What is this made out of?

[Denee007]

Good morning!
The tranny mount in this photo(that's not how it will be mounted, this is an old photo). I need to weld it so it won't turn, the tube slips into the perches on the frame. I ground it down to metal where I wanted it to be clocked at, but when I went to tack it, it acts like aluminum. A magnet will hold to it. but it flares up badly when I go to mig it! So what's up with this? Could I run a bolt through it?

[mknittle]

sand the paint off at least 1/2" from where you are going to weld and clean it with laquer thinner . That is what a welding instructor told me. But I go farther at least an inch. I also sand a spot where I am putting my ground clamp. The ground clamp is the first place to look for problems. Besides it is WAY eiser to clean the paint off apart than later after your welds are comtaminated and you cant get it apart! Sounds like you have done all that. What wire are you using? I mostly use ER70S-6
God only knows what is in the steel you get these days!

[FrankieD]

Make sure the battery is disconnected or you might cause damage to some electrical components. Bad ground will cause you fits ground the piece you are welding

[mknittle]

QUOTE=FrankieD;5350662]Make sure the battery is disconnected or you might cause damage to some electrical components. Bad ground will cause you fits ground the piece you are welding[/QUOTE]

lol I think she is far from having a battery though just like alot of us

[FrankieD]

]

lol I think she is far from having a battery though just like alot of us[/QUOTE]

Couldn't tell looking from the botton Yea my battery is in and out all the time too.

[Denee007]

I needed a chuckle!!:lol:

Originally Posted by FrankieD

]

lol I think she is far from having a battery though just like alot of us

Couldn't tell looking from the botton Yea my battery is in and out all the time too.[/QUOTE]

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by FrankieD

]

lol I think she is far from having a battery though just like alot of us

Couldn't tell looking from the botton Yea my battery is in and out all the time too.[/QUOTE]

is that your nice looking 69-70 in your avitar? I am building one with a cummins.

[Denee007]

YOu're putting a cummins in a Mustang? that would be interesting to see! So, you noticed my '67 Mustang! That was my first project, and it was much easier than my truck!

As for my welder, I just had welded something yesterday and it worked fine. I'm too burned out today to check it out. The firewall kind of has me bummed out~ it's in my build thread.

Originally Posted by mknittle

Couldn't tell looking from the botton Yea my battery is in and out all the time too.

is that your nice looking 69-70 in your avitar? I am building one with a cummins.[/QUOTE]


I guess I ought to drive it somewhere~ I just move it out of the garage, then back in the garage. It actually looks better in the photo.

[mknittle]

If all else fails make one out of 2'.120wall square tube.

[jfortvalley]

its mild steel

[Denee007]

So, are you writing that mild steel welds horribly? I was working on the drivers side floor pan today, I'll play with the darned crossmember later today. I'll remove much more paint. I did grind very well where my ground lead went~ eh, maybe not enough. Actually underneath the truck, I was just trying to put a tack to hold it, but when pulling the trigger to tack, like a small atomic bomb! just very bright, and ruined one of my tips, like melted it partly!!
I'll check back, got the floor pan cut out, but may leave the pan out for a while, great access point! Maybe I should put a hinge on the floor pan! lol

Originally Posted by jfortvalley

its mild steel

[Kim57]

Looks just like the one I got from CPP. I had no trouble welding mine.
Are you using shielding gas when your welding?
I find if I get a magnet to close to what I'm welding it will cause me problems.
Make sure all your connections on your welder are tight. I had problems after changing my feed line and it turned out to be a loose connection inside the welder.
Kim

[mknittle]

are you grounded to the part you are welding? About once a year I replace my dads liner, he has the same thing happen. The problem is he insists on spraying anti splatter into the torch while holding it up and letting the it run down in to everything. When it drys in gets sticky and the wire will jump and stops. The drive wheels can do that to

[_Ogre]

it amazes me that you guys buy simple stuff that needs to be welded in.
a piece of square tubing, round tubing or angle iron welded to the bottom of the frame does the same thing.
that mount probably cost $99.99 and still need to be fit and welded.
a piece of square tube would have cost you $10 if you didn't have it laying around.

denee, i'm not knocking your choice of bracket, i just think you could fabricate a better looking one for a lot less
and have the satisfaction of building it yourself for a lot less money and less grief.
test your fab skills, even if you mess up the first 4 times, you'd have saved $50 and learned a lot about making stuff fit.

i see a under floor mc mount, it looks like the x-member is a little close too.

[Denee007]

HI Orrie! yes, you're right, and now I figure it out that I could have made one. In the photo, that's an earlier photo, that's not where the crossmember will go, the perches will actually be flipped and hanging from the frame.. IT will be a while before I get the chance to get a photo of it mounted correctly.

I honestly didn't think about making one until you mentioned it : ( I just figured the weight must be intense, so "surely" the ones store bought are better! lol
live n learn!

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by Denee007

HI Orrie! yes, you're right, and now I figure it out that I could have made one. In the photo, that's an earlier photo, that's not where the crossmember will go, the perches will actually be flipped and hanging from the frame.. IT will be a while before I get the chance to get a photo of it mounted correctly.

I honestly didn't think about making one until you mentioned it : ( I just figured the weight must be intense, so "surely" the ones store bought are better! lol
live n learn!

.
Not me, ogres post.
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[Mike Bradbury]

Sometimes powder coaters will put a zinc primer before coating, if your not thorough in removing all of it it will react just like what you described. The base is silverish and can look similar to steel. Grind until you see sparks and you know you're ready. If it doesn't spark it is either still coated with something or it is a non-ferrous material.

