boxing in spring perches on 9 inch

Got any pics? I know what I need to do, just want to see what other guys did, haven't welded for awhile so any warping issues I need to know? Thanks. Figure I will weld up each seam, then box it in. Pretty much right?

Any time you weld to a housing tube it's a good bet there is going to be some amount of heat generated warp/pull as the weld cools. How much depends on how much heat is used & the total amount of weld put down. But you can't really try to reduce the warpage by using a real low weld heat setting because then there's a good chance the weld might not penetrate deep enough into the weld joint. If your using stock axles with their normal "loose" fitting splines, a little amount of housing warpage might not really be a problem, it just depends.


Here's how I like to box leaf spring saddles using 2x2 box tubing.......





There are other ways of doing it. But I find using a section of box tubing for each brace is just easier vs making each brace out of three separate pieces of plate.

DILLIGASDAVE wrote:, a little amount of housing warpage might not really be a problem, it just depends.

What about heat sink putty ..?

mugzilla wrote:What about heat sink putty ..?

I doubt it. I don't know how you would put the putty/gel where the most pull happens, (directly at the weld joint it's self) and still be able to get at (and see) the joint to weld it. The heat sink stuff is good for stopping weld heat from progressing out to surrounding areas, and good for stopping warpage on thin materials or sheet. But stopping the weld heat directly at the weld joint when you need a decent amount of heat to correctly fuse two thick materials together? That would be as bad as turning the welder way down. Besides the last thing you would want to do when welding on something thick like a housing is to cool the weld zone too fast, or unevenly.

Best thing you can do is to weld the saddles/boxing braces to the housing and if it warps beyond an acceptable amount, straighten the tube(s) afterwards in a press (or cut the housing ends off & re-weld them back to correct the bearing C/L's with an alignment jig).

Of course having a straight housing now doesn't mean it will stay straight. If a car is producing enough power to roll over leaf spring saddles, it might be getting close to making enough power to start thinking about adding some kind of a small back brace (just simple round tubing instead of 2x3 box) as well just to help things stay straight in the future.

thanks for the info, my friend has suggested heating the whole rear end with a torch to get it warm then weld,he said its the sudden cold to hot from the welding that causes it to do it?? i said ok, then started welding. i just put a few beads down. im not gonna go as high as you did with the box, im just gonna throw some plate plate in there and put a angle on the piece so it fits flush against the tube. my perches sure where bent though. the bottom was not perfectly flat. it had a curve to it. hes a chevy guy so i told him it was all that FORD power

duff429 wrote:my friend has suggested heating the whole rear end with a torch to get it warm then weld,he said its the sudden cold to hot from the welding that causes it to do it??

Maybe with a big enough oven, but your never going to be able to heat a whole housing hot enough/even enough with a single torch. You could always try heating the general weld zones a little with a torch after the welding is done, it might help the metal relax some. But the quickest way to straighten any slight warpage (but only if there is no full back brace installed) is still to carefully pop the tubes a few times in a press.

well i did it, my first weld sucked ass but i got better as i went on. dont think i warped anything but i will find out when its time to put it in the axles. now i gotta blast it and get it powder coated

the only thing I would have done different is weld it in short stitched... but weld looks nice....


Randy

IMO you did good

Looks good.

FYI, or for those looking to do this in the future, Calvert makes some nice boxed perches for like $40/pair

http://calvertracing.com/springperch.php

thanks for the compliments . those perches at calvert sure look nice too. i gotta order the 1/2 u bolts next.