loserone Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 That' exactly what this Stupid Question Amnesty thread is for, I'd have thought? spike60, BeEP and The Moog 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catsinthewelder Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 @andy29 A big part of being able to weld up a car is having somewhere to work. If you can find a spacious garage with electricity it will be a hell of a lot easier than working on muddy grass in the rain and wind or having to be careful not to give the neighbours kids arc eye. Lacquer Peel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy29 Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 18 hours ago, loserone said: That' exactly what this Stupid Question Amnesty thread is for, I'd have thought? Fair enough 😀 17 hours ago, catsinthewelder said: @andy29 A big part of being able to weld up a car is having somewhere to work. If you can find a spacious garage with electricity it will be a hell of a lot easier than working on muddy grass in the rain and wind or having to be careful not to give the neighbours kids arc eye. Uhhhhh yeah that might be the awkward part. Well I have a concrete driveway... enough room for me and a machine though. Did wonder about needing to be careful with other people around 😬 Does what the guy does in this video resemble a good job? Because I know some people who make videos are a bit questionable. Would probably need to look out for a used machine to be honest but it's already looking a little less impossible... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickman Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 3 hours ago, andy29 said: Fair enough 😀 Uhhhhh yeah that might be the awkward part. Well I have a concrete driveway... enough room for me and a machine though. Did wonder about needing to be careful with other people around 😬 Does what the guy does in this video resemble a good job? Because I know some people who make videos are a bit questionable. Would probably need to look out for a used machine to be honest but it's already looking a little less impossible... The video isn't bad at all really. Second hand machines can be hit and miss and you do get what you pay for. andy29 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juular Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 On 10/20/2020 at 2:12 PM, andy29 said: And the difference in cost between paying someone to do it vs being able to do it yourself, in your spare time, with equipment you've already invested in is going to become very big very quickly isn't it (unless the supplies for it are expensive, I wouldn't know). . It doesn't need to be that expensive to run. The main outlay is the welder and gas bottle. A cheap machine is totally fine but it will make the learning curve a bit steeper as you won't really be able to get the perfect setup (the adjustments on cheap welders are quite coarse) and you won't know how much of the difficulty is down to yourself or down to the machine. A second hand well regarded machine is an ok idea but if you get one with knackered wire feed and liner and have to go out and buy a regulator, wire and tips you might be approaching the price of a new one with all that stuff included. PPE is no more than a helmet and gloves. Aldi are currently selling dirt cheap helmets and sometimes have gloves too. They don't need to be expensive. You'll need a grinder. I've been using a £20 Aldi one for years and it came with a big pack of discs. The gas can be a bit of a difficult one to swallow initially as the best weld will come from something like argon mix and you ideally want to pay a refundable deposit on a big bottle like you'd do on a calor gas bottle. The little disposable bottles work out very expensive and hardly last. The big bottle gas itself will last a long time and is not that expensive to get topped up. A lot of people use CO2 from fire extinguishers or pub gas which you can sometimes get for free. It might make the welding a bit more hit and miss than a nice bottle of argon / co2 but if cost is a problem then it's a cheap way in. You can go gasless, then you can weld in the wind outside but the learning curve is steeper again and the welds can be messy. You might get hacked off with that in no time. A reel of wire lasts for ages. Steel itself is cheap if you use the right places. B and Q and Wickes etc sell overpriced shite. A stockholder will sell you a 2m x 1m x 1.2mm sheet for under £50 and it will go on forever. I used a big offcut from that to start practicing and used the rest to make repair panels, water tanks and gas locker for my campervan, camper bed brackets, hinges, still have lots left over. Some metal fab places give away offcuts for nothing, just need to make sure it's not galvanised or stainless. Other consumables like cutting discs, flap wheels etc are only a couple of quid each. The ongoing costs are really very small once you get over the initial hump. Alan_Green, andy29, cort1977 and 2 others 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cort1977 Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Thanks for writing that, very useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy29 Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 On 10/29/2020 at 6:52 AM, Tickman said: The video isn't bad at all really. Second hand machines can be hit and miss and you do get what you pay for. On 10/29/2020 at 12:37 PM, juular said: It doesn't need to be that expensive to run. The main outlay is the welder and gas bottle. A cheap machine is totally fine but it will make the learning curve a bit steeper as you won't really be able to get the perfect setup (the adjustments on cheap welders are quite coarse) and you won't know how much of the difficulty is down to yourself or down to the machine. A second hand well regarded machine is an ok idea but if you get one with knackered wire feed and liner and have to go out and buy a regulator, wire and tips you might be approaching the price of a new one with all that stuff included. PPE is no more than a helmet and gloves. Aldi are currently selling dirt cheap helmets and sometimes have gloves too. They don't need to be expensive. You'll need a grinder. I've been using a £20 Aldi one for years and it came with a big pack of discs. The gas can be a bit of a difficult one to swallow initially as the best weld will come from something like argon mix and you ideally want to pay a refundable deposit on a big bottle like you'd do on a calor gas bottle. The little disposable bottles work out very expensive and hardly last. The big bottle gas itself will last a