My custom intercooler setup
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
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From: Fairfax, Virginia
Thanks for the comments. So does anyone know about the Tial BOV width??
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I don't mean to rag on your welds, because they look pretty good for a beginner. The aluminum welds look pretty good, but I would have cleaned the aluminum better before welding. The only problem I see is in the mild steel tig weld. I dont believe you used enough heat. On the left side of the weld you can see small spots where the weld puddle flowed to the bottom piece, that is what it should look like the whole way down. If that is structural to the car, I would have added a little more heat and filler to it. That is just my .02. I think you are doing great for just starting tig welding though.
Question for you guys that have been there and done that.
I just got my intercooler yesterday (31wX12tX3") and I was looking at where I plan on mounting it and I just noticed that that flap on the bottom of the bumper cover that wraps up from the bottom and acts as a guide for directing the air up into the radiator looks like it will have to be cut. What kind of trimming are you guys having to do to the bumper cover?
I just got my intercooler yesterday (31wX12tX3") and I was looking at where I plan on mounting it and I just noticed that that flap on the bottom of the bumper cover that wraps up from the bottom and acts as a guide for directing the air up into the radiator looks like it will have to be cut. What kind of trimming are you guys having to do to the bumper cover?
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,687
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From: Fairfax, Virginia
I don't mean to rag on your welds, because they look pretty good for a beginner. The aluminum welds look pretty good, but I would have cleaned the aluminum better before welding. The only problem I see is in the mild steel tig weld. I dont believe you used enough heat. On the left side of the weld you can see small spots where the weld puddle flowed to the bottom piece, that is what it should look like the whole way down. If that is structural to the car, I would have added a little more heat and filler to it. That is just my .02. I think you are doing great for just starting tig welding though.
Which aluminum weld needed to be cleaned more? The intercooler or piping? Cause on the intercooler, I scraped the **** out of it with a wire brush and wiped it down before I started a new bead. The intake piping I mildly cleaned.. I didn't want a bunch of scratches on it.
Here are some more mild steel tig weld pictures. Give me your input.
I just got my intercooler yesterday (31wX12tX3") and I was looking at where I plan on mounting it and I just noticed that that flap on the bottom of the bumper cover that wraps up from the bottom and acts as a guide for directing the air up into the radiator looks like it will have to be cut. What kind of trimming are you guys having to do to the bumper cover?
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The first weld looks the best. Can you see how the profile is almost flat, and the toes of the weld flow into the base metal. If you have a convex weld where the edges kind of roll over to the base metal, then you arn't using enough heat or too much filler. They all look good, but the only thing you can do is practice and practice. I weld pipe, so out techniques are a little different than free hand. It actually makes a figure 8 pattern in the weld bead. We do this for groove and fillet welds. It is called walking the cup, and it is how I would tig weld those structual pieces or a roll cage. Ill try and post some pictures to show all of you how it looks. The aluminum on the intercooler should be cleaned 1 inch from the weld bead. I use a cleaner i get from a distributor that takes all oxidation off of the aluminum. You would be surprised how much easier it is to make the puddle flow. Practice Practice Practice is all you can do to get better.
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Joined: Jun 2004
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From: Ft. Irwin, California (But Virginia is home)
I'm out of town till tomorrow. If you don't have an answer by Sat night I'll measure the one on my car (when I get back to Virginia) and let ya know
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,687
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From: Fairfax, Virginia
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,687
Likes: 0
From: Fairfax, Virginia
Looks good. Are those your welds? Cause I saw them on google the other day. This is the first time I've heard of that technique. I'll have to look more into it.
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no they are not mine. I would take pictures of my welds, but you cannot bring a camera into a nuclear power plant. They kinda frown on that sort of thing. Anybody can learn the technique though, its actually very simple once your get the hang of it. It is especially usefull in out of position welds, like those on a rollcage. If you search the internet for it there are websites informing you how to do it. The basic principle of it is to think as if you are moving a heavy piece of furniture by yourself. You set the cup down on the workpiece, then roll it to one side and move the other side forward. Then lay that side down and move the other side forward. You will have to play with tungsten stickout and different size cups to get it down. If you try it and have any problems let me know and ill try to help out.
