Reinforcing welds

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Hey guys, have a question. sorry for the noobnessWhat would be the best way to go back over these welds to make them stronger on this turbo elbow? I still dont have a back purge system yet, but since this is going after the turbo i think it might be fine maybe. what do you guys think of the welds? there are some spots where the camera couldnt see, but they are pretty bad. There are 2 of these that i have to do, but the other one isnt as bad as this one.How would you guys set up the machine to weld on this, how low on amps should i go and gas. Im still pretty new with stainless steel, so bare with me.thanks, brent
Reply:Im probably puttin my foot in my mouth but, Whats wrong with them?Too concave? I mean there not perfect but really whats wrong? do you have other identical units that are cracking with use?
Reply:i agree with burnit good welder but getting better
Reply:yea, a lot of people that buy these from this brand, after awhile they crack in certain spots. in fact not to long ago, there was a elbow like this, but made for a different car that cracked and i had to go over the spot that cracked. So you guys honestly think i dont need to go back over them? I to thought that some of the welds look good, and some didnt look to good, but a guy wants me to reinforce it.
Reply:if cracking is an issue then by all means clean up the welds and make another pass over them, if nothing else it will give you some practice. good welder but getting better
Reply:It seems alot of times the welds put on headers and turbo stuff are really concave and "pretty" If there crackin hell yeah just like he said go over it, what do the welds look like on the inside? do they even penetrate?
Reply:the inside just looks like some ones been grinding on it for hours.
Reply:looks a little light on the filler with some undercut, I would do another pass over it and zig zag.
Reply:I see a ton of craters in the middle of each "pulse" on the weld.  I'm not surprised they crack.  It's the real "Bling" thing on import parts to do an overpulsed tig weld to make the pulses more pronounced.  But, it results in very poor weld quality - and this part definitely shows this.If you're really worried about it failing I'd grind down into the welds the whole way around each joint and do a proper job of welding over it with no craters.
Reply:After looking at it again, the welds joining the tubes to the flange aren't terrible.  It's the tube to tube and tube to O2 bung that look the worst.
Reply:Got to go with what TubularFab said. You can never go back over a bad weld and make it better.
Reply:If you're that concerned with the welds, I would suggest you at least be sure to backpurge the tubing. And, remember, if you re-weld over a gound down weld, don't get too much more heat in there, you can make it worse than what you started with!!And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:I agree with 65535.  Run another pass, at least where the one piece of pipe is saddled onto the other.  It looks like it could use a bit more filler metal.  Turn the heat down and walk that cup right over it.