110 rear crossmember Welding

Damn I knew it was all going too well.
Cut out a small hole in the rear crossmember and it turned into a much bigger problem.
looks like the end of the left chassis rail is on the way out where it meets the crossmember.
Can this be plated without removing the crossmember?? It may be beyond me to do it :-(
What dya reckon???

Well you have found out how the rust can be where it look ok, so before you try to take that on check the rest of it thoroughly. Tap away at everything, if it rings it sounds good, if it's a dull or "crunchy" noise then check this part as it may be another corrosion point.

To plate it you need to have good steel to fix to. You also need to establish that you can actually access the area you need to weld. When you know where you can fix to, cut a piece of cardboard how you will make the plate and mark the area. Then do a dummy run with the torch. If you can't do it, try a different size patch.

Well I’ve uncovered the extent of the rust.
The chassis rail end has a bit of rot on one side only, and the cross member bracket was shot so it’s now gone to reveal the damage.
No I need to try and repair it….

Thanks to @lynall for coming to take a look this morning.

That looks like a flat plate & a right angle weld to the cross member weld.

hope @lynall was worth the tea & biscuits

Hicap phill said:

That looks like a flat plate & a right angle weld to the cross member weld.

hope @lynall was worth the tea & biscuits

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Haha it was early and we were both in a bit of a rush so no biscuits this time.
Do you think I need to weld up the top of the chassis rail? It’s pretty inaccessible unless I remove more good stuff.
I don’t think the chassis rails themselves were originally fixed to the Crossmember, just these side plates as you describe above that is now missing.

Like this?

If you do the sort of shape in the photo out of 1 piece you could weld all the edges

congo181 said:

Like this?
View attachment 252064

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Haha your quicker…
Go to the edge/inside of the jacking point

Can you circle that so I know exactly where you mean? Is that the tube through the cross member?

congo181 said:

Can you circle that so I know exactly where you mean? Is that the tube through the cross member?

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Yes the tube through the cross member.

Do you just weld the cardboard straight in, or is there another step??

congo181 said:

Do you just weld the cardboard straight in, or is there another step??
View attachment 252083

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I read the post & had a chuckle…
I would glue cardboard not weld it

To make life easier,make the lower shaped area straight.this will weld quicker

how about making a right angle fold onto the cross member to cover that last hole?

Hicap phill said:

I read the post & had a chuckle…
I would glue cardboard not weld it

To make life easier,make the lower shaped area straight.this will weld quicker

how about making a right angle fold onto the cross member to cover that last hole?

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Glad it made you chuckle.
I could make a right angle, but the hole needs filling from the outside anyhow. Also, there’s the remains of the old weld which is going to be a bugger to get completely flat for a fold to sit against.
The scalloped ends of the plate are what’s on the original, so thats why I did it like this. Harder I’m sure but it’ll look like it the other side once I’m done I hope.

congo181 said:

Cheers. I reckon it’ll pass muster. The more I weld the better it gets.

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So true, my dad is an engineer, and welds lots, but when he came to help me with the Front bulkhead I was welding a lot more than him. He said "your welding is better than mine" which was such a boost. The more you do it the better you get...

Bit of work on the repair today. The patch plate is cut and ready and the rust has been treated inside the crossmember. Hopefully can get the plate on tomorrow.