Aluminum crankcase welding help.

[Asphalt Sled Racer]

I could use some material/welding and filler rod advise with the project listed below;

The base material at hand is a OEM snowmobile crankcase. The case was tested with a Niton XLT [XRF analyzer] for its casting alloys. This is a permanent mold casting.

CrankCase alloys as tested; Al-94.4%, Cu-4.00%, Fe-.62%, Zn-.59%, Pb-.04%.

The scope of the project is to machine the top of the crankcase deck off and weld a profiled waterjet cut .750 thick aluminum plate to the machined surface. After welding the .750 thk. plate it will be machined [drill, tap, flycut and case bored] to accept the new cylinders.

The major questions are:
[1] What type of aluminum plate should be used to join to the crankcase?
[2] What type of filler material should be used to join the plate to case?

My thoughts on filler wire are 4145. I'm stumped on what type of aluminum plate to use. The best alloy match I could find is 2219 but I'm unsure about using that material. Also finding a supplier to buy the material in small quanities could be a problem. The pc. measures 15"x5"x.750 before cutting welding a machining. I have all the prep. and preheat covered before welding unless someone would like to add their thoughts.

Thanks in advance
Greg O.

[spotsineyes]

My thought that I would like to add is: Whatinahell are you making?! Whatever it is, your tease makes it sound pretty cool.

[aametalmaster]

How about 5052 or 6061 for the plate. It welds good and is pretty close to the metal you have. Just my thought...Bob

http://www.speedymetals.com/information/material22.html

http://www.speedymetals.com/information/material6.html

[Aerometalworker]

I could use some material/welding and filler rod advise with the project listed below;

The base material at hand is a OEM snowmobile crankcase. The case was tested with a Niton XLT [XRF analyzer] for its casting alloys. This is a permanent mold casting.

CrankCase alloys as tested; Al-94.4%, Cu-4.00%, Fe-.62%, Zn-.59%, Pb-.04%.

The scope of the project is to machine the top of the crankcase deck off and weld a profiled waterjet cut .750 thick aluminum plate to the machined surface. After welding the .750 thk. plate it will be machined [drill, tap, flycut and case bored] to accept the new cylinders.

The major questions are:
[1] What type of aluminum plate should be used to join to the crankcase?
[2] What type of filler material should be used to join the plate to case?

My thoughts on filler wire are 4145. I'm stumped on what type of aluminum plate to use. The best alloy match I could find is 2219 but I'm unsure about using that material. Also finding a supplier to buy the material in small quanities could be a problem. The pc. measures 15"x5"x.750 before cutting welding a machining. I have all the prep. and preheat covered before welding unless someone would like to add their thoughts.

Thanks in advance
Greg O.

Greg,
I think your on the right track! Since your alloy has 4% copper then 4145 would be my filler choice as well. Are you sure there is 0 silicon content? Have you considered 2024 for the plate material? 2219 I feel would be a good choice as well depending on the silicon content of the casting. Do you plan to heat treat when finished?
-Aaron

[allessence]

Sounds to me like someone is making a stroker. Are you going with bigger bore and longer stroke?

[Asphalt Sled Racer]

Greg,
I think your on the right track! Since your alloy has 4% copper then 4145 would be my filler choice as well. Are you sure there is 0 silicon content? Have you considered 2024 for the plate material? 2219 I feel would be a good choice as well depending on the silicon content of the casting. Do you plan to heat treat when finished?
-Aaron

The Niton analyzer will only recgonize metallic particles. I’m debating if I should have a chemical test performed on a pc. of the case to identify silicon content. I’m sure there is a fair amount of silicon in the casting. [My best guess is the case is Casting alloy 208.0 ] I’m not sure of heat treat at this time.
I was also looking at plate material by Vista Metals named Duramold-2. This is a cast plate of the 2xxx series. Vista recommends using filler rod # 2319 when welding Duramold-2. I was also kicking around MIC-6 cast plate but the Niton test showed well over 5% Zinc.

Any and all help welcome. If I don't do this right and the welded deck plate fails during Dyno testing I'm out alot of expensive parts.

[Aerometalworker]

Greg,
I think your on the right track! Since your alloy has 4% copper then 4145 would be my filler choice as well. Are you sure there is 0 silicon content? Have you considered 2024 for the plate material? 2219 I feel would be a good choice as well depending on the silicon content of the casting. Do you plan to heat treat when finished?
-Aaron

The Niton analyzer will only recgonize metallic particles. I’m debating if I should have a chemical test performed on a pc. of the case to identify silicon content. I’m sure there is a fair amount of silicon in the casting. [My best guess is the case is Casting alloy 208.0 ] I’m not sure of heat treat at this time.
I was also looking at plate material by Vista Metals named Duramold-2. This is a cast plate of the 2xxx series. Vista recommends using filler rod # 2319 when welding Duramold-2. I was also kicking around MIC-6 cast plate but the Niton test showed well over 5% Zinc.

Any and all help welcome. If I don't do this right and the welded deck plate fails during Dyno testing I'm out alot of expensive parts.

Got a piece you can send me to "burn" for you? Then there will be no question. I can also ask our resident aluminum casting expert what he would suggest once we know the alloy.
-Aaron

[Asphalt Sled Racer]

Yes, Tell me the size and where to send it.

email at [email protected]

Thanks

[Asphalt Sled Racer]

I am 99% sure the casting alloy used to mfg. the case is Alloy 319.0. The best match for the cylinder deck plate is Alloy 2219, I have priced the plate material and was sticker shocked @ 240.00 for a pc. 1”x6”x 16”. Recommended filler alloy used to weld 319.0 to 2219 is either 2319 or 4145.

My next question is, what other aluminum plate alloy could be used in place of 2219? "aametalmaster" suggested 5052 or 6061, I'm concerned about "hot short" cracking if the wrong alloy is used.

Maybe there are other options for 2219 plate suppliers. So far I’ve contacted Mandel Metals and Pacific Alloys for pricing.

Also, Thanks to Aaron “Aerometalworker” for all his help online and offline.