Oh crap, I started a welder fight! lol. I too took a community college welding course about 10yrs ago, heh. no comment about the engineering trade

No way in hell I'd have this stick welded, nor would I try to MIG it myself. I'm definitely gonna have it done by someone who welds for a living, preferably on cars often. MIG should be less likely to blow through than TIG I'd think and the vertical welds shouldn't be an issue for an experienced welder.

I'm pretty positive it's not a factory weld judging by the appearance of the driver's side forward UCA mount which doesn't have rust from a clearly ground area for the weld-prep nor does it have welds that look like poo.

No idea why it was re-welded, but I don't see any signs of crash damage on the subframe or k-member.

Whether or not it's really an issue, I'm not sure, but the appearance definitely makes me nervous, certainly doesn't look like sound welding. Seems like there's some disagreement about just how stressed that mounting point is.

I'm gonna look into having it checked out on a frame machine, but at the 60-100$ an hour that'll probably be that route may be a no-go.

If I can just use the slotted holes and some tightly fit rod to align things than this may be no big deal to jig once cut. The hacking the mounts off and re-welding to achieve additional caster idea is interesting but I don't want to open a can-o-worms attempting it, at least not yet.

1. Anybody who really knows how to weld, doesn't need to compare the amount years one has been welding to make their case. And be careful if you must, if you have only been welding 26 years.
2. Calling others names, with no back up, I know is the big thing nowadays, but I try to keep better company.
3. Someone only has to say something IMO, when they have something to actually say.
4. Please enlighten us "clowns" as to what is NOT "sheet metal" in the OP's pictured area of concern. If your definition of "sheet metal" is defined maybe as only having low stress, good for you.
5. I can't fathom how anyone could deduce my welding skills or experience from my use of the term "sheet metal".

Lawndart, I apologize for the how off track the welding comments have gotten here...my post count shows I dont post much here, but have been around for some time. I only comment when I feel 100% sure of my responses. I dont build high tech race engines for top fuel or what have you. But what I am is a highly skilled welder and have been for many decades...to codes much higher than gravel trailers and trucks (but I did that when I was first starting out in the trade).

All bull$hit aside, the old saying is you use the correct tool for the job. Each welding process has its place for a reason but I assure you if you ask any real professional at any welding shop or race car shop they will concur that this is no place for SMAW...whether 6010 or a 7018 rod!

The pissing matches aside, I will say from the half dozen A-Bodys I have owned that this doesn't look like the factory welds from my experiences. But thats just my experiences, and not to discredit Jim Lusk and the vast history he has had with them either. The fact is back in the day these cars were built they were indeed done with varying welding processes, and SMAW was used on them, and by a human who very well could have been having a off day.

Absolutely make sure you can run a straight rod thru the UCA mounts when done to avoid binding within the joints.

Also, any real professional welder should be able to weld that up with any process without issue...whether SMAW, GMAW or GTAW. They metal becomes molten at the same temperature regardless of the process. The benefits are a reduced heat affected zone with certain processes. Thats a bigger key when you get into the metallurgy of things. Again...the correct tool for the job! Exactly why no professionals build car chassis, cages, suspensions, etc with SMAW. Its not that it cannot be done...it goes much deeper than that, the welds will rarely fail...but the affected area around a weld that fails, aka the heat affected zone.

One last rant...Grizzly, its absolutely sheetmetal! These are not gravel trailers or truck chassis here, its a light gauge material no more than prolly 10Ga, not plate like the stuff found on what your working with. Huge differene...and no professional welder is welding "Gauge" material with 6010. EVER!

In closing, Lawndart...either GMAW or GTAW will both work 100% without question and meet any and all your needs for this repair without worries!

I'm not saying it was definitely a factory weld, but after the last k-member I picked up (which looks worse than this) anything is possible from the factory. The sloppiness that I have seen over the years is shocking.

I was joking about the "factory weld" comment, primarily based on some of the real crap I've seen done by the factory though.

One suggestion... its rolling so take it to a good alignment shop and get it checked/aligned "as is". That would give you a baseline.

With offset bushings or aftermarket UCA's or spacers on the LBJ mounts for negative camber, the factory mount locations work fine for a handling application. If it is close now, good to go in terms of basic location.

If the current bushings are more or less intact the alignment check should be meaningful. If they are completely beat up, squished ect. may need to do at least a partial rebuild first... but you have to do that soon anyway so no biggie.

As far as welding, I am in the "I can melt metal and get it to stick together camp". For something like that I would (and did) take it to a shop that has successfully done that type of repair before.

That's not exactly a high stress part. We had that discussion previously.




To borrow your words: some of the advice you Clowns give is nothing but a joke. Someone has to say something.

Does someone include everyone?

I am not sure "having a discussion" automatically means a conclusion was made or proven.

I can't make much out of "wheel force transducers....." to draw any conclusion or how it was measured under what conditions, etc, on that comment alone.


And don't be so shy, name names, since your descriptor was plural, most of us are grown ups here.