miltontl

i was wondering what is the checklist for welding on a vehecle. what should i disconnect? i am going to be welding the floorboards and a place on the firewall where the seam comes together at the top i got a leak will weld if the caulking doesn't work out (I will be using a Tig welder)

Bigclubs

Number one biggest disconnect, would be the battery. Hooking up a welder will produce enough voltage and amps to fry your ECM unit. At least thats what I have been told.

98 JeepJeep

also i would suggest to pull all the Elec plugs off the ECM

Firestorm500

X2. Couldn't hurt. Might help.

jag

murphys law on the battery

Nothing will happen usually / better safe then sorry
Just always have a good ground

BLKXJ 96

Disconnect neg battery cable, keep your ground clamp close to your work area, to keep it from conducting voltage through other parts of the jeep.

Why are you using a TIG? you only need to tack the pan in, then get seam sealer put it on pretty heavy and use a cheap paint brush and spread it out.

FlyingLow

Don't MIG welders have a clamp you also have to put on? And if you're gonna go through the effort of replacing the floors why do a half*** effort of just tack welding it in and using seam sealer when you could just weld the entire thing in. It will still be watertight but the connection will be MUCH stronger. I'm just curious as I will be doing the same type of project, but the ENTIRE floor when I get my mig welder.

dlundblad

X2

It will also allow less travel distance for the electric current thus making the welder work less for the selected voltage. And it will keep the current from traveling through unwanted places. My welding teacher told me that it is possible to blow out the speakers of a car by making the current travel through the whole vehicle. I dont know if it is true or not though.

BLKXJ 96

Because it is way over kill to "try" to weld the entire floor pan in. If you were to remove the entire trim from your XJ right down to the bare body the whole thing is spot weled togather. Spot or tack welding is an exceptable way fasten sheet metal togather, if you look at a FSM in the body section it will give you measurements and the correct locations for all spot welds. You could never weld the entire floor pan in, there are some areas you just can't get to.

FlyingLow

oh, sorry I'm a noob with welding (never done it) but noticed the tack/ spot welding on the rusting out factory floors. I just thought if you were gonna go through all the efforts whats a little more, Sorry for the dumb question. My bad. So you say seam sealer is the way to go? Where could I acquire some of this stuff for when I do my floors? I assume any auto parts store?

a1racer

plus the factory just spot welds it in saves money and time

jaqattack02

I don't think he's talking about welding in an entire floor plan. I'm sure he has the same plan I do. I'm going to pull up the carpet, cut out the small sections of floor that are rusted through, then weld in a new piece of sheet metal to replace it. If you're just welding in a 6"x6" piece of metal, it's not going to be that big of deal to weld it in all the way around. I see what you're saying though, if you were replacing the entire floor plan, it would be quite a chore to completely weld it solid all the way around.

BlueXJ

If by chance no amount of encouragement will keep you from welding the entire floor in then at least take this small piece of advice and "Stitch" weld it. That is to weld a short section of say 1/2" and skip about 6" and weld another short 1/2" and skip another 6" until you have gone all the way around what you are welding. Then go back to that first 1/2" weld and extend it by another 1/2" and go to the next one and complete the circle until you have everything solidly welded. This has the advantage of keeping the heat in any one spot to a minimum thus preventing any metal warpage.

01LimitedXJ

ive never disconnected anything when i weld in/on the jeep. Never had any problems. Keep the ground close, with a direct path from the arc to it. Electricity takes the easiest path.

good idea to keep a fire extinguisher close or some water...the sealant they use to fill in the seams is quite flammable....

FlyingLow

I plan on doing everything but the trans tunnel. My floors are GONE. I feel like Fred Flintstone. I have to keep one foot on the seat slider bar and the other stays on the gas or brake. It gets very tiring not having anything to rest your heel on. I *eherm* fixed it temporarily with a piece of 1/2 plywood that I roughly cut to size and bolted in all the good spots of metal left. I know it's not right or "safe" so please don't flame me it's temporary with only the drivers seat in so I can get to the store for errands and to work until I get my welder (a few weeks at most).