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Rough cost for aluminium welding
Slimy38 - 4/1/15 at 06:09 PM

Can anyone suggest how much it might cost to weld in the sunken letters on an MX5 cam cover? It wouldn't need to be cleaned up as I'd be looking at polishing the whole cover anyway, but it would need to be welded due to the temperature changes (filler would last a few minutes at most).


teegray19 - 4/1/15 at 06:24 PM

Hi, if you wanted to post it up to us we have TIG facilities and would return for a small amount and the postage.

Drop me a u2u if you want to discuss further. Cheers


luke2152 - 4/1/15 at 06:49 PM

the 1.8 covers have raised letters and you could just grind them off. I think they fit the 1.6


PorkChop - 4/1/15 at 06:59 PM

quote:
Originally posted by luke2152
the 1.8 covers have raised letters and you could just grind them off. I think they fit the 1.6


No they don't. The 1.8 block is longer than the 1.6.

I know of someone a bit closer to home that might be willing to do the welding job, but don't know how much they would charge.

[Edited on 4/1/15 by PorkChop]


luke2152 - 4/1/15 at 07:03 PM

quote:
Originally posted by PorkChop
quote:
Originally posted by luke2152
the 1.8 covers have raised letters and you could just grind them off. I think they fit the 1.6


No they don't. The 1.8 block is longer than the 1.6.

I know of someone a bit closer to home that might be willing to do the welding job, but don't know how much they would charge.

[Edited on 4/1/15 by PorkChop]


OK my bad. Sounds like a good excuse for a 1.8 swap


snakebelly - 4/1/15 at 09:36 PM

I can recommend a mate in Shrewsbury pm me if you want details


02GF74 - 4/1/15 at 10:55 PM

Lumiweld? Place cover on gas hob and withe additional heat from a blow torch, you may get the cover hot enough to melt the "solder".

Note that it is different colour but if you are painting, it wont matter.


ashg - 5/1/15 at 06:36 AM

It's all well and good welding it but then it's going to warp a bit from the welding so factor in skimming it flat again so you don't have constant oil leaks.

I would say £40-50 to weld it then £30-40 to skim the oil seal serface flat again.


FASTdan - 5/1/15 at 11:26 AM

quote:
Originally posted by ashg
It's all well and good welding it but then it's going to warp a bit from the welding so factor in skimming it flat again so you don't have constant oil leaks.

I would say £40-50 to weld it then £30-40 to skim the oil seal serface flat again.


I'd be very surprised if blobbing in a few letters caused any significant distortion in a cam cover.


mark chandler - 5/1/15 at 02:09 PM

Screw it down to a bit of plywood before welding and it should be okay.

Do not underestimate the strength of a decent epoxy resin, mix up some araldite with ali fillings, fill, sand flat and hit with some black crackle paint.


Slimy38 - 5/1/15 at 03:08 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
Screw it down to a bit of plywood before welding and it should be okay.

Do not underestimate the strength of a decent epoxy resin, mix up some araldite with ali fillings, fill, sand flat and hit with some black crackle paint.


I'm more concerned about the hot and cold cycles, I'd almost prefer to leave the letters alone than have a cracked outline after 500 miles. Would Araldite be able to tolerate it?


mark chandler - 5/1/15 at 07:09 PM

It's pretty tough stuff, dave vizard used it to build up ports on pinto heads in his book so should be okay.

I have used JB weld, same stuff really to block the noise ports on my supercharger and it's been fine for a couple of years.

If you cut some bits of ali that are a good fit then glue them in, smooth and paint, if properly prepared it should last well.


snakebelly - 5/1/15 at 07:22 PM

Loctite 3450 would probably do the job fine.
HTH


ashg - 6/1/15 at 01:55 AM

I used jb weld to make a cam sensor that sits under the cam cover covered in hot oil. Hasn't failed in over 4 years so must be fine. Surface prep is the key.


richardm6994 - 6/1/15 at 01:20 PM

I've just done some welding on a MX5 cam cover......and a few weeks ago I also did some machining on a different MX5 cam cover.

Both covers shared the same likeness......the cast ali is very poor quality, very porous and paper thin in many areas......welding a breather outlet was hard enough so I wouldn't fancy the task of welding over the sunken letters....full credit to anyone who undertakes this work

IMHO, do what others have said....use liquid metal filler. JB weld is great stuff.


Slimy38 - 6/1/15 at 01:30 PM

quote:
Originally posted by richardm6994
I've just done some welding on a MX5 cam cover......and a few weeks ago I also did some machining on a different MX5 cam cover.

Both covers shared the same likeness......the cast ali is very poor quality, very porous and paper thin in many areas......welding a breather outlet was hard enough so I wouldn't fancy the task of welding over the sunken letters....full credit to anyone who undertakes this work

IMHO, do what others have said....use liquid metal filler. JB weld is great stuff.


That's really appreciated, thanks. I didn't even consider the quality of the cam cover itself.