welding advice :(

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FAAace09

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hi ive bought a 300tdi with a full engine rebuild 30,000 miles ago, rebored, new pistons, head gasket, new turbo etc, list go's on, its had new polybushes all round, new lift kit 2" springs/shocks, new full exshaust, resent gearbox, good nice tyres on the alloys all 4 the same brand for once lol, full service history and i mean full, reciepts for everything even engine rebuild, plus loads of more things done to her and only 500 on a r reg tax and tested. but the down side is the welding it needs and its overwelming me at the monent and need advice, i no all landys need welding and i new what i was taking on but for that price with that amount of work done to it i went for it, but im no welder, and i need a new rear cross member, sum chassis welding, both rear arches inside doors, both sills inner and outer and boot floor, is this normal or over the top for a land rover, i no the panels are readaly avalible, even thinking of buying a mig and learning but i relise its alot of work and needs strength so thats putting me of doing it my self, please help with some advice :( !!!!!
 
I did a 300tdi R reg and it turned into a major welding session-but when done it is done.

I'd suggest you see if anyone can do it with you and learn for next time.

You may also want to see if local college do evening welding course
 
GET yourself a mig welder and diy,that way you wont have to rely on anyone again

machine mart have a good selection,try and run to one with a fan inside to keep it cool
that way you wont have to wait for it to cool down

a lot of hobby welders only have a low duty cycle,and switch themselves of when the get hot'@ you have to wait while it cools down

invest in a large bottle,its expensive i know but its a hell of a lot cheaper in the long run

i personally find B O C argoshield is the best,co2 pub bottles work ok but the weld spatters and is dirty

you dont need a high powered welder @110 amps is enough most of the time you will be on thin steel and only using 40/50 amps,the 110 gives you the advantage of welding thicker steel if you need to ,;chassis ect

take you time,make sure everything is clean migs wont weld on dirty steel[amps are to low]

small grinder,discs,wire brushes,ect will be needed also;whatever you do disconnect the battery and the alternator BEFORE doing any welding

practice on scrap first,experiment,try things out ,

you will soon get the hang of it

after you get the hang of it you,ll wonder what the fuss was all about,cos if you,re into land rovers you will need a welder believe me!!!! best of luck dave
 
big dave2 said:
GET yourself a mig welder and diy,that way you wont have to rely on anyone again

machine mart have a good selection,try and run to one with a fan inside to keep it cool
that way you wont have to wait for it to cool down

a lot of hobby welders only have a low duty cycle,and switch themselves of when the get hot'@ you have to wait while it cools down

invest in a large bottle,its expensive i know but its a hell of a lot cheaper in the long run

i personally find B O C argoshield is the best,co2 pub bottles work ok but the weld spatters and is dirty

you dont need a high powered welder @110 amps is enough most of the time you will be on thin steel and only using 40/50 amps,the 110 gives you the advantage of welding thicker steel if you need to ,;chassis ect

take you time,make sure everything is clean migs wont weld on dirty steel[amps are to low]

small grinder,discs,wire brushes,ect will be needed also;whatever you do disconnect the battery and the alternator BEFORE doing any welding

practice on scrap first,experiment,try things out ,

you will soon get the hang of it

after you get the hang of it you,ll wonder what the fuss was all about,cos if you,re into land rovers you will need a welder believe me!!!! best of luck dave
Click to expand...

Thank you for typing all that chap, its helped me too.. :)
 
It is true that once its done its done, its yours and you know its right.
If the sills need doing, do a search for box section sills, much stronger.

Have a look at mine if you want, you're not alone. Its a lot of work and you will have to want to do it.
Mobile Photobucket
 
big dave2 said:
GET yourself a mig welder and diy,that way you wont have to rely on anyone again

machine mart have a good selection,try and run to one with a fan inside to keep it cool
that way you wont have to wait for it to cool down

a lot of hobby welders only have a low duty cycle,and switch themselves of when the get hot'@ you have to wait while it cools down

invest in a large bottle,its expensive i know but its a hell of a lot cheaper in the long run

i personally find B O C argoshield is the best,co2 pub bottles work ok but the weld spatters and is dirty

you dont need a high powered welder @110 amps is enough most of the time you will be on thin steel and only using 40/50 amps,the 110 gives you the advantage of welding thicker steel if you need to ,;chassis ect

take you time,make sure everything is clean migs wont weld on dirty steel[amps are to low]

small grinder,discs,wire brushes,ect will be needed also;whatever you do disconnect the battery and the alternator BEFORE doing any welding

practice on scrap first,experiment,try things out ,

you will soon get the hang of it

after you get the hang of it you,ll wonder what the fuss was all about,cos if you,re into land rovers you will need a welder believe me!!!! best of luck dave
Click to expand...
A lot of good advice for anyone thinking about doing their own repairs, however I think you need a bit more than a 110amp unit for serious chassis work, I went up from a 100amp unit to 150amps for chassis work. I guess you can weld chassis with a smaller machine but your weld prep and skill level needs to be spot on to get good penetration.
 
Be careful on actual current supply v model name.
Avoid the **** Chinese stuff at screwfix or anything with a permanent live torch

Avoid KENDE or POWERshack branded welders like the plague-I have seen 3 and they are best described as a pile of **** that no fettling can cure
 
fanatic said:
Be careful on actual current supply v model name.
Avoid the **** Chinese stuff at screwfix or anything with a permanent live torch

Avoid KENDE or POWERshack branded welders like the plague-I have seen 3 and they are best described as a pile of **** that no fettling can cure
Click to expand...