[Denee007]

Apologies OrrieG!

Originally Posted by OrrieG

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Not me, ogres post.
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[AUSSIE54]

Hi Denee,

You have a good range of helpful responses there and all things to look out for. The one thing that caught my eye was that you said that you had melted the tip when attempting to do a tack. I'm wondering if there is an excessive spatter build up in your gas shroud bridging the tip to the shroud causing this problem for you. Not trying to tell you how to suck eggs but if you don't already know, it is imperritive to regularly clean the shroud out from spatter build up which will help maintain an even gas shield around your weld pool and also lesson the risk of the tip arc'ing out. It also pays to check the gas flow setting on your regulator when opening the gas bottle valve each time. Remember also that too much gas flow can be just as bad as too little. Hope some of this helps.

Regards,

Trently.
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[Denee007]

Good morning Trently! I do appreciate your response! I had just welded something the day before and it was welding fine. I do check for buildup in the nozzle, remove the nozzle, etc. plus my flow meter is hovering at 15psi. I haven't had time to check it out since I started this thread. As soon as I get Done with some firewall stuff, I'll get back to the crossmember and put an end to my question

Originally Posted by AUSSIE54

Hi Denee,

You have a good range of helpful responses there and all things to look out for. The one thing that caught my eye was that you said that you had melted the tip when attempting to do a tack. I'm wondering if there is an excessive spatter build up in your gas shroud bridging the tip to the shroud causing this problem for you. Not trying to tell you how to suck eggs but if you don't already know, it is imperritive to regularly clean the shroud out from spatter build up which will help maintain an even gas shield around your weld pool and also lesson the risk of the tip arc'ing out. It also pays to check the gas flow setting on your regulator when opening the gas bottle valve each time. Remember also that too much gas flow can be just as bad as too little. Hope some of this helps.

Regards,

Trently.
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[_Ogre]

don't blame orrieg for that post
those universal mounts really don't work well with the modifications you've done to your truck.
the old x-member you cut out kept the frame from flexing and your front cab mounts from sagging.
your truck needs some structural support put back into it.

this is what i did, a little over kill but i had the material laying around
upper and lower member to keep the frame from twisting and tube support to reinforce the front cab mounts.



the center piece with the mount attached, drops out to remove the trans
notice how the stock x-members support both top and bottom flanges of the frame
this is the support you need to duplicate
all the weight on the front spring and the cab all come together where the old x-member was.

[Denee007]

I see what mean about the structural integrity being compromised by the removal of the support I took out. I like the way you made a part of it remove able for trany removal! Thank you for bringing this to my attention; )

Originally Posted by _Ogre

don't blame orrieg for that post
those universal mounts really don't work well with the modifications you've done to your truck.
the old x-member you cut out kept the frame from flexing and your front cab mounts from sagging.
your truck needs some structural support put back into it.

this is what i did, a little over kill but i had the material laying around
upper and lower member to keep the frame from twisting and tube support to reinforce the front cab mounts.



the center piece with the mount attached, drops out to remove the trans
notice how the stock x-members support both top and bottom flanges of the frame
this is the support you need to duplicate
all the weight on the front spring and the cab all come together where the old x-member was.

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[Denee007]

Actually, I forgot to mention , I was hoping to re-incorporate the old crossmember that I removed, just all depends on the clearance between the crossmember and my th350. I think Orrie kept his in? In the photo below, I had left the remains of my cm. if it is usable, I'll weld on tabs or flanges to make the main part removeable. I guess I need to put my mock up engine and tranny back together again and test fit the old cm! Darn! If it requires moving my tranny support Again, this would be the time to do it, it's just tacked in.


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[AUSSIE54]

Yes, Goodmorning to you too, although it is good night over here. Hmm, will be good morning in 18 minutes though.

Sounds like you are well on the right track with things and with a good process of elimination you will find the cause. Don't worry, even after 25 years of experience it's still the little things that go unnoticed are often the most frustrating until the cause is found.

Good luck with the firewall and I hope all turns out well with the crossmember.

Regards, Trently.
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[Denee007]

First off, I turned my c25 on, pulled the trigger on my systematics 175, the flow ball pegged top of the the little housing! I'm sure I would have noticed that!! Lol. However, I didn't get to try it out on the crossmember before I saw that! I had ground the metal with my angle grinder very well, and this time it welded ok, but I did notice where I didn't grind it so well, that it would flare up as before.

Maybe that's why I was having so much trouble welding on my firewall yesterday. I use the same c25 bottle for both. I kept checking my ground, readjusting my current, wire speed, but flared up a lot. My firewall looks like crap right now: (. On the firewall I was using my 135 amp mig, on the crossmember I was using the Systematics. Maybe the high volume of gas messed with me!

From now on, better prep and watch my gas flow! ; )

My welders:
The systematics is a strong machine, but I do need a liner or perhaps the gun back to the machine(Ching Ching). I use .035 in it for heavier welding. Its an old machine. I bought it used obviously for 300 with the bottle. Its made in the USA! And parts are available from the nicest people that sell parts for it.

The geen thing in the middle is an Everlast Chinese tig, plasma,stick. I mainly bought it for the plasma. I don't seem to be very good at tig: (. I had to send it back for repair already; I just got it back (a replacement) and have yet to try it. If it messes up again, I may just throw it away. But the stick is kind of fun!

The one on the right is from Nothern tools, and it Rocks! I use it mainly for sheet metal and lighter welds.

Oh, if you should notice my small oxy/acet bottles, I have larger bottles now. I was told laying the smaller bottles down was dangerous.

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