Welding busted water Jackets
Thread Starter
Registered
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 274
Likes: 7
Welding busted water Jackets
Hi Guys,
Busted water jackets on my 04. Going to weld them then get them machined flat. Any ideas what kind of welder and rods to use? I saw a guy on YouTube using Nickle/copper rods.
thanks,
Kamal
Busted water jackets on my 04. Going to weld them then get them machined flat. Any ideas what kind of welder and rods to use? I saw a guy on YouTube using Nickle/copper rods.
thanks,
Kamal
If you busted your water jackets, your housings are likely worn out of spec and/or warped. You need to replace the housing, waste of time and rebuild consumables attempting to repair.
Thread Starter
Registered
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 274
Likes: 7
They didnt bust through extended overheating. the car was sitting with tap water in the radiator for a few months
ive never heard about until this thread so im curious how it goes. i think you will probably end up with another rebuild shortly after you get it running and hope ya dont do any damage to other stuff like rotors/housing if the weld fails.
Thread Starter
Registered
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 274
Likes: 7
that's my worry. The type of welding rod concerns me. I'm sure if the right material is used, and the weld is prepped properly, sandwiched in the rotary sandwich, "That **** aint (and by aint I mean shouldn't) going nowhere". Ill make horizontal and vertical slits where it will be welded for added stability. There's all kinds of tricks to make the weld strong.
Last edited by Kamal El; Jan 8, 2025 at 07:54 AM.
How do you know what happened to the jackets or that its even the jackets at all if you haven't removed the motor from the car more or less opened it?
Curious how you even plan on welding the jackets of the irons when the jackets aren't on the irons like that video, but instead actually on the housings.
Curious how you even plan on welding the jackets of the irons when the jackets aren't on the irons like that video, but instead actually on the housings.
Thread Starter
Registered
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 274
Likes: 7
How do you know what happened to the jackets or that its even the jackets at all if you haven't removed the motor from the car more or less opened it?
Curious how you even plan on welding the jackets of the irons when the jackets aren't on the irons like that video, but instead actually on the housings.
Curious how you even plan on welding the jackets of the irons when the jackets aren't on the irons like that video, but instead actually on the housings.
good question....
Registered
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 326
Likes: 69
Housings and irons are wear items. Expensive wear items, but wear items all the same.
It's like you're trying to repair wiper blades. Best case scenario, they might kinda work, sorta, for a few minutes. Worst case scenario, the wiper blade arms or whatever you use to "repair" the rubber ends up scratching the hell out of your windshield, and your $5 replacement becomes a $500 job. Replacing an iron or a housing isn't cheap. Replacing the same iron/housing, and all the adjacent irons/housings, rotors, e-shaft, etc. is downright expensive. Almost certainly more than the cost of your '04.
If you're trying to learn to weld or something, there are plenty of resources for figuring this stuff out. A car forum isn't a good place to even start for that.
If you're trying to cheap out on an engine repair where the fix is to get a new housing/iron... I don't know... Try a Chevy. I'll bet you could get away with something like this on a SBC, and if not, the blocks are literally the most mass produced in history, so you won't be out much. This isn't a platform that plays well with that sort of thing. Seriously. That's how it's so easy to pick up these exotic sports cars for so cheap. People don't realize that rotaries are different animals, think they're getting a deal, then realize it's a money pit (assuming you treat it like a Chevy), then they just get abused/neglected all to hell and become scrap for the next cheapskate to abuse further. At best here, you're thinking in American truck terms (from the perspective of someone asking about what rod to use when they don't even know what it is they're hoping to weld in the first place). You don't need to shift your thinking to Japanese, you need to go all the way to German, and then off the deep end of that. If you're rebuilding an air cooled Porsche (the best analog I can come up with at the moment from this angle), you're not going to "repair" your Nickies cylinder liner, because you and everyone and their mother all know that there's no possible way to make that work in your favor mechanically or from a cost perspective. This is the same thing. You need a new set of analogous cylinders here, not a stick of 4043.
It's like you're trying to repair wiper blades. Best case scenario, they might kinda work, sorta, for a few minutes. Worst case scenario, the wiper blade arms or whatever you use to "repair" the rubber ends up scratching the hell out of your windshield, and your $5 replacement becomes a $500 job. Replacing an iron or a housing isn't cheap. Replacing the same iron/housing, and all the adjacent irons/housings, rotors, e-shaft, etc. is downright expensive. Almost certainly more than the cost of your '04.
If you're trying to learn to weld or something, there are plenty of resources for figuring this stuff out. A car forum isn't a good place to even start for that.
If you're trying to cheap out on an engine repair where the fix is to get a new housing/iron... I don't know... Try a Chevy. I'll bet you could get away with something like this on a SBC, and if not, the blocks are literally the most mass produced in history, so you won't be out much. This isn't a platform that plays well with that sort of thing. Seriously. That's how it's so easy to pick up these exotic sports cars for so cheap. People don't realize that rotaries are different animals, think they're getting a deal, then realize it's a money pit (assuming you treat it like a Chevy), then they just get abused/neglected all to hell and become scrap for the next cheapskate to abuse further. At best here, you're thinking in American truck terms (from the perspective of someone asking about what rod to use when they don't even know what it is they're hoping to weld in the first place). You don't need to shift your thinking to Japanese, you need to go all the way to German, and then off the deep end of that. If you're rebuilding an air cooled Porsche (the best analog I can come up with at the moment from this angle), you're not going to "repair" your Nickies cylinder liner, because you and everyone and their mother all know that there's no possible way to make that work in your favor mechanically or from a cost perspective. This is the same thing. You need a new set of analogous cylinders here, not a stick of 4043.
