User 52121

Anybody have experience using that (IMO) cheese-whiz aluma-weld stuff?

Brief back story - at some point in the past (before I owned the car), the oil pan cracked. Somebody fixed it with that aluma-weld stuff. Fast forward to last winter... I pulled the motor to freshen it up and while it was out, had a Lindsey baffle welded in. The welder had a HELL of a time getting it welded in - it was close to where the pan had been repaired. He warned me that the old repair might now be porous - to which I didn't think anything of. But he's right... it's porous, and leaking.

I've tried sealing the area with JB Weld but it seems to only last a week or two before the oil starts weeping again. (Yes, I know, shame on me... I should've stopped as soon as my welder told me about the problems and called Lart for a new pan....)

I *really* don't want to have to pull the pan since it's such an involved job. I'd leave it but... well... I don't like a leaky car. I put so much work into resealing everything last winter it irritates me that it's still leaving spots on the garage floor (or in parking spaces)!

So my thought was to try using the aluma-weld stuff myself... my dad says he has a few sticks of it kicking around when he bought some a few years ago to try it out. Anybody used it before? Can you use it stuff upside down? The leaky area is on the bottom of the pan so I'd have to do it with the motor in the car and the car up on jack stands.

lart951

HTS-2000 I use a lot with a great rate of success, with bigger parts the issue is creating enough heat

http://aluminumrepair.com/land/index...FcYZQgodGSyfiA

User 52121

I *think* this is the stuff my dad has.... no idea if it's the same thing or not, but the name is right: http://www.alumiweld.com/index.html

With respect to heat... I have to wonder - do I risk damaging my oil pan gasket trying to use this stuff with the pan on the car?

lart951

Yes, the heat might damage the gasket, the part to be braze needs to be hot enough, I would think is better to do it out of the car

alxdgr8

I haven't used alumiweld to seal anything, but I made some brackets for a radiator with it and it worked decently. I don't think you can use it upside down since you melt it into such a liquid, but it might stick enough. You'd probably have to try it. I had to buy a bottle of MAP because the propane wasn't cutting it heating up the base enough. You'll have to get the pan pretty hot for it to bond well.

JohnKoaWood

Remember, this is the OIL pan... which is full of OIL... and the porous previous repair... its full of oil too!

Hind sight it a wicked bitch... too bad you didn't have the welder weld the leaky spot last year... it should have saved you from pulling the pan again to get rid of the leak!

User 52121

I know. I know. Paying the price for it now.

I'm thinking I might drain the oil, and then stick a can of brakekleen up inside the drain plug and soak it, try to really clean the bejeebers out of it (and hopefully the brakekleen will make it's way through the porous part of the bad repair job.) I figure if I let it sit for a bit, then I might actually be able to get most/all of the oil out of the weepy part.

JohnKoaWood

Just an experiment for you... go heat engine oil to 730 F... and then imagine that INSIDE your engine...

JohnKoaWood

Honestly, just pull the pan... I know, but it will take less time, and be a final fix in the long run!

User 52121

You're probably right.

I think my biggest hesitation about all this is that f***ing crossover pipe.

If I only had to drop stuff underneath the car, I'd do it. Unbolt the rack, sway bar, control arms, motor mounts, pull the crossmember, swap pan, and reinstall. But man that stupid turbo crossover pipe is such a bitch to pull, and all the crap on the top end of the motor has to come apart to get to it....

User 52121

Ok so I might try epoxy one more time before I give in.... asked around to a few other friends of mine, then followed up their recommendations by doing some searches here... seems that Belzona makes a pretty good epoxy that is substantially better than JB Weld. Rumor has it that Caterpillar rebrands the stuff for their own sales - and there is a Cat dealership about 45 minutes from me with Saturday hours. I think I'll give that a shot first.

Tom M'Guinn

Sorry you are having this problem, bummer. If you have a torch hot enough to melt HTS-2000 (propane won't do it for that much metal), then it is a near certainty the gasket will melt and/or catch fire, and the oil residue inside will either catch fire or just turn to carbon. If you soak the inside with brake cleaner, it might make for a perfect bomb if you get the fuel to air ratio in the right ballpark. I'm just say'n....

JohnKoaWood

Belzona also makes a ballisticly tolerant epoxy.... I saw a movie about it once.. biggest issue you might encounter is needing to have everything cleaned up really well BEFORE you apply it...

Laust Pedersen

Professionally I had to find a good Epoxy and after comparing numerous datasheets in detail, I ended up with 3M DP-420, which is now my favorite general purpose adhesive (over JB Weld).
In the process I remember coming across one good for dirty and oily surfaces and checked McMaster. Apparently it is an acrylic adhesive 3M DP-810.

Datasheet: http://tinyurl.com/74nbhlh
3M Epoxy/Acrylic/Urethane adhesives at McMaster: http://www.mcmaster.com and Find: “3M epoxies”
Purchase at 3M: http://www.shop3m.com/62278814355.html

I believe that would give you the best chance of success after cleaning up as much as you can from the outside.

xupkid2

I think I remember a guy a year ago mentioning that you should spend the few hundred bucks to get a 2pc crossover and 3pc crossmember but Im sure that guy was just stupid Of course that same guy has to do a RMS on his own car so maybe you should just do one major car repair and have it be the RMS and you just go with epoxy.

BTW, how will the q-tip cleaners feel about epoxy when you concours the car?