My little tractor has had a mishap , it put a con rod out the side of the motor . Motor in question is a Kohler KT17 opposed twin . Since these are rather hard - and expensive - to replace , I would like to repair the hole by welding a patch over it . This unit is over 30 years old and oil soaked ,,, I've had reasonable success a couple of times , but nothing I'd write home about , and I'm pretty sure the reason is I haven't been getting all the oil out of the pores . How long and at what temp do I need to bake this thing to be reasonable sure I've got most of the oil out ? It will be degreased with solvent first followed by a thorough scrubbing with detergent before baking . The part looks to be die cast , which I believe means it has a fair percentage of silicon in the alloy , which rod is recommended ? I have on hand 4043 and
5356 , but can get other if needed . Or do I just need to bite the bullet and drop 130 bucks on a replacement ? There is one on fleabay right now ... it's not that I don't have the money , I just hate to replace something that I can repair .