Yeah even back in the '80s this was a problem. I remember buying case halves. You couldn't weld it b/c it was magnesium. If memory serves me right, though that is often not the case, someone, maybe it was Husqvarna, did come up with a fix for the problem; but don't quote me on this. I'd have to see if I could find my notes on the bike. Maybe they switched it over to aluminum so it could be welded? I just don't remember. I do remember this being the one problem with the bike. I would drain the coolant out after every ride and remove the water pump cover so it would dry out. Kind of a PITA.
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Hi everyone,
As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.
When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.
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Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.
Thanks for your patience and support!
Your opinion please for WR 400 1985 !!!
- Thread starter petros67
- Start date
Yeah even back in the '80s this was a problem. I remember buying case halves. You couldn't weld it b/c it was magnesium. If memory serves me right, though that is often not the case, someone, maybe it was Husqvarna, did come up with a fix for the problem; but don't quote me on this. I'd have to see if I could find my notes on the bike. Maybe they switched it over to aluminum so it could be welded? I just don't remember. I do remember this being the one problem with the bike. I would drain the coolant out after every ride and remove the water pump cover so it would dry out. Kind of a PITA.
As much as I'd love to, I have convinced my wife that I can buy a 2014 Beta, so I think that is about as far as I can go with new toys around the house. But who knows, PM me and I'll give you my email and you can email me some pictures. If anything, Id love to see the bike again!
.....It is featured in Restorations http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/1985-400wrx-cleanup-and-repairs.34195/
Husqvarna changed the cover to aluminum in 1986 but even with the aluminum it is important to use coolant mixed with deionized water only, not tap water. I bought premix coolant that is certified as being mixed with deionized water. Even still the anti freeze still needs to be certified for aluminum. Mine had been kept in storage with Prestone in it . Mine was bad enough with the seal pocket corroded and gone and I have seen worse. But after what I accomplished with JB Weld, I would repair even worse with JB Weld or Caswell Epoxy
justintendo
klotz super techniplate junkie
are all covers 86 and up aluminum??? only the 85 covers are mag?? i cant believe i never knew this!!!
Isn't cool how this kind of knowledge is still kicking around in someones head and these kind of forums make it findable. I am always amazed!
justintendo
klotz super techniplate junkie
man, ive been jb welding these things like my older cases cause i thought they were all mag. guess whos taking an armload of sidecovers to work tomorrow..time to buy my TIG friends a case of salted pistachios..
I am not sure if it was from the start of 1986 production or sometime into it but I know the clutch case for the 86 400WR I have is aluminum and the 1985 is magnesium. I can feel a definate weight difference between the 2 cases. I know my older aircooled cases are mag as well
ajcmbrown
Husqvarna
Pro Class
The '86 WR400 I had years ago had the magnesium clutch cover, I found out when I took it to a welder for repair, so it seems that jimspac is correct in saying that they may have changed sometime into '86 production.
I am told that the one I have just purchased has the aluminium cover but that could have been either standard or retrofitted after all these years.
Tony.
I am told that the one I have just purchased has the aluminium cover but that could have been either standard or retrofitted after all these years.
Tony.
fran...k.
Husqvarna
AA Class
I do not believe this stuff about aluminum clutch covers posted above. I went on an engine buying spree, 1988 engines a number of years ago, not all had the cover but I must have at least four and they all test magnesium by the file and burn the shaving method. The auto stuff I have is all aluminum, the four stroke cases I have are aluminum, I think I tested the cover and it also was magnesium If anyone ever comes to go riding in West Virginia with me we can file a bit off and see. Here is a picture of a corroded 87-88 cover. I never attempted to repair corroded covers as ground water around here comes from cracks in metamorphic rocks for private wells and anti freeze is used. The one repaired one with epoxy doesn't look like it lasted for years.
As to welding, I have welded on the extra bolt attachment and welded up cracks in those magnesium covers using tig arc welding. I suspect there is a good possibility even the corroded area could be repaired with torch and flux and the right rod. It might be a lot of set up work as if it gets too hot it will collapse. I think lead and zinc in the alloy make it not tig weldable, I have not successfully done a brake backing plate so I do not claim all the magnesium on these things is tig weldable.
As to the replacement aluminum ones there was a time when, the way it seemed to me reading the complaints the bore for the kick starter shaft wasn't exactly in the right spot. Do what you want but I would want a no questions asked return option if in original condition.
fran...k.
Husqvarna
AA Class
The picture also was done to show how the 87-88 larger clutch hence larger cavity of the primary cover changes the kick start bumper and parts. Somewhere around 1986 the extra bolt was added to the covers designed for the 5 spring clutch. I have even seen on line non water cooled covers with the extra bolt hole which most likely are from the four stroke model. I am not in a position to comment on what went on with replacement parts. In the older single cam section the added yet another bolt hole but the water pump was moved, I believe up on the head non cam chain side.
ajcmbrown
Husqvarna
Pro Class
I remember when I had my '86, my local dealer told me that I could buy an aluminium replacement cover for my bike, from memory it was somewhere around $500 in 1990! Needless to say, I didn't buy it but it does indicate that Husqvarna had a fix for a well known problem.
Perhaps it wasn't produced until after Husky was sold to Cagiva when these bikes were out of production?
Perhaps it wasn't produced until after Husky was sold to Cagiva when these bikes were out of production?
2premo
Husqvarna
Pro Class
t
there was a factory replacement program if you got it done it was pretty much free but after that you were on your own
there was a factory replacement program if you got it done it was pretty much free but after that you were on your own
ajcmbrown
Husqvarna
Pro Class
I do not believe this stuff about aluminum clutch covers posted above. I went on an engine buying spree, 1988 engines a number of years ago, not all had the cover but I must have at least four and they all test magnesium by the file and burn the shaving method. The auto stuff I have is all aluminum, the four stroke cases I have are aluminum, I think I tested the cover and it also was magnesium If anyone ever comes to go riding in West Virginia with me we can file a bit off and see. Here is a picture of a corroded 87-88 cover. I never attempted to repair corroded covers as ground water around here comes from cracks in metamorphic rocks for private wells and anti freeze is used. The one repaired one with epoxy doesn't look like it lasted for years.
As to welding, I have welded on the extra bolt attachment and welded up cracks in those magnesium covers using tig arc welding. I suspect there is a good possibility even the corroded area could be repaired with torch and flux and the right rod. It might be a lot of set up work as if it gets too hot it will collapse. I think lead and zinc in the alloy make it not tig weldable, I have not successfully done a brake backing plate so I do not claim all the magnesium on these things is tig weldable.
As to the replacement aluminum ones there was a time when, the way it seemed to me reading the complaints the bore for the kick starter shaft wasn't exactly in the right spot. Do what you want but I would want a no questions asked return option if in original condition.
Fran is this clutch cover the same as yours? I will test it with some vinegar when I get a chance. Other than taking a sliver of material and trying to ignite it, is there another way to test Mag vs AL?
