Mig welding a chassis - from beginner to MOT pass-worthy welding

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I'm a coded welder an have Ben welding for ten years, I would say same as rest! Practice practice practice, and get a gas mig welder! I had to weld all my outriggers, bulkhead an both footwels also a little on my chassis, and I used a gassless mig set an they are ****e! Grind back the area your wanting to weld to bear steel, get rid of all the rust by cutting it out an replace the steel with either the same thickness or thicker, but not any thinner! Disconnect the battery!!!! Try to get some decent size sheets to put around your work area so not to set owt on fire, you'll be welding on quet a low power cos chassis ain't that thick, you want the welder to sound like a machine gun when your welding, you want minimum 160 amps (that's your wire feed) and set your volts to suit, like I say it wants to be a consistent machine gun noise , to much wire and it'll blob up an look ****e an the weld will build up coursing 'cold lap' not enough wire and you fill fail to fill the weld pool up coursing undercut / lack of fill / lack of penatration, get your self a price of scrap and cut a line in it about 3mm deep an 3mm wide across the plate and get the welder sounding like I said then have a go on the line you cut into the plate, if you watch the weld pool build up Sothat you can see it over flowing over both edges of the cut on the plate then try to keep it moving at that pace all the way down the cut (don't overflow to much tho ie- 1mm on both sides of the plate)... Now take a look at the weld you done- if there's not enough weld in the cut then you either turn your wire speed up a bit or you change your travel speed an go slower and same if it filled to much ( the weld shouldn't be any higher than 3 mm above the plate ) then turn wire down or go faster with your travel speed, if your welding up then turn your set down and weave the weld from 1 side to the other (like a Christmas tree shape (3points)) this alows the weld on 1 side to set as your going to other side then back on to the bit that has set a bit an so on, this gives you something to work on, never weld down hand,this has no penatration and will crack and fail an be unsafe, your gas wants to be set between 15 an 20 litres, hold the shroud 15 mm away from the weld pool if you get gas holes then you've either ran out of gas or your holding the shroud to far away or your gas is to high or the wind is blowing your shielding gas away, always make sure you got a good earth! And always clean your shroud and your tip as this can effect the gas flow an wire, on the chassis- if your not sure about the weld then grind it flush and if you see any imperfections then there's no need to grind all the weld out (considering it is ok!) just grind the effected area out a bit the go over it again,
 
Wak28 said:
I'm a coded welder an have Ben welding for ten years, I would say same as rest! Practice practice practice, and get a gas mig welder! I had to weld all my outriggers, bulkhead an both footwels also a little on my chassis, and I used a gassless mig set an they are ****e! Grind back the area your wanting to weld to bear steel, get rid of all the rust by cutting it out an replace the steel with either the same thickness or thicker, but not any thinner! Disconnect the battery!!!! Try to get some decent size sheets to put around your work area so not to set owt on fire, you'll be welding on quet a low power cos chassis ain't that thick, you want the welder to sound like a machine gun when your welding, you want minimum 160 amps (that's your wire feed) and set your volts to suit, like I say it wants to be a consistent machine gun noise , to much wire and it'll blob up an look ****e an the weld will build up coursing 'cold lap' not enough wire and you fill fail to fill the weld pool up coursing undercut / lack of fill / lack of penatration, get your self a price of scrap and cut a line in it about 3mm deep an 3mm wide across the plate and get the welder sounding like I said then have a go on the line you cut into the plate, if you watch the weld pool build up Sothat you can see it over flowing over both edges of the cut on the plate then try to keep it moving at that pace all the way down the cut (don't overflow to much tho ie- 1mm on both sides of the plate)... Now take a look at the weld you done- if there's not enough weld in the cut then you either turn your wire speed up a bit or you change your travel speed an go slower and same if it filled to much ( the weld shouldn't be any higher than 3 mm above the plate ) then turn wire down or go faster with your travel speed, if your welding up then turn your set down and weave the weld from 1 side to the other (like a Christmas tree shape (3points)) this alows the weld on 1 side to set as your going to other side then back on to the bit that has set a bit an so on, this gives you something to work on, never weld down hand,this has no penatration and will crack and fail an be unsafe, your gas wants to be set between 15 an 20 litres, hold the shroud 15 mm away from the weld pool if you get gas holes then you've either ran out of gas or your holding the shroud to far away or your gas is to high or the wind is blowing your shielding gas away, always make sure you got a good earth! And always clean your shroud and your tip as this can effect the gas flow an wire, on the chassis- if your not sure about the weld then grind it flush and if you see any imperfections then there's no need to grind all the weld out (considering it is ok!) just grind the effected area out a bit the go over it again,
Click to expand...

what is your opinion about splatter shield, the stuff that look like grease you dip your nozzle in?
 
