welding transaxle

I'm about to take a leap of faith but before i commit has anyone ever tried welding to the case of an audi transaxle? I am doing an experiment but if it fails i am out $200 and a tranny, if it works i will post in the diy section.

Welding aluminum is an art.
Hope you know what you're doing!

MikeD

I havent a clue, instead i have a friend of a friend who builds aluminum boats who will do the welding, he doesnt think there will be a problem but wasnt too sure what effect the tranny having been full of oil all its life was going to have on welding, thinking that maybe the oil would be in the pores of the aluminum.

I worked in a shop that welded a lot of Aluminum. I was an Electrician/ electronics tech and serviced the welding machines and was around when they were in use. The parts were preheated in an oven, wraped in a heat retaining blanket while the needed portion was welded and then returned to the oven to cool at a slow rate. Even with all these precautions, most of the time the parts had to be remachined. All oil was removed from the parts in a powerful heated degreasing tank and then also ran thru a sonic cleaner.Good luck in your endeavor.
VIC

Eric,

Victor is 200% correct. If you are trying to repair a cracked housing, DON'T! You'll have a lot more than $200 in the job by the time it's done properly. No offense to your boat welding buddy, but welding cast aluminum is a whole different ballgame. There are shops that specifically weld cracked gearboxes, uprights, etc. Try pricing the job and getting some advice from a pro before you take the big leap yourself.

Bill

DON'T DO IT ERIC!!!!!

Eric,

Did you do the weld? It would be interesting if it works.

Have fun!

John

im going to try it on the scrap bits left over from the mill work first. if all looks good i will build a jig to hold it all then down some liquid courage and make the commitment. if i do it i will let you know, probably within the next 2 weeks.

Hi to all

I have spent the last two months absorbed by the amount of information that is passed on this web site. The best I have ever seen. In due course I will put my story on this forum but suffice to say I was bitten by the GT40 bug some thirty years ago and it was only recently that it rekindled my love for the car.

I thought that I needed to put my two cents worth here. Welding of any nature creates distortation. If you can control the distortation then you do not have a problem such as with cyl heads. They can be sucessfully welded and straightened if necessary. However some components that is not so easy and welding should be used as the last solution. There is a product that is available to cold repair cracks or broken castings etc. It is called Lock-N-Stitch and is available from a company of the same name in Turlock CA USA. Gary Reed is the guy to speak to. He is brillant and knowlegde second to none on repairs of castings wether it be welding or cold repair. He has been in the game for many years. They have a web site so yo may check there first.

I hope this helps, Regards Wayne Klar

Further information on welding of Aluminum:Most casting that we were involved were alloys of some kind and whe men doing the work had various types of rod. They all looked the same, but were color coded on the ends. If for some reason they used the wrong stick, a burnt porous glob would appear. These guys were Gov. certified every 3 months, but every once in awhile they screwed up. On a whole they were outstanding and most had 20+ yrs experience. I think if all you have is a hole or a chip in your articale I would find some product like devcon or JB Weld.
VIC