Citrojim's Saxo and Cycling Tales

[CitroJim]

You're always more than welcome to try out the welder I've got here. I'll be having to get a lot more familiar with it shortly with the floor to sort on the incoming project. Sure there's potential for some mutual learning with regards to metalwork there.

Most definitely so Zel Is yours a gas or gasless one?

Practice for us both is the key... I have plenty of practice material here... I've been keeping a few old Xantia wings for such occasions... Not sure how it would go down if I welded a bit of Xantia into a Ka though

EDIT: My Ka can be a bit of practice material too

If you do pick a welder up though, for fluff sake, also get an auto-dimming facemask. £30 odd from Toolstation, and I seriously don't know why it took me 10+ years to get one...Without a doubt the single thing (aside from having the welder set up right!) that makes it easier.

I've already got one of those from my last foray into a bit of MiG... They are seriously good... Not good enough to use with my arc welder though... The light from those is far more intense than from a MiG...

[Stickyfinger]

Agree on the FaceMask 100%

You could try my Stick Welder Jim ....I will also have James's MIG welder/kit down here when you come to visit next.

Welding on your back under a car is always crap, maybe book a weekend and use my ramps to save your testicles from the guaranteed dollop's of red-hot metal

[bobins]

Welding on your back under a car is always crap, maybe book a weekend and use my ramps to save your testicles from the guaranteed dollop's of red-hot metal

Could be worse, I've heard of weld spatter going down someone's earhole

[lexi]

My Jackson helmet is fine for Mig and Arc. It struggles with Tig though, which is brighter again. A helmet to do them all starts about £60 I think. Hard to say how good (or bad) the Lidl welder will be. It might do a job for you, but always easier learning on a better machine, rather than the frustrations of poor wire feeds etc. The Clark mig is still about the best for the money, say a 150amp...........vat free voucher maybe?.
I gave up my Boc and Air Products account. I have the Hobbygas deal which is fine for likes of us. I use stick as much as I can, so the bottle of Hobby gas Argon from SGS? does me about 3 years. It's a one off deposit £70? and about £40 to fill the bottle.
Yes welding under cars is character building, but no worse that some of the mechanical shenanigans you guys already get up to

[Zelandeth]

It's a good old fashioned (80s or early 90s I believe) MIG. I generally do small enough bits of work that just the little disposable gas bottles work for me.

I believe that usually if using gasless wire the polarities are switched so the workpiece becomes live with relation to the torch so that the natural "pitting/piling" action is helping rather than hindering you. Don't quote me on that though.

[CitroJim]

You could try my Stick Welder Jim ....I will also have James's MIG welder/kit down here when you come to visit next.

Welding on your back under a car is always crap, maybe book a weekend and use my ramps to save your testicles from the guaranteed dollop's of red-hot metal

Now that's a good thought indeed Alasdair

I've had red-hot dollops of metal on various parts of my anatomy in the past and yes, it's not fun

But, it's the Ka that might need welding - I was under the impression I'm banned from bringing it within 50 miles of your place

Yes welding under cars is character building, but no worse that some of the mechanical shenanigans you guys already get up to

Indeed, quite

I believe that usually if using gasless wire the polarities are switched so the workpiece becomes live with relation to the torch so that the natural "pitting/piling" action is helping rather than hindering you. Don't quote me on that though.

That makes logical sense Zel... Worth a bit of research I reckon...

What precautions do you need to take with automotive electronics when welding? Just disconnect the battery or disconnect and earth both positive and negative leads to the body?

[Stickyfinger]

I cannot say what my Chickens might do to it overnight, move in maybe

Disconnect battery, unplug ECU, earth car body if you must.

[CitroJim]

I cannot say what my Chickens might do to it overnight, move in maybe

They would be very welcome as long as they pay for their accommodation in eggs

I could even put some hay down for them...

[lexi]

For welding, disconnect battery and alternator just to be sure.

[Stickyfinger]

LOL

So, should I take my T Body to bits ?

[CitroJim]

I may just have fixed Sally the Saxo today... Time will tell

I swapped her throttle pot for the one from the replacement throttle body but not before giving the pot tracks a really good clean...

This was how much muck I pulled from the tracks I used a bit of soft lint-free rag and some iso-alcohol on it...

Own Work

With the airbox out of the way access was good..

Own Work

The blue rag is there to catch any falling screws! Happily not needed...

Luckily the four screws did not put up a fight and the pot came off without issue...

Own Work

Before I started I used the ELIT to note the butterfly angle and set the new pot to the same figure...

Result is that she now seems to be OK on two road tests and ELIT monitoring...

She also appears to be running smoother and better too

On a long test drive this afternoon she was a positive delight to drive...

The contrast between a Saxo and a Ka is unbelievable... Sally is a smooth, refined and quiet girl whereas Jodie the Dagenham Dustbin is a rough, unrefined and noisy girl but full of fun - a lovable rogue A bit council estate!

Sally is just the opposite - well bred and sophisticated...

I love them both for their equally big but diametrically opposite characters

[Stickyfinger]

I need to get those bit off the Saxo then....

[CitroJim]

I need to get those bit off the Saxo then....

Yes, but before you go swapping throttle bodies Alasdair, just try popping the pot off and giving the tracks a gentle clean as I did...

Put an alignment mark on the pot body so that you can put it back exactly where it was originally...

Worth a go before the rather more involved job of swapping whole bodies. For one thing the fuel lines are very tight and hard to remove and you'll need a new gasket to go between body and manifold...

Forgot to say earlier, I went to Lidl this morning but sadly they had no welders

In fact the MK Lidl is a bit of an unorganised dump and I even had trouble getting all the foodstuffs I needed... Aldi, in MK at least, is a far superior shop in every respect...

I guess it's all down to the competence and enthusiasm of the management...

[Michel]

The contrast between a Saxo and a Ka is unbelievable... Sally is a smooth, refined and quiet girl whereas Jodie the Dagenham Dustbin is a rough, unrefined and noisy girl but full of fun - a lovable rogue A bit council estate!

It's a @#$*ing good job my gym instructor can't read your accurate description of her..

[Hell Razor5543]