rail repair

[drunkenmaster]

Stripping of the underbody deadener has revealed past frame rail and floor repairs. Going on photos alone (if possible) could i get any feed back on how suitable/professional these repairs are?

Thanks

[drunkenmaster]

Another:

[lordbiotree]

The only thing that matters is as long as the new rails are all one piece running from the back to the front for stringth.in the first picture it doesn't look like it's all one piece. Remember you whole front end are ridding on the rails. The only thing that matters is strength. The welds look great to me. I am by no means a professional welder.

[Zpeed]

that looks like rust repair to me, i'm not to sure about the strength of it, but since you've rubed it back, some strengthing could be in order .

[drunkenmaster]

Strength is my main concern.

The rail seems to have been sectioned, but I have seen other rails be repaired in sections before also.

Is a full replacement rail the only acceptable rail repair?

[Z Kid]

I can see no problem with that repair, the thory behind welding is that the weld is as strong as the metal surrounding it. Problems arise when you get poor penetration of the weld (only really a problem in thicker metal), and undercutting, which is where too higher current is used and you end up with something that looks good cosmetically, but is in fact weak this shouldn't be a problem here as the joint is an overlapping one, not a butt joint. I can see no problems, however if you are going to put high horsepower through the shell you can repace these with something a bit more heavy duty. I think that repair should be as strong if not stronger than the original rail that surrounds it.

[drunkenmaster]

Well, thats more like what I want to hear.

The thing that gets me about my car is that I can never take it anywhere for professional opinion or work

[Z Kid]

Before I got my welder, I used the local weld mobile, a guy in a little van, bought all his own stuff and would weld anything for a flat rate of 60bucks an hour, and had some damn good advice too, and he really liked it when you payed him 60 bucks an hour to sit and drink beer and answer questions. If you are really worried about the strenght, try and find your local equivelant (watch out he was good at setting stuff on fire too). But I really can't see any strenght issues with that repair, its when you find your frame rails full of bog that its a bad thing.

[Murph]

Originally posted by Z Kid

its when you find your frame rails full of bog that its a bad thing.

I know that feeling.

Drunkenmaster: That looks a hell of a lot better than the dodgy repairs that were done under my car. Btw....they start work on the new rails/floor pan/rad support/inner wheel arches mid next week.

[2ManyZs]

The repairs don't look too bad, however, the only thing I can see that might be a little "iffy" is the fact they overlapped the new section and only welded it from the inside on a lot of it. I'd have someone weld up the bottom, and then seal the it with seam sealer. They wouldn't have to run a continous bead, just have them close up the gap and weld it in sections for a little more strength and piece of mind that you won't have to do it again in a few years.

[drunkenmaster]

I see, and agree i guess, but this is the floor we are talking about right?

The actual rail looks to be strong enough?

[hmsports]

2Many is right on as usual here.

The rail looks to be plenty strong -- the fact that it is sectioned and welded is of no concern as long as the welds are good.

Yes, 2Many was talking about the weld to the floor which is more important because that is what hooks the rail to the body and needs to be strong to transfer and carry loads correctly. Over time as the body and rail flex a two sided weld will stay together but the single sided weld can seperate.