cast iron welding review

[brcisna]

Hello All,

Wanted to share my experience in welding a cast iron transmission case.

I recently purchased an Mitsubishi compact tractor that the 'rear tansmission case' (rear end) was cracked,heavily. After getting the case scrubbed,up,,,long story short,the forks inside that lifts/lowers the 3 point hitch arms,,was slamming the inside of the case,and it finally gave out.

Purchsed some Lincoln Ferrowelds sticks ( 1/8th inch) from a local Farm store at a resonable price. With lots of prepping the various cracks in the corner of the case,veeing everything inside and outside,then running the weld,it turned out very well. This particular rod is not machinable,,but of course can be 4 inch grinder ground very easily.
I had another person actually do the welding that has had some cast iron experince as a sideline,and said this is by far the best/easiest rod to use with cast iron.

I now have a good transmission case,,that i simply could not find a replacement case for in captivity.
Hope this helps someone else,,maybe.

Take Care,
barry

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I would love to see some pics.
Bill

 

[brcisna]

Bill,

I will shoot some pics,when I get back out into the shop.
Just some very simple preheating,( play the torch on it a bit ),then throwing asbestos blankets over afterwards,,,(very crude) ,,, to slow cooling,,after welding,,and done!
this was done with just a consumer grade lincoln dc buzzbox!
The key was getting the case clamped up tight ( with some heavy wood framing clamps, and bar stock steel,,,,,)!
Poor people ,,have poor ways,,,

Barry

 

[Kernopelli]

Congratulations on the repair. Welding cast successfully can be a real challenge and I've always wondered in the back of my mind what I'd do if faced with a similar situation. I am a Mitsubishi owner currently and have owned "several" other models. Here at TBN we like pictures, so some pics of the welds would be great and I'd like to hear a little more general info on your tractor.

 

[BrianR]

Good job! In the past I have welded old Mopar V8 cast iron manifolds (exhaust) and had good success with them. Never tried something as large as what you have though.

 

[brcisna]

Hello All,

In regards to the pictures request of the cast iron weld job, I finally got some pictures taken. Bottom line the upper half of the rear transmission case was just about completely knocked out. I bought the tractor in this shape not knowing what really caused it to crack this way.
After scrubbing up the case I could finally put together what had actually caused this was the 'upper limit' slider control ( on the tractor fender) for your rear lift arms was unscrewed and slid all the way back,and thus the lift lever,was letting the inner lift arm cylinder to come back,and hammer on the rear of the rear transmission case. The case finally gave up the ghost,as I could see it had been hammering on the inside of the case for quite some time.
The pictures are not real clear but gives anyone an idea of a cast iron piece can in fact be welded pretty nicely. the blurry picture is the very corner that had a chunk knocked clear out,but found the piece and welded it right were it came out of .

Sorry for the images being sideways. they were Ok, until I uploaded to the image hosting website.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10605315@N07/6494244049/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10605315@N07/6494244059/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10605315@N07/6494244067/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10605315@N07/6494244035/



Take Care,
Barry

 

[yomax4]

I enjoy welding all types of cast irons and steels. May as well throw Aluminum in there too. Good job on yours..Looks great. My problem is that everyone brings me their crap and I fix it for free...I guess that's where the "enjoy" part comes from. :thumbsup:

 

[BrianR]

...My problem is that everyone brings me their crap and I fix it for free...I guess that's where the "enjoy" part comes from. :thumbsup:

I like to think of that as "free" R&D!!

No warranty expressed nor implied on "FREE" work.