vw cast 'alloy' houseing

[bpcoryton]

hello to all is there any vw people out there who can help me ive been given to repair a gearbox slector houseing off a beatle/bus (early type),its cast but what i need to know is it a mag based houseing or just 'alloy',its seams that some early casting were mag based from what i can find out,ive narrowed it down to two fillerd rods 4043 or 5356 depending on what the parent metal is?
the part number on the houseing is 211.301.211G.if this is any help
if anyone has done one of these before would be help full to know what grade filler rod you used&how it went
thank for now

 

[rich74310]

Most early ones are mag based. I snapped mine in the same place and ended up binning it coz no one wanted to weld it.

Good luck anyway

Rich

 

[hotrodder]

Almost positive it's magnesium. Vinegar will react with mag (fizzes producing hydrogen) but not Al alloys or can collect some shavings like the swarf from prepping the crack for example and set fire to them- mag will burn easily, Al won't

5356 is an aluminium alloy containing 5% Mg (magnesium alloys are over 80% Mg) almost always a poor choice for aluminium castings
4043 is an Al alloy with 5% Si and usually the best choice for welding aluminium alloy castings as they are virtually always high Si

Neither are any good for mag alloys, need a magnesium wire like SIF #23 which is handily available in packs of 12 (magnesium wire is hellishly expensive!). I would price a replacement first

 

[bigbadbugga]

hello to all is there any vw people out there who can help me ive been given to repair a gearbox slector houseing off a beatle/bus (early type),its cast but what i need to know is it a mag based houseing or just 'alloy',its seams that some early casting were mag based from what i can find out,ive narrowed it down to two fillerd rods 4043 or 5356 depending on what the parent metal is?
the part number on the houseing is 211.301.211G.if this is any help
if anyone has done one of these before would be help full to know what grade filler rod you used&how it went
thank for now

Have you asked on the volkszone forum's technical section?

There are a few really knowlegable people on there who can give you a definite answer based upon your part number, and others who could point you in the direction of an original replacement if needed.

 

[bpcoryton]

thank to all so far who have replyed,these parts are prone to being broken thats why its be given to me,2nd hand ones are hard to find and hold a high re sale price,someone in the world has re cast these,but my mate cant get hold of one,so its over to me! ive gota strip the paint&clean it up first. i will get him to ask on the vw forums,i had a feeling it was a mag based casting to start with thats why i started to look into it.
early days yet with it.