Guidlines for welding on your truck

[AlaskanRider]

Hello, I'm going to be welding some brackets on my truck sometime in the near future, and have alot of ideas.

But i'm scared to weld on my truck. The welding part is OK, I have a few hundred hours of experience (not a great welder, but somewhat confident). Im just wondering about my sensors and everything.

I read in the magazine,

When welding on the truck, please note to disconnect the battery and unplug any modules that your truck may use. Just disconnecting the battery is not enough. The electrical system on your truck is very sensitive to spikes, hence the use of fuses and breakers. A welder uses a lot more amps than the system is used to seeing. You could end up frying any one of the modules. Not a good thing if you’re just making a small patch job. It’ll make the frustration level increase. Also check for harnesses and lines running inside the frame channel. Make sure that these are moved out of the way of the welding. A melted harness or a broken brake line would be bad. Fuel lines tend to be bad when heat is applied to them. Can we say Darwin candidate?

but is there anything anyone can add to this? Has anyone followed the above and still damaged something?

I was working with a miner this summer on his washing plant, and he was using his excavator as a hoist for some particularly heavy piece. After it was all welded up, the next time he tried to start it the starter was bad, and he SWORE that the welder was what did it.


On a side note, I saw a really cool setup on pirate 4x4 in the TTB jeep thread.

Anyone know who's truck this is? I would enjoy reading more about it. I like how the brackets mount on the frame. Nice and simple.

 

[88_Eddie]

i just welded some stuff to my frame. i disconnected the battery and starting laying beads. everything seems to be fine. if anything, i hope it makes my CEL go off....lol

 

[martin]

put the ground as close to the work as possible and you should have no problem.

 

[4x4junkie]

put the ground as close to the work as possible and you should have no problem.

This right here.


See this thread.
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115206&highlight=welding+frame+ground

 

[Sunk]

I welded a bunch on my old 88 and never disconnected the battery, I just put the negative cable right next to the work. Never had any troubles.

 

[Captain Ledd]

put the ground as close to the work as possible and you should have no problem.

THIS.

Electricity will ALWAYS follow the path of least resistance. So once it hits your ground clamp, that's where it stops. Problems arise when it passes through or maybe past a sensor. I've welded exhausts before, never disconnected anything, never had a problem.

I try to take a grinding wheel to my ground clamp spot too, nice fresh metal to metal.

*edit: just to be %100, super-duper clear, don't use your sensors as grounds

 

[4.0B2]

WAIT A SECOND.... you're suppose to disconnect the battery?????


hahahahaha. j/k i know that. however, i NEVER do it on my own rig. i do on other people's rigs or when i'm working at the shop on semi's.

 

[legoms013]

I've always just disconnected the battery, and put the ground close to the work piece after grinding a shiny spot. Never had any issues.

 

[AlaskanRider]

Thanks for the replies, I totally missed that other thread somehow. I guess it's not as much as an issue as I feared. Must have been a bad starter on the excavator.

 

[legoms013]

Another couple tips I find useful:

If you are welding something really thick or with alot of material to it (think 1" think weld on d-loop mounts) I like to preheat the thick stuff first with a torch. Makes for better penetration. 1/4" and down I usually don't preheat. But things like axle housings, d-loop mounts, and generally thick steel I like to heat up to not-touchable by hand...and I have found in my experiences to get a better weld.

And I usually take a flapper disc equipped grinder wheel to both surfaces to be welded, to get any contaminants off first.

Happy

 

[Ormachek]

Another couple tips I find useful:

If you are welding something really thick or with alot of material to it (think 1" think weld on d-loop mounts) I like to preheat the thick stuff first with a torch. Makes for better penetration. 1/4" and down I usually don't preheat. But things like axle housings, d-loop mounts, and generally thick steel I like to heat up to not-touchable by hand...and I have found in my experiences to get a better weld.

And I usually take a flapper disc equipped grinder wheel to both surfaces to be welded, to get any contaminants off first.

Happy

Pre heat is a good idea on heavy stuff for sure. Pre heat should be applied to mild steel 1" thick and up, but penetration isn't the main point (more of a welcome side effect, it definately welds nicer), its to prevent the weld from cracking. When you weld heavy, cold steel, the surrounding metal sucks the heat out of the weld very quickly, when the weld cools too rapidly it can crack.

For heavy steel I like to preheat (usually around 200 degrees F, too hot to touch), then weld with either stick (7018) or flux-core (ideally the good gas shielded kind). Leave the slag on as it cools, or even throw an insulating blanket over it if necessary.