The header I had planned on reusing on my daily is cracked significantly at some welds. I thought it might be stainless, but I see a little bit of rusting and a magnet sticks to it. So what could it be? The picture is of the header in question but not the cracks.
Mainly, im wondering if i can weld it with my flux core, or if i need to take to to the welder with a tig.
Sounds like plated mild steel, give it a try with your mig and if it doesn't work out the guy with a tig can fix up your sins along with the crack.
Adam
Tubing. It looks to be made of tubing.
That's rusty enough it could just be mild steel.
How hard does the magnet stick? Is it like a little bit, or does it really jump?
If it grabs the magnet enthusiastically then it's steel. If it grabs the magnet just a little then it's probably 409 Stainless Steel. And that stuff will rust some.
I've never welded 409, so I can't give you any advice there. But your flux-core would work fine on mild steel. I love flux-core for certain things. Use a spritz of "MIG nozzle spray" from the welding shop on your part and the clean-up is easy too!
My bet is plated steel.
I have successfully welded a stainless exhaust with a flux core welder. It was ugly, but it held for 30K miles.
Magnet seems to stick pretty well.
And im not worried about pretty. Just functional. And long term fixed.
So, ill give it a try tomorrow! Got nothing to lose. Especially since y'all think its safe to try.
Wally said:
Tubing. It looks to be made of tubing.
This guys a riot. If we would award the GRM “Guy that Cracks You Up the Most” you should earn Year #2, after me, of course.
Datsun310Guy said:
Wally said:
Tubing. It looks to be made of tubing.
This guys a riot. If we would award the GRM “Guy that Cracks You Up the Most” you should earn Year #2, after me, of course.
Wally has to have a great sense of humor - not only does he deal with commuting to/from NYC daily, he then spends all day dealing with NYC commuters’ problems. If he didn’t have a sense of humor he’d probably have several murder convictions by now!
You can get stainless wire for flux core, but not sure which would work better on that, since it is probably 409. 409 is magnetic, and is often used on exhaust stuff.
The neon Forum came through overnight. Apparently it's a Chrome plated mild steel Mopar performance header. Out of production for a long time.
Robbie
UltimaDork
2/26/19 8:48 a.m.
um, weld outside? I'm not sure what kind of gasses you can create welding metal with coatings.
I buzzed the cracks with my flux core this morning before work. I'm not sure what gas is I inhaled in the process but they gave me a hell of a headache
To get a good weld you need to remove the chrome at least 1/4 inch back from the weld. The hexavalent chromium in the gas you breathed is highly toxic....
In reply to TurnerX19 :
With the wonderful inhalation properties of flux core too. I bet that breathed weird.
Dusterbd13-michael said:
Well crap.
Should i be worried?
hard to tell. how many fingers do you have now?
but srsly, you just had a small exposure, you didn't spend your entire adult life in a factory doing this E36 M3. i didn't stay at a holiday inn express last night, but if i did i would advise you to drink a big glass of milk and generally pay attention to how you feel throughout the day.
Datsun310Guy said:
Wally said:
Tubing. It looks to be made of tubing.
This guys a riot. If we would award the GRM “Guy that Cracks You Up the Most” you should earn Year #2, after me, of course.
the funny scale goes from 1 to Wally. you're a six at best.
What Angry said.
Keep your face away from the weld in the future. A lot of guys like to be right up there watching the puddle and end up snorting all of the toxic fumes. Also, flux core is nasty stuff designed to be used outside on tractors, if you are going to use it inside have some fans going or wear a good respirator.
Id weld it, not scared, I had to weld my mopar header also.
Couple of Excedrin for the headache and something to eat and I feel just fine. However I will take more precautions for safety in the future.
The big one with welding is chlorinated brake clean. It turns into WWI nerve gas. I weld stainless exhaust all the time with my flux core HF welder
Dusterbd13-michael said:
Well crap.
Should i be worried?
The first sign is you reading comprenssion sterts to go, thin yir bekome unyaboe to bo ei ezd forem o.iiiee aliz isif $#9 ls9 )(8*##!
bluej
UberDork
2/26/19 11:32 a.m.
Wally said:
Tubing. It looks to be made of tubing.
Can we get Wally to do the color commentary for the challenge along with JG and David?
Hexavalent chromium would be the concern with welding through the plating, although you'd be exposed to it anyway if the part were stainless. For long term exposure, I believe lung cancer is the primary concern, although I don't think I'd worry too much about a one time thing.
Dusterbd13-michael said:
Couple of Excedrin for the headache and something to eat and I feel just fine. However I will take more precautions for safety in the future.
Um, didn’t you have a lung scare not too long ago?
For all of the GRM board folk: This stuff is supposed to be fun, not life threatening. Take the necessary precautions, please.