MIG weld cast iron collector

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Engine: 97 7.3 Ford (International) dieselBackground: trying to convert the turbo Y-collector from donut seals to a flange seal so I can add bellows to the “up pipes” and eliminate donuts.Reasons:•Kit from International is $800•Needed to play on the mill•Can I do it?I looked up the proper MIG wire for cast iron (Nickel-Iron-Manganese Wire) and at a cost of $75 for 2 lbs I decided to just try it with standard ER70s. Seemed to work ok with less porosity than I thought I would have. I practiced on an old cylinder head for a while until I got a “feel for it”. I also made a jig for holding the Y-collector to the mill table. The jig has two holders for bolting the collector to so each flange surface is up for milling.Pictures tell the story. Throwing this out there for comments and suggestions. Attached Images
Reply:more pics Attached Images
Reply:Nice looking piece.  Did you consider using a shorter shank boring bar?  I always have worry about excessive tool wear due to chatter.
Reply:I hope it works for you but from my experience trying weld C/A when I was younger...it never worked...the weld always split as soon as it cooled off or heated up.. You will be better off making the little Y pipe if that cracks...Lincoln pro mig 180Lincoln Square Wave Tig 300/wp 20/home built water cooler Victor, Purox, Harris, O/A welding/cutting setupsVintage Craftsman drill pressVintage Craftsman/Atlas 12"x 36'' lathe7''x 12'' w/c band saw Everlast 140 st
Reply:I have a 96 7.3 E-350. I have no idea what you are doing... LOL...Millermatic 211PowerPlasma 50s
Reply:Won't the different expansion rates of the two metals cause issues as the collector goes through repeated heat cycles?Miller Dynasty 200 DXBuildPro TMA52238 (38" x 22")Miller MP-10 & Jackson Nexgen EQC20 Ton Press & Swag HD Press Brake
Reply:markfuga  -  How many cast iron welding toes do you have left?  -  OpusLast edited by OPUS FERRO; 12-26-2012 at 01:11 AM.Reason: punc.
Reply:Yeah, to all I started out with a stubby boring bar, but it was only HSS and wore out completely after a few passes. The pictured bar was the shortest carbide tip I had.Yes, heat cycles are a concern with the dissimiliar metals,and a crack is probably going to happen at some point.I should have at least one set of toes left in there. I did 5 passes over each opening to be sure the entire donut chamfer was filled.A google seach with the phrase "obs bellowed pipes" will return hours of reading pleasure  here's an example of what I'm attempting to build. Attached Images
Reply:You didn't mention pre or post heat which is usually done when welding cast iron. It may have helped with the bonding of the two dissimiliar metals. Nice machining job.
Reply:If a piece of that weld comes loose it's bye bye turbo. I'd be a bit worried.
Reply:I did do a good pre-heat, but no post heat. I did more reading (after the fact) and learned the post heat process should take place over 8 hours. Some suggest packing the part in sand in a metal bucket and putting it in the oven at 450 and decreasing the temp every couple hours untill the oven is off. So by that standard my process is completely flawed.It occurred to me today that International may sell the parts of the kit Indidually, so I visited my local dealer and we "thumbed" through the computer for a while. It took some digging and cross referencing but we think we found the "updated version" part number that uses the flange versus donut gasket. They ordered one for me which should be in tomorrow. It's $144, so if it's the correct part I'll chuck mine in the scrap bin. $144 is cheaper than a turbo replacement if my welds were to let go. Now it’s onto modifying the “up pipes” with flanges and bellows.