Jake's 1990 K5 Build
- Thread starter jkroberts
- Start date
rayra
Expedition Leader
nice work on the swap.
Looks like overall your fab place used stock that was a size thinner than they should have (cost? weight?) and then burned right thru it with solid welds. Seems the metal sheet itself gave, not the welds. (what's supposed to happen anyway, but that's ridiculous) If the front bumper came from the same source I'd look at either reinforcing it or at least the winch to frame connections / area.
Looks like overall your fab place used stock that was a size thinner than they should have (cost? weight?) and then burned right thru it with solid welds. Seems the metal sheet itself gave, not the welds. (what's supposed to happen anyway, but that's ridiculous) If the front bumper came from the same source I'd look at either reinforcing it or at least the winch to frame connections / area.
toyrunner95
Explorer
I hate to say it but that rear bumper looks like they tried to save money and use scrap... the piece that was holding your tire looked like it had a really thin wall to it. plus it looked over welded for what it was.
Nice truck though.. i love those square body bow ties.
Nice truck though.. i love those square body bow ties.
Thanks! i am still in the process of fully protecting it from rust. luckily, in so cal it isnt too much of an issue
Thank you! yes it was the metal itself. the welds look really good actually. ill post pics of the front bumper. its beefy as hell!
there were scrap pieces used. ill post pics of them. it was made out of 1/16th" steel. i could bend it with my hands. im not ready to completely redo the whole bumper but im doing the swing arm. i just bought a Lincoln 140HD and so far i dont like it. i cant seem to get decent welds out of it. at my previous job i was using a miller 252 and that thing was awesome! maybe im just not as good of a welder that i thought i was? or maybe i just need to use my machine more? idk ill be posting some pics of my new jerry can, bin carrier.
ADVW/Liam
Adventurer
Fatastic job of cleaning up the engine bay! It drives me nuts when people do an engine swap and dont take the time to clean things up.
I'd be irate if someone build a bumper for me, and it fell apart like that. I too am thinking of building a bumper myself, I just gotta get a better welding machine. Right now I'm using a poor quality Craftsman wire feed, and the welds look like hell. A Miller or Hobart wire feed. I've got access to a stick, but it's soooooo easy with a wire feed.
Great looking truck, be safe!
Rick
I'd be irate if someone build a bumper for me, and it fell apart like that. I too am thinking of building a bumper myself, I just gotta get a better welding machine. Right now I'm using a poor quality Craftsman wire feed, and the welds look like hell. A Miller or Hobart wire feed. I've got access to a stick, but it's soooooo easy with a wire feed.
Great looking truck, be safe!
Rick
Thanks! it took a LONG time to get it clean. i found that WD-40 works very well at breaking up the oil/mud as well as adding a nice shine and protection coating. I plan on building completely new bumpers, once i get a better welder! I also have a Lincoln 220 stick welder. works great for 1" or thicker material.
And my current project...
i cut off the old tire carrier and jerry can holder off the swing arm.
i then added my 4 can jerry can holder and a new latch to replace the broken "T" handle bolt deal.
i found some rust under the original tube that held the spare tire...
here you can see the part i cut off, and my new jerrycan holder and license plate holder
this thing is on there good. welded in a lot of different places and supports were added underneath
basic idea of how it will look when done
im building the holder for the action packer now. the holder will have a lid that i can lock to keep people honest. im also going to make some sort of contraption to secure the jerry cans as well
i cut off the old tire carrier and jerry can holder off the swing arm.
i then added my 4 can jerry can holder and a new latch to replace the broken "T" handle bolt deal.
i found some rust under the original tube that held the spare tire...
here you can see the part i cut off, and my new jerrycan holder and license plate holder
this thing is on there good. welded in a lot of different places and supports were added underneath
basic idea of how it will look when done
im building the holder for the action packer now. the holder will have a lid that i can lock to keep people honest. im also going to make some sort of contraption to secure the jerry cans as well
All those problems you had with the bumper breaking apart are EXACTLY why you shouldn't do structural vehicle modifications or build trailers with a small MIG welder. I can almost guarantee those failures were due to improper weld prep and not enough power from the machine. I'd be VERY CAREFUL if you ever decide to use those tow points.
The tow points are cut out of 3/4" steel plate and are bolted directly to the frame. The rest of the bumper is built around those plates. I agree with you that not enough power was used on my rear bumper as well as thin material. The front looks good though and its held up so far. Ive been using it for 2 years without fail. Cant say the same for the rear bumper though. Or the rock sliders.
