Welding Stainless Steel Exhaust Pipe

Is it ok to weld stainless steel exhaust tubing with carbon steel mig wire.

Welding stainless steel exhaust pipe.

Work done on a chevy s10 pickup truck. Before starting welding wears hand gloves face mask apron as protection from spark and light. In particular this technique is used for welding exhaust pipes made from alloys such as stainless steel. Stainless exhaust is sometimes made from 304 stainless but there are also quite a few exhaust components that use 400 series stainless like 409.

Most of the popular welding processes can be used but i prefer gmaw because it works well on custom exhaust systems for my high school students hot rods. So first thoroughly clean the tubing and ensure no dirt or oil residue is left. When tig welding exhaust pipe care must be taken. For a corrosion resistant completed weld use one of the 400 series stainless steel wires such as a1490.

Its definitely not a good idea. Andy phillips shows how to weld exhaust pipe and the tools needed to prep the metal and weld it together. We have proof right here. Ferritic stainless steel is the cheapest form of steel and hence it is favored for manufacturing automotive exhaust components.