my money pit

[DopeCustomz]

Its a 1996 s10 zr2 5speed 4.3. I have dumped lots of money into this, new front end, brake system, quite a few other things.

Id like to start off by mentioning I am, or was, a welder. I worked for a manufacturing company that made shelving for supermarkets. Have experience in MIG, and very little TIG, but its been about 2 years since I have welding anything.

My truck has 2 holes in the frame, directly under each door on the bottom and inside rail. I tapped around the whole frame, and these are the only spots that are rusted through. It is right around where the factory put holes for the jack, a perfect place for salt and water to fling up into.

I found this after noticing someone welded a plate over the hole on one side (horrible weld job), so Im not even sure whats under it until I grind it off. This pic is of the other side, and the rust seems to be on the "boxed" in portion, not on the actual main C channel of the frame.


I am having a buddy, who is very experienced at welding for trucking companies, who will do the actual welding for me. Im going to take on the cutting and grinding.

Im looking for tips from someone who as done this, or a experienced welders advice. Ive never done any metal work on a vehicle, so your advise would be appreciated.

[DopeCustomz]

the line you see in the frame in the pic is the weld of the boxed in part, to the actual c channel. It looks like that is where the corner of the frame is but it isnt.

[Old Doug]

I have done this kind of repair several times sometimes I felt good about it and some times I did not. If you have good unpited steel close to the hole. then I would grind of rust and plate over hole on all 4 sides. Us steel of same thickness as frame Make cardbord cut out to form new patches. Drill holes in patches for plug welds. Some times frames rust in one spot and sometimes all over. Good luck.

[DSW]

Now it's time to add a new frame to the list of things you've put on the truck.

"Newer" vehicles save weight by frequently using high tensile strength steels and heat treating frames. Weld procedures are very strict and detailed, and most manufacturers specifically say not to weld on these frames. Top that off with the fact that by the time a frame rusts thru, theres usually very little "good" metal left close to the damaged area. You aren't talking about a "patch" here, you are talking about cutting out and replacing a fairly large section most likely. To do this right, you need to start with stripping the whole frame and sand blasting it clean to determine the extent of the damage. All the heavily pitted steel will have to go. Then you will need to get the weld procedures and frame alloy info from the manufacturer so you know how to procede properly. At this point it's probably much simpler to simply get a donor frame in good shape, or get an aftermarket replacement frame. Also keep in mind the liability you are taking on if you fail to follow proper procedures and the frame fails and someone gets hurt or God forbid killed. This isn't a project for even the average welder, but for someone who's highly specialized in doing frame work, and has access to the info needed and the insurance to cover the work.

[Old Doug]

I agree with most of what DSW thinks. But alot of vehicles frames are repaired By common welding practises. Not to put a mans rig down most times only feasable way to keep rig on road.