welding the clutch??? with picture

[dewy]

long story short... i went to put the primary cover (#2 in picture) back on my clutch, ( 79 harley davidson cart, i know its the wrong forum but thought people here could help me better) .i must have tightened the nuts a little tight and two of the bolts coming from the floating flange (#14) broke right where the threads start.. so now i only have one nut holding the cover on instead of three.... can the clutch cover (#2) be welded on to the flange (#14) where the seam is.. (#2 overlaps on #14 a couple inches and creates a seam).. i only plan on putting 3 or 4 little welds (tack the cover on) so if i ever need to repair the clutch i can just grind the welds down and pop the cover off.... can i do this? or will it effect the way the clutch operates somehow?? i dont want to have to purchase the floating flange (#14) if i absolutely dont have to... a cheap red green fix is good enough for me right now... i dont have 2 weeks to wait for parts, so im hoping welding it will be good enough... if any one has any other ideas that would work, i would appreciate it.. i would like to work on it tonight and have it ready to take to the course tomorow!!

just a thought... if i were to put jb weld around the seam of #2 and #14 would that hold... or would it just be better to use a mig welder and tack it in a few places?

[Flintrock]

Looks like those are just studs, replacing two of them would sure sound easier than welding that cover and risking heat damage to anything. Maybe you could get through a round or two with one holding while waiting on the parts.. Dust tape it!(jk)......

[DOOmsman]

Get some self drill screws and run them into the studs
for tomorrow and don't run it wide open.
Then find some left handed drill bits to back the studs out
of the casting after mildly heating the towers.

[dewy]

not possitive on this... but im pretty sure those "Studs" are part of the flange... i dont think they can be removed and replaced... i think you need to replace the whole flange.. i could be wrong though( wouldnt be the first time).. even if they are replacable, i would rather just weld it right now, if it would work, and get the parts in the off season and fix it then.. does anyone know if the clutch cover is aluminum or metal?? im thinking metal but i just want to make sure.. would welding on the lowest setting work?

[DOOmsman]

Dust tape it!(jk)......
It could work with some of that tough tape.????

[dewy]

doomsman....... i understand the self drill screws part of your post... but not the rest of it...what do you mean by "back the studs out of the casting" and im not quite sure what the tower is.. ?? this is my first time ever working on anything like this.. so im dumb when it comes to this terminalagy... correct me if im wrong, but do you mean, drill it out a ways (with left handed drill bits) so that i can just run some bolts into it from the clutch cover? ........ sorry, but i am in no way any kind of mechanic yet, this is my first every project and its a complete learning experience...


it might not be the right way, or the best way... but if it would work i would just preffer to weld it for now... so if someone could tell me if welding the cover (#2) and flange (#14) together with a few tack welds would work? i am unsure if these parts are aluminum or metal... if that would work i will probably just do that for right now, and do a proper fix sometime down the road when i get the parts and time to do it...

[DOOmsman]

I am talking a little over my head here because I have never worked on a
ezgo clutch, but I haven't had my first martini yet.
The ""towers"" are what I call the posts that the cover mounts
on. You can check them with a magnet, if they are aluminum
and the threaded part is steel you can remove the broken studs
with a reverse bit/easy out bit. Sears has them.
I would not weld on a clutch, also if you insist remember to remove
the battery negative cable or you can do harm, also ground
to the clutch or you may harm the bearings in engine.

[vzdude]

Looks like those studs are #14A . I think when he is referring to the "tower" it is simply the raised area where the studs screw in to #14 . A piece of allthread may work as well if #14A is no longer available.

[DOOmsman]

VZ good eyes I missed that on the drawing. That means it can be fixed don't weld.

[dewy]

14a only applies to 1980 harley davidson and up (as it says in the drawing anyway), im working on a 79... im almost sure that the whole flange would need replacing.. im thinking about just using jb weld in three or four spots of the seam on the clutch... ive heard that stuff can do wonders