Welding VW Cases...

[LNGXDRM]

Question....

Does anyone have any expierence welding VW engine cases? I belive it's aluminium and magnesium. If I were going to tig it what kind of rod would I use? All Mag?

Thanks and happy Thanksgiving!

[sunpeople]

I have never welded a VW case but you will need to clean it very well, because as soon as you put the torch to it the heat will start to draw all of the oil out of the pour in the case.

The best thing to do is split the cases and that them to a auto machine shop and have them "hot tank" clean them. That should remove all of the oil on the outside of the case and get rid of most of the oil hiding in the pours.

As for what rod to use i am not sure but someone here will write in with the right info. Just remember take your time and prep your weld spot on the case before you start and "CLEAN IT WELL" and it should work well.

[Bob]

Maybe not a good idea ??

I would worry a lot about warping the case. Maybe if it is cracked, it is already warped. Pistons, crank and that stuff really, really do need to be aligned. That all depends on the case.

Brand new case is about $700 to $800. Once you put in the work to pull it and dismantle it do you really want second thoughts about all that work being wasted.

Bob

ps. I am just finishing a piston, cylinder, clutch job on my '73 Super Beetle. I really don't want to do this again.

[TozziWelding]

I would heat it with the torch till the smoke is gone, grind, acetone, weld 5356. If you have crap in the weld, grind, acetone, repeat. I would do it with out thinking twice

[B_C]

I would heat it with the torch till the smoke is gone, grind, acetone, weld 5356. If you have crap in the weld, grind, acetone, repeat. I would do it with out thinking twice

That would be a huge mistake since earlier VWs Cases are MAG and can't be welded with aluminum filler.....Check with dealer first.

[Aeroweld]

I've done some welding on VW cases. I've got a customer that builds racing engines and every once in a while he will bring one by for some mods. Frankly I dis-remember if they were aluminum or Magnesium....it's been a couple of years since I did one for him.
If it was aluminum I used 4043 and if magnesium it would have been with AZ61A as that is the magnesium filler I have in stock. AZ92A might have been a better filler as it is more of a "General Purpose" alloy for welding unknown alloys and joining dis-similer alloys of magnesium.
Have to disagree with Tozzi on 5356 for cast aluminum. 4043 is always the first choice for cast aluminum

[hotrodder]

Assuming we're talking about old aircooled VW cases most but not all were mag. Type 4's were aluminium, type 1, 2 and 3's were cast from mag, the later ones from AS41 which contained a bit more Al (around 4%) than the earlier AS21 alloy which was around 2% + tiny amount of Si, Mn, + Zn

AZ61A is all i've used in the past, not sure but i think it's a better match AZ92A. Mag filler is STUPIDLY expensive- you might want to be sitting down when getting a price!!

Where's it cracked, the back of the case adajacent to No3 cylinder by any chance?

[TozziWelding]

That would be a huge mistake since earlier VWs Cases are MAG and can't be welded with aluminum filler.....Check with dealer first.

Good to know, I still woulda tried it, I ain't skeered

[LNGXDRM]

Thanks for the responses....

It is magnesium and it's a engine that goes into a baja race car. It's not cracked but I need to build up the area around #3 cyl to prevent it from cracking. I've done it before a long time ago but I just can't remember what rod I was using.

[Aeroweld]

Assuming we're talking about old aircooled VW cases most but not all were mag. Type 4's were aluminium, type 1, 2 and 3's were cast from mag, the later ones from AS41 which contained a bit more Al (around 4%) than the earlier AS21 alloy which was around 2% + tiny amount of Si, Mn, + Zn

AZ61A is all i've used in the past, not sure but i think it's a better match AZ92A. Mag filler is STUPIDLY expensive- you might want to be sitting down when getting a price!!

Where's it cracked, the back of the case adajacent to No3 cylinder by any chance?

Stupidly expensive about covers it. Had a customer that wanted me to do some Mag that required AZ92A. Called for a price on rod and it was in the $110.00/lb range. No not a typo...$110.00/lb. That was about a year and a half ago.

[B_C]

Think that's bad?
I just did a Titanium job and the filler was 225.00 a pound....and customers can't believe it...

[hotrodder]

Thats odd, ERTi 2 was cheaper than mag filler (i'm in the UK) last time i needed some

LNGXDRM,
I may well be out of touch but i thought the practice of filling the relief by #3 as a precaution was pretty much discontinued. IIRC VW started casting them 'prefilled' with the fuel injected cases for a while before reverting back to the old design? I thought that 'Deep seating' the adjacent head stud had taken over as the way to go for most applications although these days a lot of people are using aftermarket aluminium cases

[B_C]

ERTi-6AL-4V
The Welding Warehouse, Commerse, CA
Good place for exotic fillers

[FusionKing]

The mag filler I have has been here so long I could not tell you what it is but I have welded VW cases with it at the customers house on his buggy still in the chassis and it did a fine job.
It cost me $75# back around '98 or so.

[Tux_Rules]

Stupidly expensive about covers it. Had a customer that wanted me to do some Mag that required AZ92A. Called for a price on rod and it was in the $110.00/lb range. No not a typo...$110.00/lb. That was about a year and a half ago.

I found this:

https://weldingsupply.securesites.com/cgi-bin/spider.pl?AZ92T60|new||700

Looks like $49.45/lb, if it's the same thing (3lbs for $148.35)

https://weldingsupply.securesites.com/cgi-bin/einstein.pl?PNUM::1:UNDEF:OR:AZ92T60