Iam after a stick welder to weld an open diff and have spotted a few arc welders oneis a clarke 150 amp 160n. Is for sale for about £70. The big thing is it going to man enough to do the job, if not what sort of current should i be looking to get. Thanks in advance
That was going to be the idea but my friend who normaly does it for me said there was a problem getting the diff out of the casing. so using an arc welder will minimise the weld spatter that will get inside the diff. the diff is a e36 320 diff if that makes any difference.
MIG 100% Clarke 150TE best hobby MIG evarrrr Clarke 150TE (Turbo) MIG Welder - Machine Mart None of the spatter will stick in the casing either and it will just wash out with some brake cleaner.
to clean the spatter of the inside of the diff housing will i have to put anything on the surface of it to prevent it sticking or will the brake cleaner just remove it nicely? Thanks guys
You can pack all around the planet gear carrier with rags if you're worried about spatter sticking. As long as you only use brake cleaner on the planet gears then the spatter just rolls off the rest. I've done a few E36 diffs and never taken them out of the casings.
so the spatter is not something that you really need to worry about? does it not greatly reduce the life of the diff? if its not a huge problem then will just get it welded up regardless.
spatter is a problem if left in the casing after welding complete, as j k p said stuff rags inside to minimise it sticking. all it will do is eat up your pinion bearing ect within minutes. i have welded mine up and like previously said once cleaned with brake and clutch cleaner most of spatter just falls out wen done and turn the diff upside down.
sorry im not overly clued up on the inside workings of the diff, but whats the result pinion bearing being eaten away?
The pinion gear is the gear that meshes with the crown gear. If you don't clean out all the splatter, the little blobs of metal will kill the gears. Or if one gets stuck in the gears while driving, it may jam the gears.
What he said. I use old bits of leather to cover up the areas i want to protect. Ive never had any problem welding diffs with a 150amp arc welder cranked all the way up and some fat welding rods Splatter left in the casing wont do your bearings any good but you've got more chance of winning euromillions than splatter jamming the diff gears.
