• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Cracked Alternator Cover, how should I fix it? (GS1000)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
daveo said:
I think that using a (any) Stainless brush was important, probably something to do with not leaving a ferrous residue behind,as well as opening the grain, but I'm not exactly for sure
Click to expand...

I will keep my eyes peeled for a stainless steel wire brush, but if I don't find one if and when I need one I think I can probably get around the problem by roughing up the surface (with a regular wirebrush) and then using rubbing alcohol to get all the residue off the work area. Obviously I'll have to wait extra long before applying the torch or this might happen -- :oops: (and the red face won't come from embarassment!)

Anyway, thanks again for the pointers!
 
DO NOT USE A CARBON STEEL WIRE BRUSH!!! You will contaminate the parent metal with steel particles and neither alcohol or anything else can fix it. This will probably cause the magic sticks not to grab (note dave used steel to form up his repair for this exact reason). It will also INEVITABLY cause galvanic corrosion due to disimilar metals being in intimate contact with each other. You can get a small stainless steel brush at Harbor Freight or any welding supply house for about $1-2. Don't attempt to use anything else on aluminum for ANY reason. Scotchbrite works well, but it isn't abrasive enough for this application.
 
Mike C. said:
DO NOT USE A CARBON STEEL WIRE BRUSH!!! You will contaminate the parent metal with steel particles and neither alcohol or anything else can fix it. This will probably cause the magic sticks not to grab (note dave used steel to form up his repair for this exact reason). It will also INEVITABLY cause galvanic corrosion due to disimilar metals being in intimate contact with each other. You can get a small stainless steel brush at Harbor Freight or any welding supply house for about $1-2. Don't attempt to use anything else on aluminum for ANY reason. Scotchbrite works well, but it isn't abrasive enough for this application.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads-up Mike! As it turns out, there's a Harbor Freight ten minutes from my home so I'll pick one up there.

Regards,
Steve 8)
 
TheGeneral said:
i went and bought the other one I found for $50.00 CDN. The guy gave me a break on the price.

I examined and it looks as though it'll be fine. It does have some roadrash, but when I sell the bike next year, or whenever, I'll at least be able to exlain what happened, instead of showing a crappy weld.

Is there anything I should know before installing the new cover?

Thanks for all teh advice guys!
Click to expand...

You asked a few posts ago if you should install a new gasket, and I didn't see anyone reply... Yes, you should. You can never take old pieces of metal apart and use an old gasket (even if it doesn't break) and expect it not to leak.
 
Good call lehrin. The gasket should indeed be new, or you might use black RTV, if you think you will put another better cover on soon. Just make sure to clean the mating surfaces spotlessly (stainless brush again), and wipe them with laquer thinner or alcohol to remove all oil residue. If you use RTV, don't tighten the bolts completely. Run them down in a criss-crossing "star" pattern using only your fingers until the RTV just starts to mash out equally. Wait overnight and then torque to specs. Otherwise, you squeeze all the RTV out and cause leaks.

The stainless brush thing was something I learned from the airplane restoration guys. Another big NO-NO is marking aluminum with a pencil. The graphite will cause corrosion, too. My favorite aluminum marker is a Sharpie or other permanent marker (a big "El Marko" is handy in the machine shop as a really fast version of Dykem layout fluid, no waiting and no mess). Don't scribe with a steel scribe, use carbide. Lastly, don't scribe Alclad at all. Alclad is an alloy that is covered on either side with a thin layer of pure aluminum. The pure aluminum is VERY corrosion resistant, so it protects the inner alloy (usually a high-strength copper alloy, which is far more susceptible to corrosion). Scribing it cuts the protective covering and exposes the less corrosion-resistant alloy underneath. Markers only on that stuff. I only mention this in case anybody decides to make some brackets or such out of scrap aircraft aluminum.
 
Alumalloy sounds like a pretty good product. I think it might be good for me to get some, as there were times I couldn't do anything with JB weld or find a good cheap replacement part. It sounds like it would have been just the thing when I was fixing a master cylinder leak a while back. JB weld doesn't stand up to brake fluid that well.

Thanks for the info.

Mike
 
mdole said:
I've had good luck using JB Weld. I fixed a crack in the clutch cove on my Sabre when I first got it with JB Weld and it help for 6 years and 89000 miles with out any problems.

When using it I clean the surface up really good then lightly sand the surfaces to rough them up. I put a heavy application on the inside of the cover and let it set up for about 48 hours then took a grinding stone on a dremel tool and shaped it. On the outside just because the crack showed so bad with missing metal chips making it look really bad a filled it with a light application of JB Weld let it set up and then sanded it down to match the surface of the clutch cover. It didn't look bad at all for the final repair.

Mike
Click to expand...

Don't trash it JB Weld it. Stuff is wonderful.
 
Since this thread was just resurrected from the dead, I thought I'd update you on the material you SHOULD use if you go this route ... Alumalloy and similar "first generation" products tend to be difficult to work with, BUT HTS-2000 is a second generation version of the rod that is MUCH more forgiving and superior for repairing aluminum. Check out THEIR website for more info and a video showing various different repairs.

www.aluminumrepair.com

Regards,
 
For the alternator cover, of a GS1000, I'd recommend removing it and taking out the stator (fairly easy job). You said it's cracked and that'd be easily TIG welded at your local welding shop. The main thing about this sort of repair (and really, many other solutions) is to ensure the gasket sealing surface is also true afterwards.

Tip here......If you don't have a new or suitable gasket......DON'T use silicone sealant here but DO use Anaerobic sealer such as Permatex 51817.
 
I bought some of the alumalloy rods probably ten years ago and tried them.
I could get a decent looking repair, but I couldnt get a decent bond. One sharp rap and the weld seam would crack, a few more and the 'weld" lump would pop loose in my hands. I gave up with the stuff and went back to using J.B. Weld.

Earl


Planecrazy said:
I bought a product years ago called alumalloy, which claimed to be stronger than aluminum with a lower melting point so you could work it with a regular torch. I never tried it for an application like this, but according to the ads it would be perfect.

Assuming you don't have a gaping hole in your cover you would heat up the inside with a torch and then apply the alumalloy like solder until it pooled up and filled the crack while bonding to the aluminum. Then you grind down the excess and you have a "stronger than original repair," according to the ad.

The ads actually showed the product being used to recast broken mounting tabs on alternators and stuff like that. The results looked impressive. Has anyone else used this stuff, and if so what were the results. We originally purchased it to do some aluminum repairs on our boat, but never got around to it and eventually got rid of the boat. I still have the alumalloy.

Let me know if you want to buy a few rods from me (they are similar in length to welding rods) ... I'd be interested to know how it works out, and the cost would be five to ten bucks (as I recall the original bundle of rods was fifty bucks back in the day...

Good Luck!
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top