Last edited by spectre6000; Jan 12, 2025 at 10:35 AM.
Thread Starter
Registered
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 274
Likes: 7
Housings and irons are wear items. Expensive wear items, but wear items all the same.
It's like you're trying to repair wiper blades. Best case scenario, they might kinda work, sorta, for a few minutes. Worst case scenario, the wiper blade arms or whatever you use to "repair" the rubber ends up scratching the hell out of your windshield, and your $5 replacement becomes a $500 job. Replacing an iron or a housing isn't cheap. Replacing the same iron/housing, and all the adjacent irons/housings, rotors, e-shaft, etc. is downright expensive. Almost certainly more than the cost of your '04.
If you're trying to learn to weld or something, there are plenty of resources for figuring this stuff out. A car forum isn't a good place to even start for that.
If you're trying to cheap out on an engine repair where the fix is to get a new housing/iron... I don't know... Try a Chevy. I'll bet you could get away with something like this on a SBC, and if not, the blocks are literally the most mass produced in history, so you won't be out much. This isn't a platform that plays well with that sort of thing. Seriously. That's how it's so easy to pick up these exotic sports cars for so cheap. People don't realize that rotaries are different animals, think they're getting a deal, then realize it's a money pit (assuming you treat it like a Chevy), then they just get abused/neglected all to hell and become scrap for the next cheapskate to abuse further. At best here, you're thinking in American truck terms (from the perspective of someone asking about what rod to use when they don't even know what it is they're hoping to weld in the first place). You don't need to shift your thinking to Japanese, you need to go all the way to German, and then off the deep end of that. If you're rebuilding an air cooled Porsche (the best analog I can come up with at the moment from this angle), you're not going to "repair" your Nickies cylinder liner, because you and everyone and their mother all know that there's no possible way to make that work in your favor mechanically or from a cost perspective. This is the same thing. You need a new set of analogous cylinders here, not a stick of 4043.
It's like you're trying to repair wiper blades. Best case scenario, they might kinda work, sorta, for a few minutes. Worst case scenario, the wiper blade arms or whatever you use to "repair" the rubber ends up scratching the hell out of your windshield, and your $5 replacement becomes a $500 job. Replacing an iron or a housing isn't cheap. Replacing the same iron/housing, and all the adjacent irons/housings, rotors, e-shaft, etc. is downright expensive. Almost certainly more than the cost of your '04.
If you're trying to learn to weld or something, there are plenty of resources for figuring this stuff out. A car forum isn't a good place to even start for that.
If you're trying to cheap out on an engine repair where the fix is to get a new housing/iron... I don't know... Try a Chevy. I'll bet you could get away with something like this on a SBC, and if not, the blocks are literally the most mass produced in history, so you won't be out much. This isn't a platform that plays well with that sort of thing. Seriously. That's how it's so easy to pick up these exotic sports cars for so cheap. People don't realize that rotaries are different animals, think they're getting a deal, then realize it's a money pit (assuming you treat it like a Chevy), then they just get abused/neglected all to hell and become scrap for the next cheapskate to abuse further. At best here, you're thinking in American truck terms (from the perspective of someone asking about what rod to use when they don't even know what it is they're hoping to weld in the first place). You don't need to shift your thinking to Japanese, you need to go all the way to German, and then off the deep end of that. If you're rebuilding an air cooled Porsche (the best analog I can come up with at the moment from this angle), you're not going to "repair" your Nickies cylinder liner, because you and everyone and their mother all know that there's no possible way to make that work in your favor mechanically or from a cost perspective. This is the same thing. You need a new set of analogous cylinders here, not a stick of 4043.
thanks
Thread Starter
Registered
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 274
Likes: 7
What's up Guys
Engine on the floor and Im finally breaking it down. Took all the bolts off of the lower intake manifold but how the hell do you get it off? I searched the forum and had no luck for my situation. Used a crowbar but it moved the LIM up and not out. WTH??? Should I take the engine cover off first?
TIA
Engine on the floor and Im finally breaking it down. Took all the bolts off of the lower intake manifold but how the hell do you get it off? I searched the forum and had no luck for my situation. Used a crowbar but it moved the LIM up and not out. WTH??? Should I take the engine cover off first?
TIA
Last edited by Kamal El; Jul 13, 2025 at 04:59 PM.
Thread Starter
Registered
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 274
Likes: 7
What's up Guys
Engine on the floor and Im finally breaking it down. Took all the bolts off of the lower intake manifold but how the hell do you get it off? I searched the forum and had no luck for my situation. Used a crowbar but it moved the LIM up and not out. WTH??? Should I take the engine cover off first?
TIA
Engine on the floor and Im finally breaking it down. Took all the bolts off of the lower intake manifold but how the hell do you get it off? I searched the forum and had no luck for my situation. Used a crowbar but it moved the LIM up and not out. WTH??? Should I take the engine cover off first?
TIA
Missed that one
false alarm