long time and is not that expensive to get topped up. A lot of people use CO2 from fire extinguishers or pub gas which you can sometimes get for free. It might make the welding a bit more hit and miss than a nice bottle of argon / co2 but if cost is a problem then it's a cheap way in. You can go gasless, then you can weld in the wind outside but the learning curve is steeper again and the welds can be messy. You might get hacked off with that in no time. A reel of wire lasts for ages. Steel itself is cheap if you use the right places. B and Q and Wickes etc sell overpriced shite. A stockholder will sell you a 2m x 1m x 1.2mm sheet for under £50 and it will go on forever. I used a big offcut from that to start practicing and used the rest to make repair panels, water tanks and gas locker for my campervan, camper bed brackets, hinges, still have lots left over. Some metal fab places give away offcuts for nothing, just need to make sure it's not galvanised or stainless. Other consumables like cutting discs, flap wheels etc are only a couple of quid each. The ongoing costs are really very small once you get over the initial hump. Glad the video's a good one, it seemed pretty in depth and clear to me, but I wouldn't have even known about the positioning of the replacement metal so I wouldn't have had a clue! I wouldn't rely on a single person's videos anyway. Thank you for writing that out Juular. It'll be so useful to get me started. I would not expect to look for welding equipment at Aldi so that's handy to know. Definitely would need to have a play on some metal first, not surprised B&Q/Wickes are like that for buying the metal, I'll need to find out what places are even around me. Such a useful and money saving skill to have. juular 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenmil Socket Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 I bought a gazebo and the metal frame is very flimsy. Therefore I’ve bought some timber to make a new square/cube frame. What’s the best way to construct/fasten in the corners? There’s going to be 3 pieces joining in each corner so I need to avoid screws hitting each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 21 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said: I bought a gazebo and the metal frame is very flimsy. Therefore I’ve bought some timber to make a new square/cube frame. What’s the best way to construct/fasten in the corners? There’s going to be 3 pieces joining in each corner so I need to avoid screws hitting each other. Corner blocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenmil Socket Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, sierraman said: Corner blocks What’s this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 You use them to make furniture. They’re like plastic blocks you screw through. Thinking on you could just cut a halving joint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenmil Socket Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 6 minutes ago, sierraman said: You use them to make furniture. They’re like plastic blocks you screw through. Thinking on you could just cut a halving joint? I’m using 3x2 timber but not got a clue about joinery 😞 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Screw a square frame for the end then cut a notch in the span timber so it sits in the end frame on top of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenmil Socket Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 8 minutes ago, sierraman said: Screw a square frame for the end then cut a notch in the span timber so it sits in the end frame on top of it. Ok I’ll see what I can do cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Pastry Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 9 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said: I’m using 3x2 timber but not got a clue about joinery 😞 You can get steel angle brackets in a range of sizes. From about 2x2 inches up to hefty shelf brackets, they make good corner joints for this sort of thing. Don't use screws that are too fat or too long as they will split the timber. Also, don't screw into the end grain, as it will not grip properly. Use Turbodrive or similar screws FTW - they are self-drilling, and you can put them in very quickly with a cordless drill/driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenmil Socket Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 4 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said: You can get steel angle brackets in a range of sizes. From about 2x2 inches up to hefty shelf brackets, they make good corner joints for this sort of thing. Don't use screws that are too fat or too long as they will split the timber. Also, don't screw into the end grain, as it will not grip properly. Use Turbodrive or similar screws FTW - they are self-drilling, and you can put them in very quickly with a cordless drill/driver. Ok great. I’ve got a decent driver and a metal case full of different size Howdens screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenmil Socket Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 8 hours ago, Tenmil Socket said: Ok great. I’ve got a decent driver and a metal case full of different size Howdens screws. Well.... I spent all day building this frame and it looked tremendous. Unfortunately (some how) I measured it wrong and the roof didn't fit 😣 I was 40cm out 😬 Anyway, I was p***ed off with myself! I arranged more timber from B&Q and treated it today. Take two tomorrow.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenmil Socket Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 On 11/7/2020 at 7:18 PM, Tenmil Socket said: Well.... I spent all day building this frame and it looked tremendous. Unfortunately (some how) I measured it wrong and the roof didn't fit 😣 I was 40cm out 😬 Anyway, I was p***ed off with myself! I arranged more timber from B&Q and treated it today. Take two tomorrow.... Managed to put this together yesterday in the drizzle. It’s not finished yet. I still want to brace the corners with the excess* timber. I bought tarpaulin for three of the sides but it was about 20 cms too short. The packaging did say approximate dimensions but 20 cm! Jerzy Woking, juular, djim and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy29 Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 On 10/20/2020 at 4:25 PM, sierraman said: Does your manifold look like this one? I got to have a better look under the heat shield at last... still being a bastard to get off, can't see what it's still caught on but I'm being extra careful as this could be its last month on the road. Doesn't seem