And it was all going so well!

Ordinary solder is used all the time in the electric guitar tube amps world to solder grounds to the aluminum chassis.

Yes, it can.

The larger issue here is…“oil-filled” can. I cannot see how one could successfully solder it. Were it me and I was hell-bent on repairing it, I would clean and roughen the area around the hole, and use JB Weld.

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But often , we have to see the result before seeing the danger.

Rob,
Thanks for the information on soldering aluminum.
I will now have to go and try to think of something I can try to make by trying to solder something to a piece of aluminum !

And if I was obsessive compulsive and determined to fix it because it was the date coded original and on glaring visual display mounted on the front of the engine, I would first empty out the oil. Then scrub it with fine carborundum paper or emery cloth. Then try tinning the area with an electric iron, not a torch. Then go over it to fill the holes. Then file and polish it. Then clear coat. Then fill with oil. :smile:
But I’m not, so a generic coil from Rock Auto works for me.

And, with no holes…how?

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Need a hole open to fill with dielectric oil. Then with aluminum can and full of oil… keeping the are clean and getting it hot enough to solder is a BIG challenge.
Huge heat sink

Maybe solder on an aluminum nut and fill other holes. Then use opening to fill with dielectric oil. Then gasketed aluminum bolt to seal off.

But aluminum threads are vulnerable to damage.

One last thought. And not a good one!
Old dielectric oils very often had PCB’s as a fire retardant.
That is now banned, as carcinogenic .

IF IF IF that were the case with the coil leaking dielectric oil, you need to properly dispose of anything, including your pliers, that came in contact. At least any rags, etc.

I cannot say with certainty.

FWIW, all mineral oils are non-conductive, so can be used as an insulator. The food-grade mineral oil you purchase off of the shelf at a pharmacy is generally 99.9% pure. You can drink it. It’s used as a laxative. If you epoxy the hole you need not worry with soldering or heat damage.

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There’s a saying in the pollution control business, “Dilution is the solution”. Virtually all federal regulations limiting exposure to hazardous substances are written in parts per million. That is, if the pollutant quantity remains constant, and the dilute is increased, at some the resultant solution is no longer considered a hazard. Although banned in 1979, PCBs were so ubiquitous they are still around. You can clean your tools with no danger. The small amount of oil in your coil can be mixed with your waste motor oil that you will properly recycle.

The screw in the top of the tower is the emptying/filling port. Sorry I guess I thought that was obvious.