Welding to your frame VS bolting.

[4x4junkie]

I see no need to wrist it if you are extending the arms... Just adds handling quirks during braking (unless you can pin it straight) and then the issue of wear at the pin & hole.

Just use rubber C-bushings.

 

[DPoffroad]

Welding to cast is a bad deal... it's ok to patch cast with a weld but welding any other type of steel to cast is not! Regardless how you post heat it or preheat it won't do a damn bit of good! It's even a worse idea having it in such a high stress area as a radius arm. Regardless of the filler material or rod or wire that's used the cast will eventually break or crack at the edge of the weld. Think of it like super gluing a wooden spoon to a sponge.. sure it'll hold for a while but eventually the sponge is going to rip, unless it's decoration. . Just my 2 cents

I build log stackers for a living so I deal with high stress welds all day long! Everything breaks if you apply enough force!

 

[PlumCrazy]

100s of people weld mild steel to the stock wedgie radius arms without failure. Same goes for extending 2wd beams for long travel.

 

[DPoffroad]

And as far as welding to the frame.. if you have enough experience and the know how to have confidence in welding then do it! There's a million factors that go into as like everything that's been stated.. I was actually surprised no one mentioned the type of rod or wire..

And as far as heat treated or hardened frames you can weld on them or to them just have to properly pre heat and post heat and use either a dual shield or a sub arc, hell you can tig weld it if you want but you want to be able to have flex in the weld so you use a softer filler material. Again there's a million factors and opinions on this!

I may be wrong but that is why they still don't have a written test for getting welding certifications.. at least not in the pnw

 

[DPoffroad]

100s of people weld mild steel to the stock wedgie radius arms without failure. Same goes for extending 2wd beams for long travel.

I'm just saying it's a bad idea! I've seen some scary ass stuff people have done! Just because other people have done it doesn't make it right either though... to each his own. . I personally wouldn't do it I'd just make new ones if it came down to it.. but that's a whole different ball game. .

 

[cammeddrz]

5 years ago I shortened my frame 42", I was going to weld it myself, but a buddy of mine had just returned from WyoTech certified in "chassis fabrication". he offered to weld it for me.

I also inserted an 18" sleeved piece of channel (the inside of my frame channel was 6", so a piece of 6" channel slipped in nicely)

a year ago, I was in an accident, that required the frame to have 20+ hours on the frame straightening rack. it cracked, and bent in places. But nowhere where we had modified the frame did it fail.

 

[PlumCrazy]

That should have been fish plated...not saying your vertical welds aren't doing the job, but that's a BIG no no.

 

[cammeddrz]

That should have been fish plated...not saying your vertical welds aren't doing the job, but that's a BIG no no.

it's a big "works just F-ing fine" in fact better than "fine" stood up to a terrible collision, and signed off on by a certified chassis fabricator. who he himself said that fish plates is "only one of the many acceptable ways to do it". as well as signed off by the frame specialist who repaired/straightened the frame last year.

if it weren't sleeved, it would have been a "no-no" however, vertical welds without a sleeve, would have been a seriously bad idea. as well as the fact, that sloping welds would have been a "better" idea. but not necessary.

I just wanted to show another way to do it, that is just fine. and sleeving it made it even stronger than fish-plates alone would have.

yes I know, I could have added fish plates in addition to the sleeving/boxing. but that was deemed totally unnecessary, and likewise proven (by the collision) to have been unnecessary. the only parts of the frame that failed were parts that were unmolested.

so what I am saying is that I consulted with certified specialists, and I have successfully shortened a frame, and I had the aforementioned frame modification stand up to an accident that literally totaled the vehicle, and lastly I had the frame inspected by yet another specialist after the accident, who gave it the OK.

if anyone is qualified to say what is a "no-no", or not, i'd say it is someone who has actually done it

 

[--weezl--]

the issue with fishplating is that tiny gap between the plates is a great place for corrosion to start, you get a little dirt in there, and a little water, and now your frame turns into swiss cheese...

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

5 years ago I shortened my frame 42", I was going to weld it myself, but a buddy of mine had just returned from WyoTech certified in "chassis fabrication". he offered to weld it for me.

I also inserted an 18" sleeved piece of channel (the inside of my frame channel was 6", so a piece of 6" channel slipped in nicely)

a year ago, I was in an accident, that required the frame to have 20+ hours on the frame straightening rack. it cracked, and bent in places. But nowhere where we had modified the frame did it fail.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/shumaker_7/IMAGE_410.jpg[/

What vehicle did your frame come from? What did you shorten it so much?