I have a 1979 flh. The left engine case was cracked and someone welded it. I want to replace the left case. But I'm not sure if an earlier shovel case will match up. I looked in the old harley parts interchange book, and it says that harley redesigned the cases in 1978. But I'm not sure if that's accurate or not. So does anyone know which case I can swap in. I know harley still made shovelhead engines till around 1984. So which left hand case will work? Older? Later ones? None?
Thanks in advance..

 

the case halfs are machined together so the top decks are flat and in align for the jugs - the two are matched so they don't leak out the bottom - and the sprocket and pinion races are in alignment

now we marry them all the time in the antique world, but you can buy new for 1/2 the cost of what your intending to do

 

I can pick up a used left case for about $200. How much does the machine work cost roughly? I like to keep my matching numbers. But I've seen new aftermarket cases for 6 or 7 hundred bucks. I'm guessing most folks want original over aftermarket. But I'm assuming....

 

You have found a dude that does exactly what you are lookin for - I typically get a grand to bring a set of cases back to life - as JZ knows - it is more than just re-decking the jug surfaces - the pinion and the sprocket journals have to be line honed or reamed - no guarantee that these will align either - I know guys that will mill off the lip that sets the case alignment and add locating pins to get all to align up - plus I seen dudes add aluminum and machine back clearance for the wheels - lots of work here boys

I'll tell you this - if I had welded that case and rebuilt the lower end you would never know it was welded or repaired.

 

Too much money to put into a bike that ain't worth much. Im lookin for the cheapest way to go.
maybe having it welded better would be the cheapest way to go.
I appreciate your feedback...

 

thats an interesting crack you have there....... one thing you want to do is work out why it cracked in the first place..... from my earlier posts i have done the shimming of the motor to the frame on my 82 FLH ....when i measured this, the front mounting on the opposite side of your crack was found to have 0.004 clearance.....maybe thats the reason yours has cracked as well.....opinions????

 

Is it cracked now or just looks like crap? that's a typical weld repair - if it needs to be rewelded the cases will still need to be split - if it is not on plane with the other mount you might find a guy that can re-machine it on plane assembled - you can take another 16th or so and then shim the front mounts to avoid adding material prior to machining - my table is not large enough to permit the assembled cases to be mounted but it is possible

 

I think I just need to split the cases and take a good look at it. Im not sure how the Crack occured. But there's a possibility the bike hit something once upon a time, since the outer chain primary cover has had some welding done to it also. I bought the bike 6 years ago and don't really know the history. Just another project I need to get to. I assume for it to be welded properly, it needs to be welded inside the case also and not just on the outside.

 

I've come across shops or guys in garages that will weld over top of **** on the outside of blocks and cases - problem is that aluminum holds a lot of oil and you have to bake out the case half to remove the oil or the weld is a POS bubbly porous leaking turd - I have an industrial oven for this - second - the head will ruin the seal between the case halves - third - aluminum should be pre-heated to like 250 maybe 300 before welding - then cooled slowly in the oven - this is why the cases should be split - if you know any speed shops in your area, they may know of locals that do excellent work - many of these shops will farm stuff out to locals like me cause the work is too labor intensive and requires some craft and skill - even a simple looking repair like that is a lot of work and if not done right will crack again - and you always need some luck when dealing with this old porous crap - I use high silicon content filler rod that flows into high sand content aluminum which solves a lot of issues with the welding process

 

even very experienced welders are not proficient at welding cast Harley alloy - no matter what they tell you

find a gray hair bike shop owner who works on older machines even in another state - reason the after market case set is a deal

unless it looks like this one you wasting your time worrying about original cases with a cone shovel