Cast aluminum alternator bracket repair

Today's project was to see if I could successfully repair a busted bolt-hole on my alternator bracket. A bolt which was too long broke it.

Info

This post was originally published in 2018, and has been adopted to this static-site from wordpress. The build has since been retired.

The engine looks so much cleaner without the alternator bracket attached.

Here is the problem I need to resolve.

I threaded in a bolt with the proper thread pattern, and started welding around it. I maintained a very hot puddle in an attempt to get the aluminum to flow into the nooks and cracks.

After welding, I did a bit of grinding, and unscrewed the bolt. It looks good.

Another angle.

In hindsight, the best way to accomplish this repair would had been to completely weld up the affected area, and to re-drill and re-tap the hole.

However- to also add- this repair has held up with no issues at all.