Safe to MIG Kohler starter housing?

atlarge54

Member
The starter on a K series Kohler needs brushes. While it is apart I would like to put a little weld in the (steel no bronze bushing) housing where the armature hole is egged out about .040"+ and grind out the excess.

Any issues regarding MIG welding and the magnets in the housing?
 
I wouldn't do it because most housings like that are going to be more along the lines of cast instead of steel. In other words, you take the chance of doing more harm than good, if the weld doesn't stick.

That aside, you will be extremely lucky to weld up a hole like that, and then grind it back to where it's round, and be within much more of a clearance than you've already got. That being the case, if you wound up off center, an off center shaft, now being solid, would be as bad, or worse, than what you've already got.

As another reply suggested, the only way to do it right would be to simply mill out the hole, on center, and then make a bushing. The problem there is there is rarely enough meat in a housing to mill oversize and make a bushing thick enough to actually do any good.

With all that said, good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
Well the job just got easier. I went to the garage to look at things again and the end of the housing popped off into my hand. Now I can just weld it up chuck it in the lathe and bore it out.

Before I ever took it apart I was expecting to find a replaceable bushing----no such luck.
 
Look at it this way, those are rare earth
magnets ,invented in Japan just for your
info, and they DO NOT like heat. They will
loose their magnetism very quickly. Just be
very careful and if you screw up there are
plenty listed on ebay.
 
Glad to see you figured that out.

Upon reading the original post I was trying to figure out what the issue was with the magnets, since both the CE and DE are separate from the "belly" where the magnets are.
 
I hope you remember which direction it was turned before reinstalling it, might have to do it twice if not! LOL Just a
heads up.
 
I am old enough to know about that-----I filed marks so everything will have proper orientation.

However in a few more years I'll be old enough NOT to remember.
 

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