Welding a cast alloy sump

[scottmk1]

Hi,

I have a sump from my Westfield kitcar that needs to be shortened to get better ground clearance. The sump is off a Mazda MX5 from 1991 and is made of cast alloy.

I have a R-Tech TIG161 set that I recently purchased, and have been playing around with its settings and using it on different materials. When trying to get a weld pool to form on the sump material it just seems to bubble up, if it does anything at all.

Can anyone give me any pointers as to what settings I should be using and what type/size tungsten? The sump is approx 3-4mm thick and the aluminium plate I want to weld to it is 3mm thick.

 

[Shox Dr]

You will struggle with only 160 amps on hand, you'll need a lot of preheat

get it stuck in the oven when the misses isn't looking

 

[Rrunnach]

Yep, sump will take a fair bit of heat to get to welding temp. Plus the added problem of absorbed oil in matl. Where in Scotland are you based?

 

[scottmk1]

Thanks for the reply, what current would be required to weld that size of aluminium?

Im in Fife.

 

[Shox Dr]

Min 200amps

 

[Rrunnach]

Thanks for the reply, what current would be required to weld that size of aluminium?

Im in Fife.

I taught a couple of guys from Fife, their interests were welding up these kit cars, can't remember names but, one I think worked for Virgin media, fibre optic stuff??

If your struggling, gimme a shout, could do with a wee al/al job before I lose me kit

Cheers.......

 

[hotrodder]

Ovens are great (when the missus is out). Dishwashers too. Be warned that something like an old sump can create an unbelievable stench when heated though. Make sure she's well out of the way, preferably away for a girls weekend or something unless you want a proper earfull! Oh, and don't decide to have a baked potato for dinner the same evening!

One of todays jobs was modifying an old PRV inlet manifold. This thing had been cleaned by the owner before he milled the top off. I degreased it again and steam cleaned it. Bloody thing was still 'sweating' oil, catching fire and smoking like a good 'un.

FWIW i had the welder set at around 170A but the manifold was preheated*. I had a 1" thick Holley 4 barrel carb spacer to weld to it which was sat in the oven being cooked on gas mark 6 (~200C) while i got on with the other bits of the manifold. Welder got turned up to 200A for the spacer. More would have been nice. The carb spacer, being new, can be stuck in the oven without landing you in the doghouse and/or making your food taste weird

* preheating consisted of dealing with the more delicate bits of welding first and running the arc over the weld areas without 'properly' melting it to pull all the crud to the surface. Tickle with a die grinder and repeat until it melts cleanly by which time the entire thing is warm and so doesn't need as many amps.

 

[scottmk1]

Thanks for the advice guys. Its already had the dishwasher treatment a few times.

 

[500e]

Boil it in Bio washing powder a couple of times 20\30 min clean water each time, an old tea urn or Burco boiler.
Wife found me experimenting with the dish washer once!! not a good result. for me that is the alloy crank case came up great.

 

[pedrobedro]

Wife found me experimenting with the dish washer once!! not a good result.

How old is the dishwasher and what's her name ? Some brick acid from the builder's merchant cleans the surface up but don't leave it on too long and make sure it's well rinsed off.

 

[julieanncharters]

i'd be more worried about melting yer welder,running flat out on ali aint gonna do it any good.
torches are a bit light weight for long runs on max ,you might need to wear two pairs of gloves
if it were me i'd give it someone to do ,got to be cheaper than a wrecked welder.

 

[arceyered]

I degrease a lot of my small engine parts with a camping stove tin bucket and dishwasher tablets boil them for half an hour alfresco No wifey problems

 

[Shox Dr]

Oh grow some balls. It's just as much your oven/dishwash/hover etc etc etc as hers.

 

[Wedg1e]

Oh grow some balls. It's just as much your oven/dishwash/hover etc etc etc as hers.

Or do as I did: let her spend £16K on a new kitchen and when the old appliances get put in the garage, see that they never leave
Instant oven, dishwasher and beer fridge

 

[Shox Dr]

16k on a kitchen. I'm lost for words

 

[CRB]

?Why do you think they get married in white?

To match the dishwasher, cooker, washing machine and tumble dryer of course.



Not that I would say anything of the sort to Dearly Beloved,.......who has gone to bed.

 

[hotrodder]

Oh grow some balls. It's just as much your oven/dishwash/hover etc etc etc as hers.

Very true but none of the above* are capable of throwing hissy fits/sulking/going on strike in the bedroom.


* with the possible exception of Pedros idea of a dishwasher although that design isn't as good for cleaning bits of old car

 

[derekm]

When I was building racing cars... it was my missus who suggested putting the parts (oil tank, oil cooler, catch tank....etc) in the dish washer "Its not as though they are dirty".

But then she thought a clean empty hewland gear box i brought home would be nice to to have as a support for a glass coffee table...

She prefers gas to electric (both cooking and welding )

 

[Shox Dr]

You need to look after that one Derek. When all said and done, a wife that doesn't give you grief* is worth holding onto

*believe me mine does, but then she is married to a first class t...

 

[scottmk1]

Ok, had a play with this today and it's not going well. I managed to get going initially with a 2,5mm ceriated tungsten, machine on 150A. It wasnt great welding by any means but it gave me a starting point. So, I cleaned up the areas once I'd got a couple of tacks on, now I either melt the tungstens till they start falling to bits or the cast just keeps bubbling away with a horrible film/skin on it.

Rrunnach, are you still up for helping me out?