Yes m8 tip- dip will stop spatter build up on your tip an nozzle, or anti spatter spray does just the same, jus don't use them in excess or again it will effect the weld
 
Wak28 said:
I'm a coded welder an have Ben welding for ten years, I would say same as rest! Practice practice practice, and get a gas mig welder! I had to weld all my outriggers, bulkhead an both footwels also a little on my chassis, and I used a gassless mig set an they are ****e! Grind back the area your wanting to weld to bear steel, get rid of all the rust by cutting it out an replace the steel with either the same thickness or thicker, but not any thinner! Disconnect the battery!!!! Try to get some decent size sheets to put around your work area so not to set owt on fire, you'll be welding on quet a low power cos chassis ain't that thick, you want the welder to sound like a machine gun when your welding, you want minimum 160 amps (that's your wire feed) and set your volts to suit, like I say it wants to be a consistent machine gun noise , to much wire and it'll blob up an look ****e an the weld will build up coursing 'cold lap' not enough wire and you fill fail to fill the weld pool up coursing undercut / lack of fill / lack of penatration, get your self a price of scrap and cut a line in it about 3mm deep an 3mm wide across the plate and get the welder sounding like I said then have a go on the line you cut into the plate, if you watch the weld pool build up Sothat you can see it over flowing over both edges of the cut on the plate then try to keep it moving at that pace all the way down the cut (don't overflow to much tho ie- 1mm on both sides of the plate)... Now take a look at the weld you done- if there's not enough weld in the cut then you either turn your wire speed up a bit or you change your travel speed an go slower and same if it filled to much ( the weld shouldn't be any higher than 3 mm above the plate ) then turn wire down or go faster with your travel speed, if your welding up then turn your set down and weave the weld from 1 side to the other (like a Christmas tree shape (3points)) this alows the weld on 1 side to set as your going to other side then back on to the bit that has set a bit an so on, this gives you something to work on, never weld down hand,this has no penatration and will crack and fail an be unsafe, your gas wants to be set between 15 an 20 litres, hold the shroud 15 mm away from the weld pool if you get gas holes then you've either ran out of gas or your holding the shroud to far away or your gas is to high or the wind is blowing your shielding gas away, always make sure you got a good earth! And always clean your shroud and your tip as this can effect the gas flow an wire, on the chassis- if your not sure about the weld then grind it flush and if you see any imperfections then there's no need to grind all the weld out (considering it is ok!) just grind the effected area out a bit the go over it again,
Click to expand...

Some solid advice there, id go for a decent name second hand welder rarther than a new clarke etc....
 
Just thought I'd post here rather than starting a new thread.

I searched on the internet and on here and for some reason haven't found anything. I've got a gash on my front diff casing that'll need sorted as despite all my best efforts to seal it its still leaking. I plan on just welding it up at the moment and put a new diff pan on in future but what I wanted to know is what to do with regards to the oil. Of course ill drain it first but is there a chance of the residual oil flashing whilst I'm welding? I guess I could take the diff out completely and clean it with brake cleaner or petrol but I wanted to be lazy and save the hassle of getting the front halfshafts out of the way etc...
 
redhand said:
spray the area with brake claner and leave to evaporate it'll be fine afterwards.
Click to expand...

But surely thats only the outside cleaned off, what about all the EP thats still lining the inside of the diff housing?

My concern would be that with the diff still in and the half shafts still in your first indication of something being alight could be quite a while in the coming and so cause a fair bit of damage in there, i always accept that when i weld something will flare a little and i just have stuff with me to put it out, whether that be a gloved hand or a splash of water or even the fire extinguisher, but when you cant see the other side of what you are welding but you do know its coated in oil that has got to play havoc with the paranoid among us.:pop2:
 
I've got no idea what the flash point is but if its anything like standard engine oil when its been mixed with waxoyl on a chassis you might be ok, it doesn't burn too quickly and easy enough to pat out with a gloved hand
 
If its not leaking while standing, i.e. it only leaks when the oil gets warm and thins, what about filling it up before welding:confused:
The thinking being you are highly unlikely to get a large amount of oil hot enough to burn, whereas just the residual oil would catch and burn easily:confused:

****Disclaimer*** I have just woke up, so this could be a really stupid idea:rolleyes:;):D:D
 
It does leak while standing but only very slowly. Enough to cause a mess though and I'm sure my neighbours absolutely love me.

Hm, to be honest I am tempted just to give it a go and see what happens
 
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