Cracks under the cylinder, can it be repaired?

[James912]

I finally quit procrastinating, took a week off from work, started working on my bike. Replaced a shot bike tire valve. Swapped out a nt carb that had the flanges breaking like they were plastic and got it running. Drove around the neighborhood to give it some time to warm up. I felt air hitting my right leg constantly from the engine. So I drove back under my pole barn and found this when looking for where the air was coming from....
https://photos.app.goo.gl/MDkGZBjqUpzHZ1V72

 

[ZipTie]

How many miles on this engine, where and when was it purchased?
what cc? That looks pretty fatal in my opinion. I have not noticed this exact type of fracturing on any other post as of yet.

This air filled cast aluminum probably would be pretty weak if welded up in that location. I presume it overheated very badly, probably from the leaky intake carb manifold and running so lean it got super hot. I was surprised it even ran after it cracked and or when it was so lean.

I would just put a new engine on it. I believe good 40mm engines, with balance cranks and better bearings plus bigger 8mm studs with allen head cap screws can be had for about 100.00 now. What is ones time worth after disassembly, welding filing, re assembly etc, and then it might just fail again right away? Who knows? Others will hopefully weigh in here...

 

[James912]

How many miles on this engine, where and when was it purchased?
what cc? That looks pretty fatal in my opinion. I have not noticed this exact type of fracturing on any other post as of yet.

This air filled cast aluminum probably would be pretty weak if welded up in that location. I presume it overheated very badly, probably from the leaky intake carb manifold and running so lean it got super hot. I was surprised it even ran after it cracked and or when it was so lean.

I would just put a new engine on it. I believe good 40mm engines, with balance cranks and better bearings plus bigger 8mm studs with allen head cap screws can be had for about 100.00 now. What is ones time worth after disassembly, welding filing, re assembly etc, and then it might just fail again right away? Who knows? Others will hopefully weigh in here...

It's a thatsdax f50 49cc. It's been sitting in my shed for several years. Before I quit riding it last time back in like 2012 I redid the cylinder studs, and base gasket. It's has only like 150 miles on it.

 

[crassius]

without a picture, it is hard to tell, but if the area isn't under a working load, it may be fixable by drilling to keep crack from spreading and then filling with jbweld to seal the leak

 

[Greg58]

Here's the picture.

 

[Greg58]

James I hope that helps you find a repair. At this point if it were mine I would try a two part epoxy, I know a lot of people are against putting anything inside the engine but I see no other choice. The epoxy products have advanced greatly, some can penetrate slightly and hold real well. It needs to be on the inside and clean it well first.

 

[crassius]

except for the threaded hole for the head stud, there seems no real problem there - if there are enough threads to hold the head, then it is just a matter of stopping any air leaks - I'd think about how it looks and feels, then maybe get epoxy or jbweld onto the stud and glue the stud right into the case, then seal a bit more from outside