Anyone hear able to weld aluminum?

Logan

apparently the prezident
Club Member
I have a civic aluminum yonaka half rad that I need the overflow spout welded back on. Want to put it in my sidekick.
 
F

fierodough

Guest
For a rad that will hold 15-20 psi i would have it tig welded and tested and personally I would never braze with aluminum...
Kelly

Well I assume the overflow spout is probably no more than 1 or 2 square inches. That weld would have to hold no more than 25 to 50lbs of pressure max. Had it been a large surface area I would not recommend it neither. But a small spout, I think it's the strongest and nicest weld you can get. It will flow well areound the seam and ensure there are no leaks.

JB Weld can probably hold that together. LOL!
 
F

fierodough

Guest
Actually, now that I think of it... Are Civic's overflow tanks even pressurized? I know my Tracker (1999) is not.

Is the overflow ABOVE or BELOW the bottom of the rad cap? (by botom I mean the part that goes inside the radiator)

Cheers!
 
W

whateverworks

Guest
15-20psi might not sound like much... But I can tell your from experience it only takes about 10-15psi to blow up a 45gallon drum...
Think about that even though it might only be an overflow vent...
Just a thought.
Kelly
 

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
For a rad that will hold 15-20 psi i would have it tig welded and tested and personally I would never braze with aluminum...
Kelly

I'm with Kelly - if I'm spending money to get if fixed, I'd want it pressure tested before re-installing.
 
F

fierodough

Guest
psi is calculated by pounds per square inch. The force not only depends on the pressure but the surface area. 8 psi of water can be used to wash your truck from a gardenhose. 8psi of water can relocate your house when it's coming out of a dam. ;)

A simple test, if you have a blow gun on your air compressor set at 100 / 125 psi, you can stop the air flow with your thumb because it's such a small surface area. But 125 PSI can launch a bowling ball out of an air cannon for several hundred feet.

For every inch of surface area you are exerting X PSI. if you have a 6" pipe at 25 PSI you have to block the opening with 150 Lbs! but a 1" opening with only 25lbs. ;)

your 45 Gallon drum has a HUGE surface area. 15psi in such a surface area is 10553lbs on the sides alone! not counting the top and bottom! (drum is 22.5" diameter X 33.5" high X 15psi. Yep! that will blow!
 

Logan

apparently the prezident
Club Member
Thanks. Ill call wills auto. But the tracker broke down and now thinking of buying another one. Fuel pump I think went, but not too sure.
 
W

whateverworks

Guest
Thanks. Ill call wills auto. But the tracker broke down and now thinking of buying another one. Fuel pump I think went, but not too sure.

Turn the key to the run position but do not start it... Listen for the fuel pump building pressure... You should here a wirrrrrrr and a click when the system is pressurized...
If no sound it could be the fuel pump... or a rotted wire that runs through the rocker panel on the drivers side ( it will be coloured black on pink) or worst case scenario the ECM is shot.
Might also be a good idea to see if the injector is pulsing as well... If not, you can add a positive wire to it with a switch and a 10amp fuse to the injector to get it to fire. There are only 2 wires to the injector... black wire and a red wire.
Hope that helps...
Kelly
 

Logan

apparently the prezident
Club Member
Thanks. Did the whole listen thing. Didnt hear it. When I get it home ill use my power probe to put direct power to it and see whats up. Might just buy another and use this one for parts.
 
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