Repair cast aluminum trucks?

[Jawn]

I recently bought some trucks off DLS that ended up damaged in shipment. One of the "ears" that retains the sideframe at the end of the bolster was broken off. Looking into shipper claims at this point, but trying to determine if it's repairable (preferrable) and what a suitable cost to claim from UPS would be. Is it possible to repair an aluminum casting like this? Or do you think machining it off flat and bolt some kind of bar stock over the end in its place would hold?

[steamin10]

I am surprised a ear was broken during shipping. No matter. I have had some luck with the stick type repair material with a torch for aluminum. Available at Ace and other hardware outlets, it is marketed by Bernz o matic and other companies in the soldering supply section. Like all these fixes, it hardly seems worth the effort to wind up with a repaired piece. Not so bad if you have the misc supplies laid in.

Heat control is touchy, so caution must be used. The material is m uch harder than the original casting, grind and file is the finsh of choice without a mil.

Postal claims are a PITA.

Trucks get similar damage in heavy derailsments. I have repaired an ear on iron trucks with bronze, and shaped it off.

While it is new, I think I would opt for a replacement , not always an option on older stuff out of production.

[ccvstmr]

Jawn...depending on how large a piece broke off...see if you can find someone that has a TIG welder and knows how to TIG weld aluminum. Then, either: 1) clamp the pieces together and weld the broken tab in place, or 2) have the welder build up an over-sized weldment. File to shape afterwards. I've used this procedure on several broken bolster ends over the years. Had one bolster from an club elder backyard foundry that was filled with porosity. Milled out most of the bad casting (like bolster root canal)...had the TIG welder build the casting back up...machined/filed to shape. This process has worked every time I've had to do it. Somewhere, I've got photos if you're interested in the before/after results. Carl B.

[Joe Tanski]

What I have done with broken bolster ear is simply mill off end of bolster and take a pc of 1/4" x5/8 steel and drill two holes
And use two 10-32 machine screws to hold in place .paint it and you will never see it,this will save your truck.
Do not try to tig weld casting (aluminum) you will make a mess of it
Joe

[makinsmoke]

Hi Joe!
There are quite a few early aluminum bolsters around with either a broken corner or the whole end of the bolster snapped off just past the spring pads. Is there any way you could post a photo of your repair? We could easily machine up a bunch of repair pieces and put a lot of OOS trucks back in service.

Thanks!
Brian

[STRR]

On the other side; I have had excellent results TIG welding cast aluminum. Often, the outrigger pad (foot) on a crane had been broken. We would grind a good "V" at one point, tack the piece into place, TIG the "V" up, then grind out a "V" towards the tack, and so forth. The casting was nearly 3/4" thick at that point and would hold up fine until the next time someone ran into something with the outrigger pad.

Good Luck,
Terry

[LIALLEGHENY]

Cast aluminum is an interesting material to weld. Depending on the quality of the casting it can be relatively easy to TIG weld or a nightmare. I've welded castings for automotive applications that you would swear were made from Swiss cheese, they were so porous. Other castings would crack as they cooled. Without trying to weld it there is no way to tell how good the parent metal is.

Nyle

[Jawn]

I picked up some of those Bernz-O-Matic aluminum brazing rods and their mapp torch, not having great luck so far. Either I'm not getting it hot enough or I need flux to help it penetrate. It appears to be sticking to the edges of the joint but when I remove the clamp and can see a side profile I see it's not going all the way through the crack.

What types of flux are acceptable for this? I may give it one more shot before trying to just mill the end off and bolt a new end piece onto it.

[Soot n' Cinders]

MAPP may not get hot enough fast enough. Aluminum is a pain to TIG weld because of how fast you lose the heat. I've had good looking aluminum TIG welds break because they were only superficial. You might need to use an oxy-acetylene torch, or wrap the rest of the truck frame in a high temperature blanket to slow heat loss.

[steamin10]

As mentioned, heat control is tricky. For the stick material, the rod is pushed into the mush, and broken off, where another flash of heat melts the material together. The process is repeated until enough buildup is put on.

To help work the material, a bucket of dry sand can slow the heat loss, and hep position the part for good access to flame and joint.

Like everything else, a one shot deal is rather tough to do. A little practice and patience will get you in the learning curve.

Lately I have been using my 22o volt wire welder with Argon, and getting good results. Being a push machine and never having usedfsteel wire in it, it works ok, as long as I keep the whip from looping.

I have an excess of equipment to choose my methods form, that is why I suggested the simple torch first. It works, although there are other ways to skin this problme.

[10 Wheeler Rob]

I would just machine/ cut the end off and fasten a flat plate of aluminum to the end that froms the tabs, hold on with flat head screws and some bearing retainer Loctite. That is if there is enough meat in the bolster to tap after cutting.

I assumed it the tabs on the end that are broken, if not disregard my comment.

Rob

[Jawn]

I would just machine/ cut the end off and fasten a flat plate of aluminum to the end that froms the tabs, hold on with flat head screws and some bearing retainer Loctite. That is if there is enough meat in the bolster to tap after cutting.

I assumed it the tabs on the end that are broken, if not disregard my comment.

Rob

After the failed attempts at brazing it, I think this is the route I will take - but have been too busy as of late to do much of anything. Soon, I hope.