OGDEN, UT" One of Edge Products' first diesel tuners was called the Evolution, a hand-held programmer that would reprogram your diesel's ECU through the OBDII port in less than five minutes. It featured three power levels and amazing power increases. As Edge evolved, so did its programmers.

Now Edge has improved its Evolution stand-alone programmer and has integrated it into an Attitude-style display for a compact, powerful programmer with advanced monitoring features. The Evolution has three distinct power levels that deliver up to 100hp and 200 ft. lbs. of torque, and even has a power setting designed to consistently improve fuel economy. Additionally, these new Evolutions are the first-ever programmers to monitor EGTs (along with boost pressure and other safety features), negating the need for standard A-pillar gauges.

The Evolution comes standard with a custom pod that looks factory installed and is packed with features like: full engine data display with a backlight color-adjustable screen; checks and clears trouble codes; records 0-60 and ¼-mile performance tests; displays alerts and records max RPM and vital fluid temps; adjusts for tire size and raises the speed limiter; plus it datalogs vital engine information and can be updated through the Internet.

The new Edge Evolution programmers are available for '03-'07 Ford Powerstroke 6.0L, the '06-'07 GM Duramax LLY/LBZ 6.6L, and will soon be available for other truck applications. For more information, please contact Edge Products, 1080 S. Depot Dr., Ogden, UT 84404, 888-360-3343, 801-476-3343, fax 801-476-3348.

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What are the different types of welding and what are they used for? If you are looking for a 20,000 foot view of the different types of welding along with applications, stick around for a minute, I think I can help.

Stick welding

Stick welding is often called Arc welding although that is kind of a misnomer because TIG welding and MIG welding are actually arc welding processes too. But ARC welding is what most people still call stick welding. Stick welding is the old school kind of welding that grandpa used to do to fix his tractor in the barn. It uses a stick electrode like a 6013, 6011, or 7018 welding rod that is chucked up in an electrode holder that looks a little bit like a battery jumper cable clamp. The rod is struck like a match to get the arc going and the rod is fed into the puddle as it burns. Stick welding is pretty simple and the stick welding machine is simple too and also pretty cheap. You can buy a Lincoln 225 AC welding machine at any Home Depot for way less than 300 dollars.

MIG welding

Mig welding is considered one of the easiest types of welding to learn. Why? Because the rod does not have to be fed as it shortens like with stick welding. A wire is fed thru a cable and out the end of the mig welding gun and all the operator is required to do is to pull the trigger and weld. Sounds easy right? Well it is not that easy. It is a little bit easier to learn than stick welding but only a little.

Mig welding actually kind of describes 2 types of welding...bare wire mig, AND flux core welding.

Bare wire mig is cleaner, and will weld thinner metal, but flux core is easier to use outdoors and does not require a cylinder of mig welding gas or a flow meter. Flux core welding is usually either used for cheap hobby welder s where the buyer does not want to spend the money for gas and a gas conversion kit, or for really heavy duty applications like earth moving equipment and heavy production welding.

TIG welding

TIG welding is considered one of the more difficult types of welding to learn...harder to master than mig or stick welding. That is because both hands are needed to tig weld. One hand holds a tig torch with a tungsten electrode that provides the arc and heat...and the other hand feeds the rod. TIG welding equipment is generally more expensive and more difficult to set up because there is often a remote amperage foot pedal included and it takes a cylinder of argon or argon mix shielding gas to work.

Tig welding is the most versatile type of welding of all. Virtually all conventional metals can be welded with the tig process. Carbon and low alloy steels, stainless steel, nickel alloys, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, cobalt, and copper alloys can all be welded using this type of welding.

Plasma arc welding

Plasma arc welding is similar to tig welding except that the tungsten electrode is recessed inside a nozzle and the heat is created by ionizing gasses flowing around the arc. Plasma arc welding is used where high precision is required and in situations where a recessed electrode is beneficial. Plasma arc welding is used extensively in aerospace applications for dimensional restoration of air seals and jet engine blade repair where thicknesses are often below .015" and amperages used are often single digit.

