Can this portion of the Crankcase be welded?

[NoEcm]

1988 Johnson 6hp Longshaft (JRLCCS)

Up until last week this outboard ran great. Suddenly, the lower cylinder would not fire any longer (pulled the sparkplug and there was water in cylinder).

Took the head off and aside from some corrosion in the cooling passages everything looked good.

Next, I removed the Exhaust Cover and the problem was found. After scraping away all the corrosion I noticed that part of the crankcase was corroded away (and this was in an outboard that was flushed in freshwater for 10 minutes every time I used it in the salt.

Question. Is this repairable? Can this be re-welded? I ask only because this part is listed as ?obsolete? (OMC p/n 0396776)

Any other thought for repair?

I guess whatever I end up doing, from now on I'll be using Salt-Away on all my outboards now. And this was in an outboard that I thought I did a good job flushing after every use.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Can this portion of the Crankcase be welded?

Absolutely fixable --- find yourself a decent TIG welder in your area. You can easily build that back up and probably re-machine it with a 1/4" die grinder and a dremmel. You need to get it as clean and shiny bright as possible first and then heat it up to pull the oils and dirt out of it. 550 degrees is adequate. Don't know where you are but if you're near Santa Rosa, Ca., I can do it for you.

 

[Haffiman]

Re: Can this portion of the Crankcase be welded?

And while you are waiting for the repair to be finished, change your impeller/water pump and thermostat!! Seen similar damages and always on engines where the cooling system has been neglected. No longer than 3 years on those impellers, engine used or not.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Can this portion of the Crankcase be welded?

If it is aluminum it can be welded, that particular spot will be a little tricky but it can certainly be done.

As sheffer said get it surgically clean, anything left on it will be in the weld and find a welder that has done cast, it is a little tricky to do, I have welded aluminum for 24 years and it took me a bit to able to do cast right.

Maybe poke around on Ebay and see if you can find one.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Can this portion of the Crankcase be welded?

You may find a used piece from a salvage yard less expensive than a repair. Check under Top Secret File sticky.

 

[NoEcm]

Re: Can this portion of the Crankcase be welded?

Thanks to all for the advice and comments.

One other question. Should the repair area be "built up" or should the affected area be cut out, a new piece of aluminum fitted in and then welded?

Also, that corrosion is some amazing stuff. This outboard ran great up until last week and I figure that the corroded area started years ago but the corrosion, salt crystals (?) and other stuff that I scraped out of there kept the water from entering the exhaust chamber up until last week.

Thanks again

 

[Haffiman]

Re: Can this portion of the Crankcase be welded?

The interesting part is not the corrosion itself but the green color. Makes me think it must have been some copper involved somewhere?
Are you using the engine close to some factories or other pollutants?

 

[NoEcm]

Re: Can this portion of the Crankcase be welded?

The interesting part is not the corrosion itself but the green color. Makes me think it must have been some copper involved somewhere?
Are you using the engine close to some factories or other pollutants?

~20 years ago I had the exhaust cover off and noticed a minor amount of corrosion just starting so I cleaned everything and coated the inside of the cover and the water passage in the block with zinc chromate primer (the green stuff). The outboard was just 3 years old at that point. I wonder if this helped to slow down or did it accelerate the corrosion?

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Can this portion of the Crankcase be welded?

You will need to tear engine completely apart and take to a machine shop as this will be a pain to repair. Time you have it welded and resurfaced and cost may exceed value of getting a replacement part. You can call a dealer and ask them to do a dealer search for that block to see if someone has one. I just bought the last 2 motor mounts and shift shaft in the USA from a dealer in indy for a 1995 15hp and 1978 70 hp....