Fister D muffler wanna be - check my welding

So after hunting for a set of used MkII muffler I decided to go for the 'MkI' fisterD mod. Because I don't want it too loud. I am back from my local shop and I wanted your opinion on the welding before I put it on the car. I only paid $100 but it is far from top notch welding. I am not an expert either, so I was wondering how they look to you. I think I could have done the same myself... but I'd have to buy all the cutting and welding tool

Take them back and have them weld more around it. Fixing it after it cracks and installed is more difficult no? BTW, they look like 3.6 cans to me because of the gather on the pipe.

any welder would say that looks like crap (seagull crap to be exact) but I am sure it would be fine....you paid already so having them do more might be hard to get....and you might get worse.... i would lay down and take it in the backside because I am weak ....you can always re-do them if the leak later

Geez, Looks like NY Governor Patterson welded those... well. you asked

That is what I thought...pfuuu nobody can do anything right here in Lubbock Texas ! I was even turned down by another muffler shop as they would not do any tig welding..too slow they said ! what do you guys think about I adding some extra welding on top by myself...can't be much worst, or can it ? I see a cheap TIG welder for$150 at sears : http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00920566000P I have never tried this before but how hard can it be ? any advise on tig welding hardware requirement are welcome.

^ Oh God! We need a rolling video if you ever attempt a DIY...

ok so we have a +1 for the DIY tig welding hum....Somebody wants to see me electrocute myself live on tv LOL !!!

+2 hell, its not my parts

For another $125, plus shipping (or for the price of the welder), you could have had real Fister D's

+3 on the DIY.....I can tell you where to put the ground Actually aren't the 3.6 cans the MK1 FD and the 3.4 is the MK2 FD? Thought I read a post about this not too long ago.

Yeah I should have gone with fisterD 'oem' ... I tried again to see if there was any chance to find a good indy shop in Lubbock, but it seems like I failed again ! I am still $200 cheaper than fisterD... so I could go spend some money at sears If anybody here can tell me how its done, and if it is possible for newbies like myself... I bet I can't do maestro work but what the hell.

seriously.... why bother, put them on.... are you concerned they will leak? crack? just run them and check for black around the welds at oil change time.... gives ya something to do while that stuff pours over the top of the bucket

Well you know it doesn't really need to look pretty to function. Sure you would love to see a weld that just flows like river or on alum its looks like a row of dimes on its side. In your case even though you paid the shop already what's wrong with asking them to add little more weld to it. Throw them another $50 and move on... I only suggest because welding really can be an art form. And I sir am no arteest.

Leave them per ED, just adding weld "on top" of the old will do nothing to add to the strength of the weld(s).

Being a welder for 12 years I have to call that 'Globular Fusion' not welding.

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I would suggest a Lincoln Electric Inveretc V-155-S Welder. With welders you get what you pay for. Don't go cheap. You will get a piece of crap that wont have a strong enough arc to penetrate the metal. Trust me. This is about $1200 and you can stick weld with it too. It comes with everything but the gas and filler metal. I always prefer Lincoln welders. They are good. I was a welder in an oil refinery for 12 years.

go buy some fister D's.... I dont wanna see you hurt yourself putting the ground where Sneaky pete tells you to.....

As long as they're not leaking I'd put them on and enjoy the sound...my guess is they will hold up for a long while...if they spring a leak then you could get them re-done...

Hapich, $1200 for the hardware is a little steep, even though I always dreamed to play around with welding since I am 10 years Hapich, with that kind of hardware do you think I can play around and do something decent ? or I need to go to welding school for 6 month before being able to use that thing ? In the meantime, I am mounting them right now and we'll see in a few weeks if they look dark as previously mentioned. BTW, I had never removed those sucker before, so I had left the wheels on to unscrew the 3x10mm bolts and it was a pain, I removed the wheels and then...bingo!..revelation you can reach them from inside the wheel well pretty easily. I started the car without the muffler..not that bad I did invert my "muffler holder" bold so that it will be easier to to a swap later on. I am not finished as my wife came in a little early today Will post pics and sound soon. I think I might send my other set of can to fister D to do the MkII mod, this way I'll have both mod available and I assume I can may be sell the can a little better if they are modded by the maestro.

I say use them. Muffler shops aren't known for their pretty welds but I've seem worse looking welds that don't leak. If they do leak it's not that big a deal to take them off and have them hit the spot that leaks (you'll see the soot). Have fun!

Welding is much more difficult than it appears. It takes months and months of practice to get it right. Some welders, after several years in the trade, still can't make it pretty. Its one thing to make a weld strong with good penetration, but it's another to make it strong and beautiful. You need a good knowledge of metallurgy to know what fillers, wire, or rods to use when welding different alloys. The temperature, amps, filler speed and other things need to be just right for it to work. Too fast, no penetration, too slow and you'll burn thru, slightly inconsistant in your movements and the weld will show it. Try it, you'll have a new appreciation for industrial arts.

Yeah I always thought welding was a really cool thing to do. I wish I could buy a cheaper machine to have a try at it... anybdoy here have any success with cheaper welding machine ? may be I should try mig before tig at least. Looks like mig is a bit easier.

Like hapich said good TIG looks like an angled stack of dimes laying against each other. Look at the factory weld it looks like a MIG weld, smooth continuous snake with the head overlapping the tail. MIG is easier to learn then TIG. MIG with stainless wire is fine for these mufflers. BTW my (professional?!?) welds did not look any better then yours, 3k miles no problems so far. For some good visuals & tips check out this site There are MIG and TIG tips and videos http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/...ding-tips.html

Looks like stick welding not mig. If the guy isn't used to welding SS then besided the welding to get used to the sticks gas you more than usual rods. They will make you sick actually. Maybe he never did stainless before and found out about the getting sick The if it was sticks and the guy doesn't normally do SS he probably only had short sticks and left over even shorter sticks. What ever the case it is done.

My $.02 - Looks like aside from being unpleasant to look at, the real problems are that it was done with mild steel (my guess flux core wire), inconsistent penetration and some obvious inclusions. An alternative to bring the project back into shape might be to deeeply reduce and clean up what's there (read 3 beers and 1 die grinder) followed by a skillfully applied pass of stainless with heliarc/TIG. OK, call me an optimist, but you weren't saving those three beers for anything special anyway. Good luck whatever you choose to do.

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Put it on GOTO Meeting so I can watch it at work.

for comparison - my "home jobs" Lunch at a mexican joint and a 6 pack and I gave him $40 tip - friend of a friend I really dont think yours will be an issue... I would plop them on and start enjoying the new sounds!

You can get a cheaper set up if you just want to stick weld ,(SMAW) Shielded Metal Arc Welding, but thats is difficult for anything under 1/4" thick. You can build some outdoor furniture and a BBQ. There are some cheaper MIG machines for thin material, GMAW ( Gas Metal Arc Welding), but then you have to worry about the damn wire feeder and there is always some problem. Especially with a cheap one. If you want to build stuff in your garage from 1/16" to 1/2" thick, carbon steel to stainless, get a good machine that can do TIG, Tungsten Inert Gas or the proper name, GTAW ( Gas Tungsten Arc Welding) and stick. Trust me when I say MIG machines are unruly unless you know what your doing. Welding takes months / years to get good at. If you are going to go cheap you are going to be disappointed, especially if you start getting good at it.