Gas welding

Gas welding is one of the old school types of welding. Oxygen and Acetylene is the most popular setup for a gas welding kit and gas welding is still used a lot for automotive exhaust applications, as well as by homebuilt airplane enthusiasts for welding 4130 chromoly tubing for airplane fuselages. It works. It's portable. And it is fairly versatile... There are still some people that swear by gas welding even for welding aluminum.

Some people believe that tig welding is much better than gas welding. I am one of those people.

Electron beam and laser welding.

These types of welding are considered high energy welding processes because they pinpoint heat so much better than older more conventional types of welding. Electron beam welding can penetrate through 6 inches of steel without any bevel.

Laser welding can pinpoint heat so precisely that weld metal can be deposited on a tool steel injection mold cavity so precisely that heat treatments can be eliminated and only minimal machining is needed in order to restore dimensions.

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I've done this alone. It's easier with a second person, and sometimes helps prevent spills.

A. Things you need to get started:
1. The E4OD and 4R100 transmission system holds almost 18 quarts of ATF, and you must waste a couple of quarts to be sure you get it all purged and replaced, so buy 20 quarts of MERCON ATF [For the 4R100, use MERCON V]. You may use either conventional or synthetic, as long as it meets the above requirements.

The 4R70W transmission system holds about 14 quarts of ATF. The 4R70W uses MERCON V, and the MERCON V can be used on older 4R70W transmissions that were factory filled with MERCON.

2. I replace the transmission filter every other fluid change. Note that Ford does not recommend ever changing the filter. I've opened filters with over 300,000 miles that were not even close to being clogged.
3. Don't buy a new pan gasket. The original is reusable.
4. A 10 foot length of clear tubing and one hose clamp, sized to fit over your cooler hose. There have been different size cooler lines over the years, so check before buying!
5. If you don't already have a special funnel that fits into the transmission dipstick tube, then you will need one of those, too.

B. If you are changing the filter, drain the pan if your pan has a drain plug. If you are not changing the filter, jump to step 4.
1. If you don't have a drain plug, go to step 4 to pump out the pan, preventing an ATF shower! Return here after step 4 and one pass through step 5a.
2. Remove the pan and clean the pan and gasket, including the magnet on the bottom of the pan. Fuzz on the magnet is normal, that's why it is there!
3. Change the filter. It just pulls out, there are no bolts that hold it. It is held in place by the pan. Make sure that the O-ring is removed, too. Sometimes it does not come out with the filter.
4. Replace the pan, using the reusable gasket.
5. At this point you can drain the torque converter. Some people think it is necessary, but I don't. Running the engine in the next steps will pump the fluid out of the torque converter. If your transmission was built after August 2001, you don't have a drain plug in the torque converter.
6. To drain the torque converter remove the shield (or the rubber plug in some models) and turn the flywheel until you see the drain plug. If you also drain the torque converter, then the old ATF will not come out the return line until after the torque converter has filled.

C. If you drained the pan, pour new ATF into the filler [dipstick] tube until you have added about as much as you earlier drained from the pan. At this point overfilling by no more than one quart won't hurt anything.

D. Disconnect the transmission-fluid return line at the transmission - from where the ATF returns to the transmission from the cooler. This is the line towards the rear of the transmission. Clamp the clear tubing over the line that you removed from the transmission. This is where the fluid comes out.

E. This is where the second person comes in handy. One person starts the engine, while the other holds the line over the drain bucket.� A clothes pin can replace the person holding the line in the bucket.
1. Run the engine until you see some air in the clear tubing. As soon as you see air shut off the engine. Refill through the dipstick tube with the same amount as you just pumped out.

NOTE: If you drained the pan and the torque converter, fluid will not run out until you fill the pan a second time. Run the engine for 30 seconds, then stop and add six more quarts.

F. Repeat step 5 until you have added 19 quarts with of new ATF to the system with an E4OD or 4R100. Repeat until you have added 13 quarts with the 4R70W.
1. At least one time while the engine is running move the shifter through each position from P to 1, pausing about 5 seconds at each position. This will change some fluid that would otherwise be trapped in the valve body, accumulators, and clutches.

G. Remove the clear line and reconnect the cooler line to the transmission.

H. Check the fluid level and use the last quart to top off.

I. Properly dispose of the used transmission fluid.

J. Congratulate yourself! And your engine starter/killer person.

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