problem is the injection pump is about 8" above where it has to be repaired. Also it needs to be a good repair or I could lose all the oil and have a major repair bill. Taking it somewhere is a bit of a problem. It weighs about 22,000 lbs. and I don't have a truck to move it. I'm pretty sure it's cast iron and part of the block but I'm going to check with a Cat parts book. Nothing against Chucks video but anybody can make a video of welding cast. I was looking for suggestions from someone with experience that has had their repairs hold after being put back in service over a length of time.

 

[george md]

Arc weld,
You and I have had some of this discussion before, I sent you to the web site of one of the biggest and best cast iron repair shops in the
country. Your comment was a sales pitch for his plugs and wasn't really accurate.You know that I have very little use for any form of arc weld
on cast.I see that you are looking at a high tensile rod for repair WRONG , cast is normally 30 to 50,000 pounds tensile ,why would you want
120,000 weld ,when it cools and contracts it will pull the cast apart or pull away from the cast. There is no such thing as welding it and it
staying cool, the arc is several thousand degrees and so is the weld metal,and when it cools it has to shrink and there in lies your problem.
To weld that with arc , you will need the softest and most ductile material you can find ,and by the way nickel is about 90,000 tensile. I think
I would look for some arc weld bronze, I have used it on meonite ( sp) castings and it worked well , the other thought is fusible powder
torch with the most ductile powder, eutectics 10224 or 10225 ,I have had better luck with 10225 . It has more iron and the 224 has more
nickel.

If that turns out to be a piece that is removable , send it down and I'll O/A weld it . Also clean the gasket off better next time and it
won't break the ear off.

george

 

[jwmorris]

I would bet 100:1 its cast iron. Cast steel is for other parts, like drive line and you don't need to braze cast steel, just weld it like normal.

 

[Danno1]

I was looking for suggestions from someone with experience that has had their repairs hold after being put back in service over a length of time.

I've had exhaust manifolds brazed and stay together for long lengths of time. I was told by the weldor that did this that welding is the wrong process for such a fix.


.

 

[muddstopper]

With cast, preheat is as important as the welding material. I have seen engine blocks welded with mig and regular wire and the engine is still running today. Guy ran a mig in one hand and a o/a torch in the other with lots of taps with a ball pien hammer. I have tried tig on a cast iorn fruit press and made a mess of it. I have also brazed cast water pumps using O/A and as far as i know its still running for the last twenty years. The water pump was laid on top of a wood heater until it got hot and then brazed while setting on the heater and allowed to cool over night as the stove burnt out. I dont know if one of those mapp/butane/propane torches will get the cast hot enought to use as a preheater, but If that was all I could carry into the field, I would use it. Which makes me think, how about trying some silver solder. It doesnt need to get as hot as the brass I dont think, and it holds like heck.