I plan on welding new spring-perches on a'95 wrangler. I have a lincoln 220 mig welder. Is there any secret to welding on my frame or do i just go for it?????

well if you are not experienced in welding, dont do it, frames are thin, its harder to weld on. good lucks

Iam a decent welder I have a welder in the ga

rage I built my bumpers,roll-cage,ect.
but i never welded on my frame. A friend of mine did some welding on his frame and it cracked right next to the welds. I was hoping to prevent that

the cracking has to do with the heat affected zone. i think if he had tehn used a torch to heat teh entire area up then it would have relieved the stress caused by welding (cold->very hot->cold) what type of welder did he use (stick)? your wire feed shouldn't get the metal as hot as the stick did because yours is more precise. i would take it to a proffessional welder to have it done, will save you money in the long run bc your frame won't crack (and if it does that is the welders problem)
just my .02

What I was told to do when I was building my old '55 F-100, was to get a cooler and put a bag of Ice in it then fill it with water. soak some rags in the Ice water the drape them around the frame near (as close as possible) where you are welding. only weld a small area at a time and allow the frame to cool off before welding on that area agian. This is supposed to help keep the heat from affecting too much of the frame. However frame materails have changed since then but it seems like a good Idea to me. also I have very little welding experience and sold the f-100 before I could spend any more money on it so I never got to try my hand at frame welding. so I'd check this with some experts before doing anything

Originally posted by HELPMEIAMSTUPID:
<STRONG>the cracking has to do with the heat affected zone. i think if he had then used a torch to heat teh entire area up then it would have relieved the stress caused by welding </STRONG>


I second this process!

In terms of high yeild steel and cast steels you need Pre-heating and Post heating. You can pre-heat your frame to accomodate the heat stress of the weld and then post heat to relieve expansion and contraction. I dont know the thickness of frame tubing but it seems to me that its fairly thin, if this is the case turn your mig down a little or you'll start blowing holes. Also if you're welding mild steel to mild steel make sure your wire is ...mild steel. Lots of people use what ever they've got and it cracks. <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> I'm no expert but I weld for a living so in my opinion pre and post heat to around 350* to help the metal. One other thing clean, clean, clean, for quality <IMG SRC="smilies/bounce2.gif" border="0">

yeah whats he said. if you are going to weld it make sure that u really clean the area so the welds as strong as it could be. i like the idea of preheating it as well. just make sure you dont blow holes in it when ur welding.

Thanks guys for all your help!!!
Iam hoping to talk to some people this weekend at the clean-up run also