anybody ever stick weld alum.?

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i got a used intake for my car off ebay Its a taurus SHO .........if u ever seen the intake on these cars . The motor is way ahead of its time . I got a new intake and there are a few things i am doing to it . 1 . polish the entire thing 2. machine out butterfly valves from 30 to 35mm's 3. and port what ever i can I'm told the maniflod is alum. and all i got is an AC stck welder . Can it happen . I'm told that alum. rods do exist . But burn very fast . i picked up my package from fed ex today . I started roughing in my poishing and i found a crack .
Reply:I have tried the rods just so I would know about them. I will never use them for any thing. If I had to use a rod it would have to be on thick metal. Tig is the only proper to fix your crack. The rods will surely cause you a lot more work in the end. The rods will burn very hot and fast.Yes I can tack it for you.    I know that won't hold but that is what you asked me to do.  Millermatic 350P XR Aluma-Pro push/pullMillermatic 185/spool gunMiller Dialarc 250 HF Water cooledThermal Dynamics Plasma
Reply:I agree with gotaluminum, also one other thing to keep in mind is that all of the aluminum rods I have seen were designed to run on DC current not AC.Good luck  ~JacksonI'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:The older yamaha engine sho's are really nice cars.  Ford took a chance in this package and ended up with a real stealth sedan.  I really like these also.As for the Al rods,  I got some from a friend who bought them to fix a lawn mower engine block.  He gave them to me because he thought I might like to try and see if I could get them to work.  Neither of us got them to do a good job.  Even after a lot of good prep and several practice runs on a junk block, the end quality wasnt good enough to keep the "good" block from re-cracking under just a little stress.  His initial attempt ended up turning a small crack that leaked oil into a really big hole that slung oil everywhere.  I think they might be good for filling holes in thick aluminum but not in areas that are under physical or heat stress.  He only brought everything to me after the block was effectively distroyed.  Tig is the best method for your problem, and  since this is a casting, tig might even be very difficult.  I have always had problems with aluminum castings mainly because of all the little nooks and cranies where grime can hide.  But, correct me if I am wrong fellas, some castings are next to impossible to weld regardless of the conditions or welder.  I have read this and experienced it a couple of times on, as chance would have it, intake manifolds.It just occurred to me to ask...is the car running rough?  If not, it may not be leaking air into the intake past the mass air sensor.  If it's not running rough, I'd leave it alone until it becomes necessary.  You might also be able to accomplish an airtight fix with epoxy without risking the intake.  Just a thought.Last edited by smithboy; 08-17-2005 at 03:43 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Smithboy, in my experience you are right, I have seen some castings that were next to impossible to weld. Alot of my friends are into boat racing, and I do a few modifications and sometimes repair work for them.  I have found alot of the castings used in marine equipment is tough.  Sometimes I will have one that welds up as pretty as anything I have ever welded, but most of the time I throw everything I can at them and still not wind up with a satisfactory weld, and then I throw the piece.  hehehe   I have heard varying stories as to why the marine industry stuff is like that, but never known for sure.  The problems with castings are you never know what is mixed in the pot when the casting takes place.  ~JacksonI'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:the intake is a spare . I am polishing this intake to shine like glass , I will keep u guys posted if u like  , on my polishing progress
Reply:I got a tranny bell housing once that was cracked.   Friend of my brothers.  I was still enrolled in school and took the whole thing down to the school for class figured id tig weld it.  Id done all the proper cleanup.  weld instruct brough out the stick rods and made a lecture out of it.  Problem was, even after useing chemicals, and a torch to just burn out and bring up as much crud as possible it kept coming back.  I believe its callled hydrocarbons, but its the crap in oil that links it to the fossil, and of course we should all know carbon and alum dont mix.  So when the oil comes up into the weld, its attacted by the heat, you get a sheety weld.  Stick alum welds are going to look like bird sheet anyway, but its more important they hold then how they look.  I admit I found it a huge challenge.  But it was sucessful.  As it were the guy sold the car a month later, bought a nice new car, took it to the race track a few months later, overreved the engine, slipped a tooth on the cam and tore his valves up.  Had been better off wiht the first car.  And as that all turned out, Id been much better off if id had charged him for the repair instead of just knockin it off to doin a friend a favor.  Anyway, my point my point is stick has its place. Tig has its bar none, but stick still has a place.  I do think your particular job would necessitate tig, but cleaniness is crucial,  especially what you cant see.  Good luckCHRIS