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Sigurd
Samba Member
Joined: April 18, 2006
Posts: 2639
Location: Rockford, IL
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 Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 8:20 am Post subject: Welding a stainless muffler |
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I have a ceramic coated Sidewinder and non-coated stainless Sidewinder muffler. I ordered the header without an O2 bung because I was impatient. Oops.  So now I have to weld my own. What are the pifalls and precautions taken when welding on stainless? I believe the bung is mild steel, but I'm not totally sure. The bung came with the LM1 kit. Has anyone done this before? |
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krusher
Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2002
Posts: 7652
Location: europe
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| Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:51 am Post subject: |
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Well I welded the Lm1 bung the my mild steel muffler fine, so i guess it is steel.
You need stainless wire in your mig to do what you want to do. or just take it some where to get it tiged , should be a 5 min job.
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Mongo63
Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2007
Posts: 1358
Location: prison city, IL
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| Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:12 am Post subject: |
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You need to remove the ceramic coating in the area to be welded.
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Sigurd
Samba Member
Joined: April 18, 2006
Posts: 2639
Location: Rockford, IL
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| Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks guys. I talked to Tiger this afternoon and he said the same thing...TIG. I'll be calling around because I can't do that myself and I want it done well. |
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Mr. Unpopular
Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2005
Posts: 3715
Location: Tampa Florida
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| Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 3:51 pm Post subject: |
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NO NO NO NO NO!
I weld mild steel to stainless all the time. Its my favorite thing to weld because its easy to get great looking welds that are also strong.
First, MIG is fine.
Second, mild steel wire is fine. The only thing stainless wire will do is not rust. Since the bung is mild steel anyway, spray some paint over it when you're done.
Third, just turn the heat up one notch higher than if you were welding mild steel to mild steel. The stainless sucks up heat, which is a good thing when welding tubing, it doesn't burn through very easily.
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exciter
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Joined: March 27, 2008
Posts: 644
Location: NW OHIO
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| Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Florida_Buggy wrote: |
NO NO NO NO NO!
I weld mild steel to stainless all the time. Its my favorite thing to weld because its easy to get great looking welds that are also strong.
First, MIG is fine.
Second, mild steel wire is fine. The only thing stainless wire will do is not rust. Since the bung is mild steel anyway, spray some paint over it when you're done.
Third, just turn the heat up one notch higher than if you were welding mild steel to mild steel. The stainless sucks up heat, which is a good thing when welding tubing, it doesn't burn through very easily. |
X2 good answer |
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Sigurd
Samba Member
Joined: April 18, 2006
Posts: 2639
Location: Rockford, IL
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:21 am Post subject: |
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| Florida_Buggy wrote: |
NO NO NO NO NO!
I weld mild steel to stainless all the time. Its my favorite thing to weld because its easy to get great looking welds that are also strong.
First, MIG is fine.
Second, mild steel wire is fine. The only thing stainless wire will do is not rust. Since the bung is mild steel anyway, spray some paint over it when you're done.
Third, just turn the heat up one notch higher than if you were welding mild steel to mild steel. The stainless sucks up heat, which is a good thing when welding tubing, it doesn't burn through very easily. |
What gas do you use? |
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youngnstudly
Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2005
Posts: 833
Location: Whine Country (SF Bay area)
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:30 am Post subject: |
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Regular (75/25 argon/CO2) mix that you use for mild steel will work for one little O2 bung. But as already mentioned, you will get rust so BBQ paint or something similar will be necassary. Or you could just take a trip to the muffler shop and get a stainless bung and have them weld it for you. Tig would be the "cat's meow" for a pretty bead and less heat buildup, but more than likely if the muffler shop isn't a specialty shop, they MIG stainless with a welder setup for mild steel anyways (which is a "hack" way to do it IMO). Tri-mix and stainless wire aren't cheap for someone welding stainless once in a great while so I doubt they'll keep a bottle around. A welding/fabrication shop or mobile weldor could do it also.
-Andy
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64VOLKS33
Samba Member
Joined: April 04, 2009
Posts: 134
Location: Apple Valley CA.
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 3:42 pm Post subject: |
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tig welded it, use straight argon and 309 stainless steel filler rod for mild steel to stainless applications. 
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Sigurd
Samba Member
Joined: April 18, 2006
Posts: 2639
Location: Rockford, IL
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| Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 3:34 pm Post subject: |
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| I had a local shop do it in an hour and a half this afternoon...and charged me for only an hour. Can't beat that. Maybe I can finally tune this thing this weekend. |
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