Mig welding and stress cracks

Bill Goddard

Bill Goddard

Well-known member
My front crossmember is badly cracked into 8 pieces and has been BS welded together. When I took it out and threw it on the ground it rattled. Anyway, I have found two replacement front crossmembers. One is a good '31 NOS and the other is a used '29 which I will use for my '29 Leatherback. But none of the three xmembers have the same hole pattern for rivets(they vary up to 1/2") so I had the holes in the used '29 Mig welded closed so I could drill holes to match the frame. Also a small crack in a corner was welded.
My question is have I introduced stresses in this part that will lead to cracking down the road?

Thanks for any help you all can give me.
Bill G
 
You may have, depending on how the welding was done, and how many beads of weld were laid down. I would heat the metal to a dull red and let it cool slowly to help relieve any stress.
 
when welding cracks drill an 1/8" hole at the end of the crack before welding, it will stop the crack from extending any farther
 
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