maybe a good welder can hilli arc it back in place?

 

That metal does not look like it will lend itself to a weld...but I have to think that the piece could be found if you scour the internet

 

cast iron is very hard to weld and stay together.
It’s hard for me to 100% tell but it seems the broken section is part of the main engine assembly.

 

That is 'Cast Steel' and is part of the engine block.
It is not that easy to weld. The parts have to be pre-heated first for a while.
Then after the weld is done, it has to cool very slowly. If it cools to quickly, it will crack again, and can crack while it is cooling.

 

It sounds like I need to retrofit this Vermeer engine in the roller.

 

It MAY be possible to fab a bracket that bolts to the engine elsewhere, to replace that piece. It's easier if the other mounting hole for the starter is still solid.

 

If you are willing to take the time, it appears that there may be enough 'meat' to use a brace 'plate' to bridge the fracture. If you can gain clear access you could drill and tap towards the block and use a nut and bolt outboard, perhaps with a third nut and bolt below the level of the starter. The first would need tapping so as to not disturb the starter mount position, the others not necessary. (from the pics as I see them).
Would a steel plate have enough strength? I think so, as it would need to support the weight of the starter and the torque it produced while spinning the flywheel. It is easier than fitting the V from the Vermeer? I suspect so. YMMV. Good luck whichever way you go.
tom

 

If you are willing to take the time, it appears that there may be enough 'meat' to use a brace 'plate' to bridge the fracture. If you can gain clear access you could drill and tap towards the block and use a nut and bolt outboard, perhaps with a third nut and bolt below the level of the starter. The first would need tapping so as to not disturb the starter mount position, the others not necessary. (from the pics as I see them).
Would a steel plate have enough strength? I think so, as it would need to support the weight of the starter and the torque it produced while spinning the flywheel. It is easier than fitting the V from the Vermeer? I suspect so. YMMV. Good luck whichever way you go.
tom

From my research the Kohler was a 22 hp motor. The Vermeer is 30 hp. That would be a pretty good upgrade. The way the hydraulics are setup I feel I can move the mounts to match the Vermeer motor. Vermeer has a bell housing on 1 side and horizontal shaft on the other. I'll only need the horizontal shaft for the Roller. I'll get pics of all to show explanation. I'm currently COVERED in tractor projects and I'm a 1 man show with full-time job and 2 little kids!

1. Roller motor starter broken issue (Needed ASAP to finish $4k driveway job)
2. Cub Low-boy clutch out (Need to resell as it's too slow to drag arena)
3. Ford N9 starter out and unknown if that's the only issue. (needed ASAP to drag arena daily)
4. Bobcat T550 hydraulic safety switch and remote throttle switch throwing codes. (Needed ASAP for horse ranch duty and several side construction jobs)

 

A bad flywheel ring teeth and/or a bad starter bendix is probably what caused it to break.
Sometimes a starter bendix will not engauge the flywheel teeth properly and the engine will be locked and then a attempt tp pull start the machine will then result in major breakage in the vicinity of the starter.
No need in welding until it's determined what caused it to break.
I've seen this happen to machines of all kinds.

 

I'm going to pull the motor and determine what happened. My inexperienced operator might have caused some issue. I'm just not sure. It seemed the motor wasn't giving full power as it didn't want to climb the small incline.