Welding An Oil Cooler

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I might need to weld some aluminum AN-8 adapters to a used oil cooler on my race car.  What precautions should I take?
Reply:Well especially if your going to Tig weld it, I can think of the following1-Clean2-Clean3-Clean4-Clean again5-Clean more6-Have a Beer7-Clean8-Repeat as neededIf you can, have a good radiator shop "boil" it out for you. Im serious, oil causes fits, even if it looks clean, aluminum seems to just absorb the stuff and make life miserable, or cause unseen entrapped gas pockets that lead to future leaks. When we repair old ( 50+ years old) oil coolers we have found that OA welding much more forgiving of grunge.
Reply:Clean Clean make sure they are clean...flush the Cooler with Acetone and let it air out (I use MEK but not a good thing to use) then blow it out to get it dry.... oil will mess up the weld or worse....I would seal it up and fill the cooler with Argon....BrandonLincoln Tombstone 225 A/C Steel StickerOld Victor O2/Acetylene setupMiller Syncrowave 250 Tig/PC-300 PulserMiller Millermatic 212 Mig HTP Invertatig 201 Giant Teck D50 Plasma cutterLots of HF grinders
Reply:Originally Posted by brandon113Clean Clean make sure they are clean...flush the Cooler with Acetone and let it air out (I use MEK but not a good thing to use) then blow it out to get it dry.... oil will mess up the weld or worse....I would seal it up and fill the cooler with Argon....Brandon
Reply:No real need to run a back purge on aluminum.  But be careful, the oil cooler is probably very thin.  I would consider heating the fitting slightly before you tack it on to reduce the amps you will need.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:you are right.....I miss spoke don't seal it completely typing faster than I am thinking I guess....but I do back purge oil coolers... Start with a low amperage watch the puddle close it is very thin stuff use your peddle. I have also used JB weld on BAT coolers used on Porsche air cooled cars with great results..Did a repair at the track did not have anything but MEK and JB weld held the rest of the year. soooooo.....makes me feel better to have an inert gas in the cooler...I also back purge oil lines when I tig them...might not need too just do....BrandonLast edited by brandon113; 07-06-2009 at 08:45 PM.Lincoln Tombstone 225 A/C Steel StickerOld Victor O2/Acetylene setupMiller Syncrowave 250 Tig/PC-300 PulserMiller Millermatic 212 Mig HTP Invertatig 201 Giant Teck D50 Plasma cutterLots of HF grinders
Reply:Clean, clean clean with a stainless brush and acetone, deburr, you won't need backing gas. Dont weld near any soldered areas of the aluminium. It will leak until and after you welded all around it.This is the best I could do, Tried to weld the core a few times, but didn't succeed.... yet.Starting on the core with HF will burn right through it, use an electrode with good starting characteristics to keep it running on low amps, and start on a piece of scrap or the filler..