A friend of mine rides a 400 FE. It has been flawless so far but now their are signs of a crack around the swingarm area. I have seen this on the forum before. Anybody have expirience with welding it without opening the engine (as we had planned to do)?
i had a crack in my fe600 right case but not at the swingarm area. it was located under the flywheel area, it had about 6cm of length and oil was coming out in large quantity from the crankshaft chamber. i just welded it and i had no further problems-it is been a year or so since then.
Joined Jun 2001
1K Posts | 0+
Pasadena Ca.
Hello Jeroen,
I had a very long crack in the right side case of my 2000 501. The welding caused the case to warp slightly, and it had to be surfaced. They removed about 0.010" (they did not measure it).
I never considered trying to have them weld it with the motor assembled.
Other than causing a mainshaft bearing to fail in about 7 hours do to the axial preload caused by the surfacing of the case, the weld held and has not leaked.
I guess the shop did not think to check the transmission shafts clearance. I had a subsequent falling out with them, and rebuilt it myself. I corrected for the dimensional change by extending the spline on the shaft.
Pictures of the cracked case and the subsequent bearing failure are in my Gallery.
Regards,
Joe
I had a very long crack in the right side case of my 2000 501. The welding caused the case to warp slightly, and it had to be surfaced. They removed about 0.010" (they did not measure it).
I never considered trying to have them weld it with the motor assembled.
Other than causing a mainshaft bearing to fail in about 7 hours do to the axial preload caused by the surfacing of the case, the weld held and has not leaked.
I guess the shop did not think to check the transmission shafts clearance. I had a subsequent falling out with them, and rebuilt it myself. I corrected for the dimensional change by extending the spline on the shaft.
Pictures of the cracked case and the subsequent bearing failure are in my Gallery.
Regards,
Joe
Thanks guys. I know welding as such isn't going to be the issue but doing so with closed engine. I wonder if there will be tension in the case when it will be welded with all parts in place.
I remember you had it also Joe but I already thought you opened the engine for this.
If I am correct the 2001 models had this problem and were strengthened around this area as of 2002. Next to this there could be several things that can cause something like this; not enough slack on the chain, a rock between chain and sprocket has the same effect. But a loose swingarm bolt could do the trick also.
I will take it to a welder during the week and hear what he has to say.
I remember you had it also Joe but I already thought you opened the engine for this.
If I am correct the 2001 models had this problem and were strengthened around this area as of 2002. Next to this there could be several things that can cause something like this; not enough slack on the chain, a rock between chain and sprocket has the same effect. But a loose swingarm bolt could do the trick also.
I will take it to a welder during the week and hear what he has to say.
Joined Aug 2005
2 Posts | 0+
Bavaria, Germany
Hello!
I had the same problem with the case-crack around swing arm area at my FE400 '01.
I fixed it with liquid epoxy (Loctite or similar) and it works. I grinded the crack with a Dremel a bit deeper and wider, cleaned it with a detergent and filled the crack with the epoxy. Also the area beside the crack were coverd a bit with the material. It's good now for more than a month, and I know another Berger who did it the same way and had no problems for two years until he sold his FE.
I think, welding is an expensive and time assuming alternative.
I had the same problem with the case-crack around swing arm area at my FE400 '01.
I fixed it with liquid epoxy (Loctite or similar) and it works. I grinded the crack with a Dremel a bit deeper and wider, cleaned it with a detergent and filled the crack with the epoxy. Also the area beside the crack were coverd a bit with the material. It's good now for more than a month, and I know another Berger who did it the same way and had no problems for two years until he sold his FE.
I think, welding is an expensive and time assuming alternative.
I would weld it for now,buy the 470 cases,
have them align bored,and wait until winter
to rebuild it.You may want to upgrade some
things in the motor at that time,balancer,etc.
have them align bored,and wait until winter
to rebuild it.You may want to upgrade some
things in the motor at that time,balancer,etc.
Joined Aug 2005
204 Posts | 15+
The Netherlands
Try this,works great on aluminium castings.
Have used it once on the porting of my CR 250 cilinder and stayed there forever.
http://www.devcon.com/devconfamilyprodu ... 0&catid=18
Have used it once on the porting of my CR 250 cilinder and stayed there forever.
http://www.devcon.com/devconfamilyprodu ... 0&catid=18
I have been to the welder and he thought that it could be done in the way t-jet-tim also suggested. Short bursts that keep the heat down and in between force the oil out. I will grind the welds open a bit for a good burn in depth and try to clean it as good as it gets on forehand. The rest of the options is up to my friend.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Husaberg has replaced the cases on my 01 501 twice for the same reason.
I think you should try and get Husaberg to warranty those cases, as it is a known problem they should replace them for you. I didn't have any problems with the first replacement set until about 70 or 80 hours, then got a small oil leak in that area.
This second set of cases I hope are 02 castings with a bit more re-enforcement in that area.
When Husaberg did my cases, they paid for the gasket kit, and labor for the dis-assembly, and assembly, and of course the cases. The cases by the way come loaded, IE. they have all bearings and seals in them. So, if you spend a little extra dough while it's a part for a rod kit, cam bearings etc... You'll have a completely fresh motor.
I think you should try and get Husaberg to warranty those cases, as it is a known problem they should replace them for you. I didn't have any problems with the first replacement set until about 70 or 80 hours, then got a small oil leak in that area.
This second set of cases I hope are 02 castings with a bit more re-enforcement in that area.
When Husaberg did my cases, they paid for the gasket kit, and labor for the dis-assembly, and assembly, and of course the cases. The cases by the way come loaded, IE. they have all bearings and seals in them. So, if you spend a little extra dough while it's a part for a rod kit, cam bearings etc... You'll have a completely fresh motor.
Update
The engine has been to the welder and he did a very nice job. When he wanted to clean/grind the crack before welding he noticed the wall was only about 1mm thin!!! He welded it and gave it some extra material which fluently goes into other areas surrounding the crack. It now looks like a factory job, very nice. On this spot the rearswing gave a problem, the edge was supposed to be there so we made a chamfer on the swing and that was it. All in all it looks like it is ok and the engine hasn't been opened.
The engine has been to the welder and he did a very nice job. When he wanted to clean/grind the crack before welding he noticed the wall was only about 1mm thin!!! He welded it and gave it some extra material which fluently goes into other areas surrounding the crack. It now looks like a factory job, very nice. On this spot the rearswing gave a problem, the edge was supposed to be there so we made a chamfer on the swing and that was it. All in all it looks like it is ok and the engine hasn't been opened.
Sounds like your welder knows what he's doing, and also sounds like a good job of repair. Good luck & keep us posted.
hey
i find today a crack on my FE 650 2005 left side engine cover - its aluminium? the clutch cover has MAGNESIUM mark on it. or is it mixture with other metal?
so the question is - can welding solve my problem?
i find today a crack on my FE 650 2005 left side engine cover - its aluminium? the clutch cover has MAGNESIUM mark on it. or is it mixture with other metal?
so the question is - can welding solve my problem?
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