2 piece EM welding, skimming, and coating

[isham-research.freeserve.co.uk at pop.pol.net.uk]

> Thank you for your reply,  I am attemting to have the welding done.  The guy
> I've found claims "if its weldable, I can do it...I can weld 2 razor blades
> together if needed... " The other thing I noticed is that the EM exhaust
> flanges are not completely in line when checked against a flat surface.
> They have deffinately moved... I'm hoping that this can be remedied by
> skimming that side .020 or something (like one does when you mill a head).
> I just hope that the pieces can be held to allow this.

In my experience, welding is very rarely successful.

I'm not sure why this is, because the picture is compounded by another
variable.  I am becoming even more convinced than I was before that
I5 exhaust manifold failures are _directly_ related to - and perhaps
entirely caused by - failures of the right side engine mount.  This
failure can be simply diagnosed from under the car by observing the
relationship of the rear sump joint to the subframe - they should be
parallel.

We know from observation that welds often fail very quickly.  We also
know that exhaust manifold repairs - however done - have a habit of
breaking.  John Robinson (MB engined ur-quattro) replaced a broken
one-piece with a two-piece and had the front part fail within 2,000
miles.

Are welds inherently likely to fail - or is it the fact that the right
engine mount wasn't fixed when the weld was done that causes the problem?

I've always considered welding an inferior repair technique - but I
don't think I can put my hand on my heart and claim to know of a case
where a weld was properly done _and_ the engine mount was replaced.

Perhaps this would work?

--
 Phil Payne
 UK Audi quattro Owners Club
 Phone +44 7785 302803   Fax: +44 7785 309674