Hole in block of a model LH318SA

[Rideau1]

I have been working on a friends snow blower. the unit stopped with a loud bang emanating and then a seized situation. We took the flywheel off to find a mangled alternator. Somehow the alternator screw(s) had come lose allowing the coil to jamb in the flywheel. One of the mounting standoffs (cast with the block) ripped off and left a divot in the engine casting. The centre of the divot is thin and has a hole into the engine. It is located just a bit above the crankshaft. We cleaned the divot area then wire brushed it and cleaned again with brake cleaner. We then used JB-Weld to repair. After the first use there was oil everywhere. We haven't taken it apart to inspect yet. My question is, is it possible to repair such a fault using JB-Weld?
Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Rivets]

You’re probably going to have to remove the flywheel again and take another look to find out where the oil is coming from. You may have another hole or the oil seal is leaking if you did not replace.

 

[AVB]

Personally I never had any luck with JB weld products. If not another hole or crack in the crankcase it might need to be TIG welded.

 

[tom3]

Best way I've found to use JB Weld is to make a plate to put over the hole, sort of a patch deal, use the JB W to "weld" the plate on and seal it. Might have to form the plate to conform to the block shape and be sure to have it all really clean and scored up a bit.

 

[bertsmobile1]

This is one of the few times that solderers like Lumiweld should work.
I am with the others and would weld the hole closes then build up with aluminium till I had made a mess higher than the other pillars.
Dress it down VERY SLOWLY till the stator is flat on all pillars then drill & tap

 

[Rideau1]

Thanks for all of your suggestions.
I have never used Lumiweld or other similar products nor did I know about them. I was impressed when I looked at some utube videos showing them.
We did a post-mortem on our repair. To my surprise, the JB-Weld was solid and did not appear to leak. There was lots of oil around the area. It appears that after the repair we changed the oil and overfilled the engine. I think we are in business now but want to put the blower through its paces before we give it .

 

[Rideau1]

You’re probably going to have to remove the flywheel again and take another look to find out where the oil is coming from. You may have another hole or the oil seal is leaking if you did not replace.

Rivits, we didn't replace the oil seal but think that may be a good next step. The hole which we J_B welded seems to be good but unit still leaks. Can the seal be changed relatively easily? Can I do it without engine disassembly other than flywheel removal? The engine didn't leak before the problem occurred. Could this sudden jolt when the engine stopped abruptly damage the seal? We don't have any special seal removers/installers.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

You can remove the flywheel and then apply air pressure to the oil fill tube while pinching off the crankcase breather hose. Only apply a couple PSI of air pressure. You should be able to see where the leak is. You can apply some soapy water to help find the leak.

 

[Rideau1]

Update... After the fourth time with the flywheel off we finally fixed the fault. Rivets thank you for your suggestion of oil seal replacement. Yep that was it.
We didn't have a seal puller but easily removed it by drilling two small holes (hardest part of the repair) and screwing in two sheet metal screws. We then pried up on the screws.
The original seal was damaged by the dislodged alternator flailing around under the flywheel. The seal damage wasn't noticed initially but became apparent upon closer inspection.thanks to all for your kind assistance.

 

[Rivets]

Glad to be of help, I get lucky once in a while. Thank you also for letting us know the end result, as 90% of the time we have no clue if the problem was solved and/or how.