For the home hobby type of welder I don't think you can go far wrong with Clarke welders. My Clarke minimig 100e lasted 20 years, produced good welds up to the point the drive mech' and speed control packed in.

I replaced it with a Clarke MIG151EN Turbo for the extra ampage. It is capable of uing flux cored wire but I've never used it, I use a pub gas CO2 bottle, I know it doesn't make as neat welds as using Argon/CO2 but they are just as strong. Cost is the big factor for me as my mate owns a pub so I get it free.
 
To be fair, buy the biggest and best mig you can, and it will pay for itself, my brother had a 180amp sealey welder "super top mig" and it did well for years but its now a giant paper weight, however it was working when I was looking for my own welder I ended up with a 190 amp Parweld 181 worth about 1/2 as much again as the sealey but was on offer, and the difference between the two was amazing, far better welds, far easier set, far easier to work with and gave me the option to weld up a digger bucket and a digger cab (also Ive never been able to get it to overheat, even after 16 feet of 6mm plate continuous) which has ment it has paid for itself a couple of times now. Im not trying to offend anyone but a clarke or sealey isnt a good machine in comparison to a good welder, im not saying the parweld is the best, but its better than the others and when the parweld does die, Ill be struggeling to not buy a Murex.

Just my opinion though, Will
 
i got the wolf one and stuck some patches on the discos near side cil for last years mot..... off side will need some this time......also stuck a couple of patches on the fourtrak floor , so its well on the way to having paid for itself.
Ive only tried using it gasless cos im working outside in the wind. im new to mig welding but been using arc for years.... the wolf seems ok but ive not used anyting else to compare it with..... im not worried about it only being 130 amps cos ive got a 180 amp arc set for heavy stuff
 
welding is really easy you can teach someone to mig weld in about half an hour after that its just practice, i wouldnt buy one of those welders that reckon you can mig without gas as it will just leave you with major bird **** as with anything read the reviews and buy the best you can afford, and btw you will get used to being rained on with molten steel lol
 
well ive had a mig mate 130 now for a few years and it has coped with everything from repairing my bulkhead to welding a new cross member on my neighbours 90 ideally something with slightly more power would be perfect for hobby stuff but for £100 i can'nt complain. but also ther's plenty of vids on you tube to help with learning to weld one of the episodes of a 4x4 is born part 3 has a quick how to weld section.
 
Last edited:
G223 said:
To be fair, buy the biggest and best mig you can, and it will pay for itself, my brother had a 180amp sealey welder "super top mig" and it did well for years but its now a giant paper weight, however it was working when I was looking for my own welder I ended up with a 190 amp Parweld 181 worth about 1/2 as much again as the sealey but was on offer, and the difference between the two was amazing, far better welds, far easier set, far easier to work with and gave me the option to weld up a digger bucket and a digger cab (also Ive never been able to get it to overheat, even after 16 feet of 6mm plate continuous) which has ment it has paid for itself a couple of times now. Im not trying to offend anyone but a clarke or sealey isnt a good machine in comparison to a good welder, im not saying the parweld is the best, but its better than the others and when the parweld does die, Ill be struggeling to not buy a Murex.

Just my opinion though, Will
Click to expand...

Fair enough but I think you have missed the point slightly, most of us just want to repair our Landy's not set up as professional fabricators. I've used big pro Murex machines where I used to work and yes they are fantastically capable machines but justifying the expense for home use is impossible, for me anyway.
 
StuRox said:
I too am looking at getting into the welding lark...so reading with interest.

I note one guy uses a 100Amp, but other recommends a 150Amp.

Would this be any good as only 135Amp buts seems like a good priced package...

Wolf 135 Amp Gas / No Gas Turbo Mig Welder + FREE KIT | eBay
Click to expand...

This is the welder I bought to do mine.
TBH, I can't fault it, it's bloody good. I'm using gasless wire and it going ok.
It's good for welding up to about 5mm but it's the low setting I bought it for.
35amp on low. Some welders are 50 or 60 amp lowest setting, not as easy to weld thin panels.
 
I bought one of these:

MIG WELDER 195 AMP PRICE INCLUDES VAT 5000 SOLD | eBay

It has been absolutely superb. My mate had a siegen150 but I got sick of asking him all the time so decided to man up and learn myself.

It has managed the whole rear end on mine, welded defender crossmember with ease, welded 12mm bolts together, genuinely has been superb.

Came with a roll of wire, spare contact tips and a basic welding mask too!
 
I had my own fabrication buisness(in the trade for twelve years) so have done a few runs of weld over the years and can honsetly say the advice given here is really sound. Snap-on migs are really good but I agree with the chap above that for good value for money a clarke welder is great. I still have one which although it's getting old now (16 years) can still do a great weld. Try not to go for a small welder because although when they are on full power they can weld with reasonable penetration they will keep cutting out once they have got hot (20 mins solid welding).
If you take time to cut the rusty bits out so the new panel fits and clean it so it's shiney metal the welding part is really easy.
It is an absolute MUST to spot weld or tack the new panel all round before welding it in fully or you will distort it and make a pigs ear!
Take it one section at a time and get each one finnished before moving on - you might get to enjoy it.
Oh, mind your eyes, ark eye is not fun!
 
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