A guy I work with is going to let me borrow his welder so that I can fix up the cracks in my shock towers. Its a MIG welder, and he says its got a spool of Flux core wire in it right now. That means I dont have to use the gas for shielding right??

Any hints would help.. any stories ,, anything.. I know I asked this already but I dont want to f.. up my shock towers..

I plan on taking the area to bare metal, cutting the crack out a little wider than the hair line that it is currently, and stop drilling the ends of the cracks so that it dosent crack anymore.

Here is a link to my old post and pics of the cracks.. https://mustangforums.com/m_3812480/tm.htm

 

What size is the flux core wire? The smallest that I have seen is .030. Also, flux core requires a higher heat setting. It may work since the metal around the shock towers is thicker. I would start out making short bursts to keep from blowing through the metal. You can try progressively longer bursts but if you blow through then go back to short bursts and weld to the original weld until the blow through is sealed up. The shorter bursts may also make the weld stand up instead of laying flat. But you should grind it flat anyways. Weld from the bottom up so you can control the weld puddle better. Flux core welding produces slag on the surface of the weld. But that can be knocked off easily and you will be grinding the welds flat anyways.

Good luck. Take pictures!

 

Thanks.. Im not sure what size the wire is.. I will find out tomorrow.

 

Since your using it just for the shock towers, the flux core wire should be fine-no gas needed. Like said before, it does produce a mess, slag everywhere. The welder may have diiferent heat settings and speed wire settings that all depend on the thickness of metal and size wire being used. Typically, like on my welder, I use the 2nd to 3rd lowest heat setting and around 30%-40% setting on the speed dial. You can get a peice of similiar metal that you are welding with and do afew short practice welds to see if the settings are right and to make sure you get a good feel for what you are doing. Make sure the metal is clean-bare metal and no rust. That is probably the most important thing. That way, your weld will be easier to do and less chance of problems.It's really not that hard, just think and take your time. Good luck.

 

Some flux core wires are self-shielding some are not. The self-shielding variety will weld thru alot of junk, but produce alot of spatter and will require sunstantial cleanup. The gas shielded flux core welds better and you can control the arc better.You can take a look at the spool it should be marked with a designation, for instance an E70 T1 or E71 T1 will require gas shielding.