Welding alternator bracket - big oops!

surftom · 2005-03-12T16:29:38+00:00

Now I've gone and done it...Scored a great condition BMW 325is for a song and have been driving itfor some time until the Alternator gave up on me yesterday. Finallyremoved it (no hair left) and chucked it up in the lathe to see if Icould get anything out of it. Nothing.Had 3 options1) get a new Alternator - BMW wants over $600 for a new one -Wreckers have none2) Get the alternator rebuilt3) Futz with it myselfBeing a frequenter of this group I chose option 3 and thought to workmy way backwards through the list above as options diminished.In trying to get the alternator apart to look at the guts, I"tapped" it too hard with the dead-blow hammer and sure enoughBROKE the mounting bracket clean off - looks to be cast aluminum andnone to good a casting at that - many inclusions.Question - Can I TIG the bracket back on (what filler?!) I think Ican make it structurally "sound" but will I fry the coil insulation/ other goodies in the process (still could not get it apart so I haveto weld it as a unit) and then get it rebuilt or do I just keep lookingfor a used one - or GULP buy a new one?Sorry for the long post and thanks for your help guysTom