the same as the one you posted Sierraman, from what I can see it does tie up with the diagram in the Haynes book, so hopefully that's a good thing. Pic of right where the '1' arrow is pointing: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 I’d establish first if it’s the manifold blowing or the gasket, sometimes those type blow in between cyl 2 & 3, it usually cracks. What you could do if this is the case and what I’d do given the circumstances would be if there is a crack try some intumescent sealant, smear it in to the crack then let it cure. Might do the trick. Cast welding something like this is unreliable as they’ll usually crack again. andy29 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy29 Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Lovely, must get on that and work out where it's coming from then. A tube of sealant for either part is hardly going to break the bank. Very good to know what I'd be going for, I didn't know about intumescent sealant, I do now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hhhugues Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 Hi! One for the auto electrics enthusiasts out here: I have recently-ish puchased a cheap 05 plate Trafic. The stereo stopped turning on yesterday. Prior to that, the display thing above the stereo unit had no functioning backlighting, but the whole system was still working fine. Now nothing works. I tried to put an old unit I had lying around but it doesn't turn on either once plugged in (however it does eject CD's, which suggests there is some kind of power going through it ). I tried changing the accessories fuse as well. What else could be causing the stereo to stop working? Faulty fuse box? Suggestions welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cort1977 Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 You need to check the permanent and switched live, if it's ejecting the CD that suggests the permanent live that keeps the clock going is all right. Find the colours for those two and at least check it's getting power. Then check the correct fuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy29 Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Well, the Focus had an MOT. Garage didn't want too much to do the major defects so I decided I might as well let them. During the test they didn't work out exactly what was causing the exhaust problem or how big a job the welding will be so I'm still worried they'll find it's worse than they thought but I'll see. They were leaning towards a gasket which would tie up with the previous test. Plenty of things to look at afterwards if it can get done. Will finally be able to invest in tools. How much can stonechip protect things once these problems are showing up? Any chance of being lucky and being able to slow the progress for more than a year or so? Bloody brake load valve is always seized... Repair immediately (major defects) - Exhaust has a major leak of exhaust gases Front [6.1.2 (a)] - Exhaust lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits [8.2.1.2 (c)] - Brake load sensing valve seized but anti-lock braking system functioning [1.1.17 (c) (i)] - Suspension component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Offside Rear (sill) [5.3.6 (a) (i)] - Seat belt anchorage prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced Offside Rear (sill) [7.1.1 (a) (i)] Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories) - Vehicle structure is corroded but structural rigidity is not significantly reduced Rear [6.1.1 (c) (i)] - (offside front sill corroded away) [this was what was patched up last year] - Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive Offside (sill) [7.1.1 (a) (i)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Paste the advisories with some waxoyl and run it till the new test runs out. Those seatbelt anchorages on the Mk1 Focus can get really bad. I’d pretty much bet a penny to a pound that it’s corroded from the rear seatbelt/trailing arm mounts all the way round the boot floor to the back. Depending on how bad it is it’ll likely need welding next year. andy29 and twosmoke300 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazoli Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 On 12/6/2020 at 5:15 PM, hhhugues said: Hi! One for the auto electrics enthusiasts out here: I have recently-ish puchased a cheap 05 plate Trafic. The stereo stopped turning on yesterday. Prior to that, the display thing above the stereo unit had no functioning backlighting, but the whole system was still working fine. Now nothing works. I tried to put an old unit I had lying around but it doesn't turn on either once plugged in (however it does eject CD's, which suggests there is some kind of power going through it ). I tried changing the accessories fuse as well. What else could be causing the stereo to stop working? Faulty fuse box? Suggestions welcome! On 12/7/2020 at 4:10 PM, cort1977 said: You need to check the permanent and switched live, if it's ejecting the CD that suggests the permanent live that keeps the clock going is all right. Find the colours for those two and at least check it's getting power. Then check the correct fuses. And to further this you may need to swap the switched and permanent lives as they can differ from car to car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floatylight Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 I'm currently replacing the injector seals on the Grand Picasso, what's the best solvent for cleaning the gloop and clag from the injectors and cylinder head? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan_dyane Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 What should I use to stick headlamps lenses back on? I have already tried no more nails which didn’t work. Glass lenses and plastic reflector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 14 hours ago, Floatylight said: I'm currently replacing the injector seals on the Grand Picasso, what's the best solvent for cleaning the gloop and clag from the injectors and cylinder head? I think worth do a good carbon cleaner. Think it’s called manifold cleaner or something. I guess that is for a 1.6 hdi ? Hope I’m not teaching granny to suck eggs but make sure you change the rubber injector tube seals as well as the copper washers. You need a suitable socket / piece of pipe to install them with out turning the lips the wrong way round and making oil leaks Floatylight 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Tell a lie - it’s Forté Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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