A couple of WTF? Questions

[72tutone]

A few pics here.
In the first one, I removed my bed over the weekend and this looks like a brace/cushion? I only have one of them on the bed
The second is a rubber hose/line going to the rearend. What is this for? Its not hooked to anything
And the third and final question, is I dont know what is in between the trailing arms? It feels like metal but I'm not sure. I only have a 110 welder hooked up with gas. Can I take out whats in them and stitch them together? I have searched and numerous folks have done them, although I dont know if they did them with a 220 or if a 110 is enough.

Thanks!

[~Whitey~]

Question 1. Looks like an old exhaust hanger.. you can cut it off and discard it.
Question 2. Vent tube for rear diff.. It's needed.
Question 3. that rust build up at its finest. If you can get it out and your arms aren't damaged from it, you can stitch them together for strength.

[72tutone]

Whitey thanks for the clarifications.
Will a 110 work for welding those together?

[~Whitey~]

I'd probably use 220, but clean up everything real good. I never could get my old 110 to penetrate much.

[~Whitey~]

ps. I'd just do 3 or 4 - 4inch welds evenly spaced top and bottom. Would be more than enough to strengthen them back up.. Just make sure you clean them all out good and spray some Rust converter after you weld. Soak it in there good, then prime and paint.

[72tutone]

Yep, I planned on wire wheeling them and I have a gallon of zero rust ready to roll to put on them.

I might have to see if I can get a 110 on them. I dont really have any other option at this juncture. Where are the supposed rivets that hold these together? Can I use spot weld cutter to get em off?

[Lattimer]

A decent 110V MIG will be fine. I use mine for everything and it works well.

[LockDoc]

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with ~Whitey~ on the trailing arms. If they aren't rusted through. Be sure and take them apart though and grind, sandblast, and beat on them with a hammer to get all of the rust off of them. I have done a few sets that looked that bad and they came out pretty nice. I always use my Lincoln 220 stick welder for heaver stuff and my 110 wire welder for sheet metal.

Caveat: If you are going to be doing any burnouts or drag racing, I would find some without any rust instead of fixing those. If you drive like an old grandpa (like I do) those will be fine...

Just my 2¢ worth.

LockDoc

[72tutone]

lockdoc where or how can I split them apart? I've heard rivets? I've heard spot welds? I cant really tell looking at mine. But I havent taken them down from the truck yet. Just preparing myself for whats to come.

[mr48chev]

I don't think I would split them apart, I'd just have them sandblasted. The sandblasting should clean between them well enough.
Years ago there was an article in a truck magazine about stiffening them up by adding some extra metal but I have no idea of what magazine or when it was.

Whitey nailed it on your other questions.

The hose on the axle vent gets the vent's breather up high enough to keep it out of water if you are inclined to get the truck in water such as when you would back a boat trailer down a ramp or if you forded a stream with the truck. From the rust that truck may have done one or the other in the past if it wasn't driven where they salt the roads in winter.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by 72tutone

lockdoc where or how can I split them apart? I've heard rivets? I've heard spot welds? I cant really tell looking at mine. But I havent taken them down from the truck yet. Just preparing myself for whats to come.

I have seen both rivets and spot welds on them. You will have to use a wire wheel on them down inside the channel to get them clean enough to see if they are spot welded.

With all due respect to mr48chevy, I wouldn't even think about rebuilding them without taking them apart. First off there is no way you can get all of the rust out of them, get them flattened back out where the rust has bowed out the center web, and weld them back up while they are fastened together.

LockDoc

[jorgensensc]

That rust will just keep pushing those two sides apart. They may already be tweaked. Personally I would go find some nice clean ones. About 75.00-100.00 should do it just fine. Beats the time and money your going to spend fixing them up, only to have them push apart more.

[c10srule]

ive got a 110 lincoln welder without gas and use it on everything even building driveshafts and ones behind a 500 lb torque 454 and havent had any problems, ive even used it to shorten a frame down, thicker metal is a lot easier to weld, just turn the heat up and practice on some scrap

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by c10srule

ive got a 110 lincoln welder without gas and use it on everything even building driveshafts and ones behind a 500 lb torque 454 and havent had any problems, ive even used it to shorten a frame down, thicker metal is a lot easier to weld, just turn the heat up and practice on some scrap

What size wire do you use on the heavier metal?

[Spartan]

Since the questions have been answered I just wanted to chime in on welding with the 110v machine. They are not all built equally but generally most of that can be overcome with patience and skill. I would guess you have .030 or .035 wire on a 3 to 5 lb spool. With these small machines gas is way better than the flux core as long as you are in a building...the wind can blow gas away. With a sufficient power setting and wire speed and clean clean clean material you should be ok. My 2 cents
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