Welding for 4Runner Swap Questions

[Man4God]

I am starting to gather the tools that I will need to put a 1uz in my 97 4Runner and I know I will need a welder for engine mounts and possibly exhaust stuff.

I also know having a welder around is just good to have.

I plan on taking a community college course to get versed in it, but if I am out looking to buy a welder, what should I get for basically this swap? Arc? Mig? If I go MIG, what is the smallest I could get away with?

 

[SPDMN90]

MIG would be you best bet and try to get one that can use gas, not the kind you put in your car but a inert gas that is used for sheilding. You can get flux cored air for you MIG welder but you will be doing alot of cleanup. It is my suggestion that when you do the motor mounts have somebody there check you welds so you don't take a chance on a broken motor mount from a weld failing, also so the same until you get really good at welding if you do anything to the frame. A good welder you can get that is 110v and can weld up to 1/4 inch would work. I hope this helps you and if you have any more questions please ask.

 

[Man4God]

MIG would be you best bet and try to get one that can use gas, not the kind you put in your car but a inert gas that is used for sheilding. You can get flux cored air for you MIG welder but you will be doing alot of cleanup. It is my suggestion that when you do the motor mounts have somebody there check you welds so you don't take a chance on a broken motor mount from a weld failing, also so the same until you get really good at welding if you do anything to the frame. A good welder you can get that is 110v and can weld up to 1/4 inch would work. I hope this helps you and if you have any more questions please ask.

Great post friend! I appreciate the advice. I kept on hearing from people that a 220v was the minimum on a MIG welder if you wanted to do anything involving the frame. But the specs of the 110v units say they will do up to 3/8" with no issues. If I were doing lots of fabricating and chopping frames, I could see spending the cash.

But for me, I doubt I will be using it for much more than armor for my bike, motor mounts, exhaust and maybe a custom bumper. I am no professional and do not want to be one. My grandfather had an old arc welder that he used for years. Sure, the welds looked like crap, but they held. He never wanted to make money off his welds, he just wanted stuff to stay together.

I will have someone look at my welding when I do the motor mounts. Good piece of advice there.

Thanks!

 

[markstoys]

I wouldn't trust a 110 machine to weld anything over 3/16", no matter what the specs say. If you have 220 in your shop I would get a 220 machine--it will run better even on thin stuff. If you only have 110, it would be OK for what you are doing.

FYI I am the foreman at a fab shop that does a lot of structural and mechanical work, and we won't use MIG on anything over 1/4"--and we have big, professional machines.

And to show I'm not just a keyboard hero, check out my project here:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2292095/1975-toyota-corolla . Look at the frame on pages 3 and 4. I did all the welding in my garage with a Lincoln 185SP (220V).

Mark

 

[Man4God]

I wouldn't trust a 110 machine to weld anything over 3/16", no matter what the specs say. If you have 220 in your shop I would get a 220 machine--it will run better even on thin stuff. If you only have 110, it would be OK for what you are doing.

FYI I am the foreman at a fab shop that does a lot of structural and mechanical work, and we won't use MIG on anything over 1/4"--and we have big, professional machines.

And to show I'm not just a keyboard hero, check out my project here:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2292095/1975-toyota-corolla . Look at the frame on pages 3 and 4. I did all the welding in my garage with a Lincoln 185SP (220V).

Mark

I need to see what my electrical situation is truthfully. My house was built in 1982 and apparently houses built in 85 or later have much better electrical due to changes to the building code.

I do know that I have a 20A compressor that trips my breakers all the time.

Great looking welds Mark. I looked up that welder you mentioned and said it was MIG. So in your shop at work, do you use just a typical Arc Welder for larger than 1/4th?

 

[markstoys]

So in your shop at work, do you use just a typical Arc Welder for larger than 1/4th?

It is still a gas shielded wire feed process, so it looks like MIG--but the wire is hollow and has flux inside, and the current is much higher. It's called FCAW-G, flux cored arc welding-with gas. My little machine can barely put out 160 amps (with the wire and voltage all the way up), we run the machines at work at 200 amps for 1/4" and 300 amps for 1/2".

Mark