Hitchcocks Forum

Can anybody offer some ideas or help please.
I have a RE diesel so the inner primary chaincase has been modified/welded to fit my Hatz diesel engine.
I noticed a small seep of ATF from the above inner cover. On inspection there seems to be a 4 inch hairline crack running from rear to front at the base of the chaincase.
As the team who built this bike at Charnwoods are long gone (it was the days of Jim and Rose D'Arcy) I can no longer find any of them who may be able to crteate a replacement.
So options are find a welder who could deal with it but if it gets desrtoyed I am truly stuck.
Suggestions so far are to use JB weld paste inside or Plastic Padding Chemical metal.
This is just a thought could I run the clutch dry with the odd spray of ATF or does the clutch need to be wet ?
Thinking with all the RE riders on the road somebody must have come across this problem so hope someone may have a solution.
I am situated in Sittingbourne, Kent if any offers of repair are available locally.
Thanks Nick

Lumiweld is another option. It's a low temperature aluminium solder, you can do it with a blowlamp.



Practice on some scrap first 'till you get the hang of it.

A normal clutch would need to be wet but you can buy a dry clutch. They are not cheap.

Hi NICK-------- any chance of a photo please ?........From the sound of it a good Tig. Weder should be able to deal with that..

... or JB Weld. I have used to make a new half flange for a timing chain tensioner on my SR125 egine and 30000 miles later still doing the job. A good degrease and scrape out the crack should work>?

How different can it be from the conversions Pricepart do?

The TIG idea is a good one too IMHO.

Andy

JB Weld Original not quick set stuff is the canines appendages. Too many times dropping tank on rocker box cap nuts when refitting eventuslly bust a hole. A temporary repair with JB Weld on a Tennessee campground has now lasted 7 years.

the culprit was seen to be an oversize cap nut that the campground owner "adjusted" with an angle grinder !
So I might suggest cleaning & scuffing the inside of the case & covering the crack with a bead of the JB stuff, leave it for 24 or more hours to fully cure.

Aluminium welding has moved on apace since I made a silly mistake when riding a Greeves 250 some 50 years ago and forgot about a hump back bridge when riding at night and went airborne for a considerable distance. When the bike finally landed the only damage apart from to my underwear was a crack which ran all the way across the gearbox casing including two bearing housings.
That crack was welded by Ralph Seymour of Velocette fame and never caused any further problems.

With modern aluminium welding techniques you should not have any problems getting it welded. If you deliver a completely stripped down component is should not cost much either.

Hi Guys--------although in this case I have advocated TiG Welding ( Because it's an actual Welding process wherein the two parent metals are melted and joined to become one whilst the filler rod is added to make-up the full bead..)

I have also used JB Weld on appropriate occasions where Oxy-acetylene heat cannot be used........One such incident is shown here...My main hobby is Repairing / Restoring and re-commissioning 5"gauge live steam locomotives....This is the cab end of a 5" gauge Ex-G W R 38xx class freight engine with a 2-8-0 wheel notion......I bought it a few months ago as a non-runner and over its' 30 year existence some "Mechanic" has hacked a big chunk of the drag beam out and fitted a totally unnecessary water valve... That valve is now history and over the last 3 or 4 weeks I've been gradually building a replacement filling......It's good stuff and does exactly what it says on the tin.. BUT}---- it is NOT A WELDING process, but more like a SUPER filling paste that sets as hard as steel and can be filed, machined, drilled, tapped ( I've gone down as far as 8BA )........

Many thanks to all who replied written and photos.
Alan R sorry no photos case still on bike.JB weld has been muted as a solution and would be easier.
Andy M will contact Priceparts for any ideas.
Again many thanks
Nick

As above, a lot can be done by a competant welder. I have seen someone weld the skirt back onto a Brough Superior piston, x-ray the weld the check it had penetration then turn it back down on a lathe.



Lumiweld shouldn't be overlooked either. It's what Allen Millyard uses to join bandsawed crankcases together with when he makes those insane multi-cylinder 2-strokes.