I would like to get a miller 211 mig, that would be enough for bumpers right?
If you're feeding it off a 30 amp 240v circuit, Yes it should be sufficient. You'll need to run it hot, which makes the duty cycle quite low on compact MIGs. Forget about using it on 120v mode. You just can't get the power needed to properly fuse anything thicker than about 14 gauge out of a 120v welder. You can get away with open butt joints and outside corners on 1/8", but lap and tee welds will not get proper fusion or penetration, particularly in the flat and horizontal positions.
Small machines can be helped by running a DUAL SHIELDED flux core wire, which is a flux core that still uses shielding gas. Straight co2 works pretty well as a shielding gas in those applications. Flux core will help get greater penetration and fusion than solid wire running short circuit.
The problem with short circuit MIG, particularly small machines, is that you can lay down a beautiful bead on just about anything, and.if it wasn't done properly, turn around and Peel that weld right off with a chisel. Welding through mill scale is a HUGE no-no with MIG.
The majority of commercial heavy manufacturing is done using What's called Spray Transfer of Pulsed Spray Transfer MIG using solid or metal cored wire and a blend of 98% argon, 2% oxygen or something thereabouts. Arc voltages are usually in the 30+ volt range, and wire feed rates like you wouldn't believe. (Both way beyond the capacity of a normal consumer grade or light commercial machine). In fact, the AWS does not recognize short circuit MIG as an acceptable process for structural welds. Flux core and Spray Transfer MIG are both acceptable processes, given the proper equipment and application.
But Yes, a Miller 211 will be a good, capable machine for most things on a rig, from body work to bumpers (but not roll cages).
Small machines can be helped by running a DUAL SHIELDED flux core wire, which is a flux core that still uses shielding gas. Straight co2 works pretty well as a shielding gas in those applications. Flux core will help get greater penetration and fusion than solid wire running short circuit.
The problem with short circuit MIG, particularly small machines, is that you can lay down a beautiful bead on just about anything, and.if it wasn't done properly, turn around and Peel that weld right off with a chisel. Welding through mill scale is a HUGE no-no with MIG.
The majority of commercial heavy manufacturing is done using What's called Spray Transfer of Pulsed Spray Transfer MIG using solid or metal cored wire and a blend of 98% argon, 2% oxygen or something thereabouts. Arc voltages are usually in the 30+ volt range, and wire feed rates like you wouldn't believe. (Both way beyond the capacity of a normal consumer grade or light commercial machine). In fact, the AWS does not recognize short circuit MIG as an acceptable process for structural welds. Flux core and Spray Transfer MIG are both acceptable processes, given the proper equipment and application.
But Yes, a Miller 211 will be a good, capable machine for most things on a rig, from body work to bumpers (but not roll cages).
Thankyou for the info! So far the thickest ive welded with the lincoln 140 is 1/8" thick angle and flat. I have been making all of my joints open butt joints with a little bevel and so far its been okay. I will be adding more stratigic bracing though. I had to weld some spring perches onto an axle housing recently. Ground it all clean, put maximum power on the machine, and did a 1" weld. Didnt look right so i gave it one whack with a hammer and off it came! Thats when i pulled out the stick welder! Good to know on the 211. I was planning on getting that one. Had the money for it then my driveshaft commuted suicide and took the transfercase with it and poof goes the welder fund
Yup... It drives me nuts seeing all the homebuilt trailers around here that are burned together with a 110v mig welder on steel that is WAY beyond the machine's capacity, especially considering the abuse some if these rigs see. Spring mounts, trailer tongues, homemade swivel hitches, tow bars, and even frame and suspension work on vehicles... eeks me out. Its one of those things where you're not just putting your own safety at risk, you're risking everyone else on the road around you at risk too.
Like for instance, if your spare tire and jerry cans had dropped off your bumper doing 70 down a busy highway, that could and probably would have ended very badly for somebody, and in this sue-happy world we live in, the saying "better them than me" is NEVER true.
Like for instance, if your spare tire and jerry cans had dropped off your bumper doing 70 down a busy highway, that could and probably would have ended very badly for somebody, and in this sue-happy world we live in, the saying "better them than me" is NEVER true.
I completely agree with you. I tend to over build things for that reason! I am deathly afraid of loosing somthing going down the freeway!
Got a lot done on the action packer rack! Almost done just need to add some more bracing, grind, make it lockable, finish weld it and paint it! Keep in mind this is my first real metel melting project... i know its not too pretty but it works and is strong! Its only temporary anyways till i get a big boy welder and build an all new bumper.
