Hi Forum, I'm Rob, and I'm new to the forum. I've been searching and scouring for existing threads on my topic, but i'm having trouble locating consistent topics. I'm hoping you'll take pity on me and my 12 year son as we embark on this ambitious project of replacing a cracked case. Long story short, we were on the trails last weekend and my son hit a rock. Perhaps you all might appreciate the incredibly low probability of this, but the rock quite literally caught the lip of the Oil drain plug and cracked the case.




So here we are, and I'm calling out for help. I have a modest garage with the basics. Air tools, wrenches, ratchets. I'm a general hobbyist and am reasonable with most things mechanical. Call me a weekend warrior, and you'd pretty much be right. I'm entering this project with my son as a learning opportunity for both of us, and I'm hoping you all will take pity on me.

As of right now, we know we are going to have to replace the case as it is beyond repair. My first questions are:

1) are there any manuals I can buy or electronic manuals online covering this topic that I can get access to? Where can I buy them?
2) are there any unique or special tools that I need to make sure I have on hand to complete this project? I believe I have the majority of the basics covered, but i know i'll be swapping all of the engine components over to the new case.
3) aside from eBay, are there good online sources of parts that are consistent and quality that I should be aware of?
4) Are there any specific or unique "gotchas" I need to be aware of prior to getting knee deep in this project? Any best practices, or tips you might consider sharing?

The power of the internet has enabled amateurs like me to do all sorts of amazing things, so i'm hopeful that I can lean on the wisdom of this forum and get advice through this project. Please help!

Thanks
Rob

 

Welcome to the forums.

That is definitely unique.

 

I have a solution for you, Rob, and it does not require engine removal.

I have replaced several stripped out drain plugs before. In your case, I would weld a pre-drilled and
pre-tapped Al plate to the bottom of the case. If you are not a TIG weldor, consider making the plate and
paying a weldor to do it for you.

Since the Bayou 220 is small and light, I would also flip it over to do the welding.

The result will hang down a little lower, so you may want to re-work your skid plate for more protection from
wild rides.

 

 

1/8" or thicker. A good TIG weldor will be able to weld it on leak-free. What you can do to avoid
getting aluminum grindings into the engine is break out the biggest broken part of the case, rather
than cutting/grinding. Stuff the hole with a rag when sanding off the surfaces to be welded. Do
that part upside-down to further avoid contamination of the insides. If you can't avoid cutting/grinding,
just use lots of clean rags.

You can buy a weld-on bung for the oil port.

Is the engine out of the frame already?

 

 

Not sure about the plate idea, I would leave how to weld it to the welder. If they get too close to the side cases, distortion can cause leaks from the gaskets. We had the same problem on an Eiger. Luckily Eigers are almost unique in having the plug already mounted in a bolt on plate under the engine, so new plate and the owner was back in business. He also got us to fit a full length aluminium "belly plate" kit.