Anything welding

Few more practice passes tonight.

 

Do you need to preheat 2nd/3rd gen spindles before welding on tc gussits?

Miller 252
75/25 gas
.035 wire
Hooked up to 220v

 

Your shop looks like a sweet place to work on things!

 

I don't see why you would need to. I've welded a bunch of shit on my truck without preheating. Maybe I've been doing it wrong.

 

Isn't spindle heating the 6th most discussed topic in this thread?

 

I don't have stock spindles

 

Well I dont have spindles at all

 

That’s kinda what I was thinking. But last time I saw somthing on it, some were saying heat, others say it’s fine. Just trying to get a more difinative answer

 

Well, does Total Chaos's instructions say to?

 

Dosent say anything about pre heating.

 

Yup. I followed their instructions when I welded up their gussets.

 

The preheating debate will continue to go on for years to come.

 

I'm in the "other" column, when it comes to welding the spindles.

I'd rather they bend before something more expensive bends because they were gusseted.

I do know that they can be heated and straightened. Not supposed to do this, but I needed to get the truck back on the road. Drove it for 275,000 miles with no issue.

I really don't see the point of preheating. Any 240 volt welding machine will get plenty of penetration. I see no reason to remove the from the truck either.

Pulling the bearings on a 1st gen with be $2-300. They can't be reused. Seems like a lot of money to throw at something that isn't broken. If you had bad bearings and needed to pull the spindles, then for fun I might preheat just to say I did.

No way I'm tossing $300 in the shitter for my 1st gen.

 

I get what your saying, and for a 1st gen it makes sence to not do it unless you’re replacing the bearings.
But on the other hand had a guy out here bend one, replaced with new and bent it again within a month.
Quite a few guys here in co have either bent spindles them gussited them. Or incoperate it into a front end overhaul to protect them from bending. I’d rather bend tie rods than spindles

 

Preheating and Post Cooling is a very good question it comes down to just what the material is and the difference between the two materials and filler

I have no idea how one would gusset a spindle on a Tacoma Since it seems to be apart of the Steering Knuckle unless I have no idea what is being talked about .

Over the years failed bearings on heavy equipment spindles have been repaired by building up and machining back to size

 

Thanks man. It was/is a bit run down due to my dad not taking care of his land buttttt I recently ended up buying the land from my sisters/dad so I’m trying to clean it up and make it mine

 

With the 1st being how chop saws are terrible. Literally a rusty spoon is better at cutting metal.

 

You gonna die!

 

I used to cut bundles of 20 gauge stud and track with a chop saw. Lots of sparks. The hot saw is even funner with heavier gauge. It's pretty scary watching the blade warp as you cut.