Welding exhuast
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 319
Likes: 0
From: Sunnyvale CA
Welding exhuast
Anyone ever done welding on their exhaust before? Like themselves? I mean I have an arc welder, and the guys told me down at the muffler shop that they'd charge $250 for the labor I want them to do..... and $250 more to spend on other stuff would be nice. Can anyone tell me how hard this is/how to do it?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 2,116
Likes: 156
From: Mid West
Cruise-In III Veteran
If your going to weld it yourself use a MIG welder with gas. Tack weld it together under the car and finish welding it on the floor so you can get full 360 deg. welds. Also, if you use overlapping joints, instead of butt welds, it makes the job alot easier.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,545
Likes: 3
From: 406ci SB, AFR 180 Heads - 490 HP @5,600 RPM 529 lb-ft @ 4,100 RPM
It must be mig welded, even better is tig welded using stainless pipes. Also have a good look for any gas line leaks, no matter how minor, keep a fire X close by when tacking. Any grease, oil or undercoating underneath may catch fire.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,269
Likes: 54
From: Orlando Florida
St. Jude Donor '05
Originally Posted by 76mike
Anyone ever done welding on their exhaust before? Like themselves? I mean I have an arc welder, and the guys told me down at the muffler shop that they'd charge $250 for the labor I want them to do..... and $250 more to spend on other stuff would be nice. Can anyone tell me how hard this is/how to do it?
That's exactly why I bought my flux core welder, the local shops charge an arm and a leg for exhaust work....
Flux core welds are ugly - you'll need to grind the welds clean after you're done welding. Depending on how often you weld it's up to you if you want a MIG/gas setup or just a cheap flux core welder. Flux core welders don't require shielding gas (it's in the wire), these are only around $150
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Instructor
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
From: San Marcos CA
If it's a fillet weld you should be OK but a butt weld will take some practice to get the settings right. Practicing on some tubing is a great idea.
Good Luck!
As far as being worth it. How much is your time worth?
Justa thought!
Good Luck!
As far as being worth it. How much is your time worth?
Justa thought!
Last edited by 72 RAY; Aug 22, 2005 at 10:31 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,950
Likes: 498
From: Chino Hills CA
Forget about using an arc welder for exhaust, you'll make yourself nuts. Arcwelders are good for welding large pieces of metal together, anything less than a 1/8 6013 rod isn't worth the aggravation of the rod sticking. I have been using my trusty .035 fluxcore wire feed for years, and I have no trouble laying down a nice bead. I welded up my own exhaust on my '72, headers, flowmasters and an H pipe. I left one slip joint on each pipe just in front of the H pipe in front of the rear axle for possible removal later. Even put a unboltable flange on the H pipe. Practice on scrap pipe first.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
From: San Marcos CA
Time and Material ( T & M ) Baby!.
Price out the stuff you want and figure in the fab time. Shop rates or your time. Not to bad if you have a plan and the parts. If you do it, be prepared to spend a lot of time on the creeper. If you buy the stuff you want and take it to an exhaust shop they can bend the conectors and weld it up in no time.
As far as the parts are concerned there a million threads on this subject. Take your pick.
Have fun!
Price out the stuff you want and figure in the fab time. Shop rates or your time. Not to bad if you have a plan and the parts. If you do it, be prepared to spend a lot of time on the creeper. If you buy the stuff you want and take it to an exhaust shop they can bend the conectors and weld it up in no time.
As far as the parts are concerned there a million threads on this subject. Take your pick.
Have fun!
Drifting
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,634
Likes: 2
From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, the World
I bought a bunch of Mandrel bends and used my arc welder to tack and then weld the extractors. Can be done but Mig and Tig are easier. If you do decide to Arc weld practice, practice, practice before starting. Thin tube butt welded is probably the hardest to do.
Had a professional do the rest of the system and wasn't impressed with the quality of the work. Should have done it myself.
Had a professional do the rest of the system and wasn't impressed with the quality of the work. Should have done it myself.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 1,102
Likes: 0
From: spring city pa
I run the wire downhand vertical with .030 wire for all my butt welds .Just carefully fit the joints and make sure the metal is clean . You can make great passes with no burn through . Just practice a bit with some scrap to get the feed and heat right .
Geo
Geo
