Audi sump repair

[doubleboost]

5-minute job that lasted all morning

 

[Kayos]

So about right for a 5 minute job?

 

[123hotchef]

how did that break

 

[Ashley Burton]

Drilling that crack looks a painfully slow experience!

 

[123hotchef]

they are only ali

 

[Richard.]

done Loads of them sorts of jobs. Not much fun.
I do exactly the same on right through cracks and drill em out with a series of holes small drill bit. Works very well.
Didn’t see a pic of the finished job

 

[Kayos]

Why do you drill it? I’m guessing so you can fill it with weld rather than have a blob on top?

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Why do you drill it? I’m guessing so you can fill it with weld rather than have a blob on top?

Bolt hoLe for mounting?

Look at the first pic. Crack formed from the bolt hole.

Edit. Ah stitch drilling the crack.

 

[doubleboost]

 

[Richard.]

Why do you drill it? I’m guessing so you can fill it with weld rather than have a blob on top?

You need a prep and you need to get to the clean Alu. You shouldn’t use abrasives like cutting/grinding as it creates problems with smearing contaminates into the parent. By drilling right through you create a track for a full pen weld and you eliminate that crack altogether.

 

[Richard.]

View attachment 137638 View attachment 137639

Wonderful job. How did it behave with the welding

 

[doubleboost]

Wonderful job. How did it behave with the welding

Medium grade excrement
Be a bit video tomorrow

 

[daleyd]

Could it be done with a plasma cutter rather than a drill? I’m guessing it might leave too rough a finish or be too ragged?

 

[Richard.]

Could it be done with a plasma cutter rather than a drill? I’m guessing it might leave too rough a finish or be too ragged?

Plasma edges weld awful
They’d need dressing up afterwards.

 

[zeppelin builder]

would have welded better with 0A
so much zinc in these die cast parts makes it literaly impossible to tig it
zinc solder wonder rod might been easier too only it might weep oil .i used it once to weld in a machined boss into a bandit clutch case looked great and no distortion however when i dypen checked it the actual joint was porous all over had to run epoxy in when hot to seal it

 

[Richard.]

literaly impossible to tig it

Different yes but far from impossible. I’ve welded hundreds of these things. All different in the way they behave. Some have flowed beautifully some have been a fight from start to finish.
Zinc, lead, copper and loads of other rubbish go into these things to make them a pita to weld. I’ve always done them with tig. It’s good for locally burning out any crap in the casting.

 

[dannyp]

on sumps i burn the area with gas, dig the crack out with the grinder and mig weld it, they get 1 chance. they ether weld or get skiped

 

[Richard.]

on sumps i burn the area with gas, dig the crack out with the grinder and mig weld it, they get 1 chance. they ether weld or get skiped

Alu or steel.

 

[dannyp]

ali ones , steel ones rarely need welding or if theve been wacked hard enough to leack there probaly that distorted that getting them to seal when refitting just isnt worth the time

 

[anto44]

Nice job. Very tidy repair. I do a lot of sumps and car stuff like this. As oil soaked aluminum castings go, vag sumps tend to be not the worst to weld.