Full bead or stitch weld

XGarfX · Jul 7, 2011

Just finished up with my used rock krawler 3 link kit, its the Gen 2 I believe? Straight lowers, weld on mounts ect. The instructions say to put a few small stitch welds around the lower brackets on to the unibody, but I'm not exactly sure on why to do that rather then weld all the way around like in this write up-> http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=88978&highlight=rock+krawler

Anyone with this kit or a kit with weld on mounts chime in as to why to weld this fully or stitch it. I'd rather weld it up fully if you guys think so before I go painting over it all.

beakie · Jul 7, 2011

if you read down on that thread they will explain that;
the stitch welds will keep a crack from continuing. so if a crack forms at the start of the full weld, it can/will continue.
where as with a stitch weld, each "stitch" is separate from the next, cracks may form, but will only travel to the end of that stitch.

to be honest after plating the majority of my "frame" over the last year, I would be apt to get some stiffiners, and weld the suspension mounts onto that.
if you are in a hurry, maybe just a 18"x3" piece of 1/8" stich welded to the frame and the mounts welded to that. spreads the load out a bit, and gives you something a little beefier to weld too.
worst case, install as per instruction, with stitch welds.

Hoooper · Jul 7, 2011

a new crack will just be formed more easily on the second weld in a stitch weld. yeah the end of a crack concentrates the stress, but having a weld that is 100% cracked through leads to the leverage all being passed on to the next weld (where it is higher than if the leverage was distributed further up) which makes cracks develop more easily. Its kind of a wash, but typically you are less likely to have a crack show up on a full weld because the stress is more distributed

XGarfX · Jul 7, 2011

Unfortunately stiffeners are not in the works for me right this moment, I do plan to get a set eventually and move the mounts onto that for a more secure mounting surface. It would also fix up my banged up frame rails, like I said soon enough I will have them but just not right now.

jeeperjohn · Jul 7, 2011

I like to fully weld things to seal them up and prevent moisture from causing rust between the pieces.

Boostwerks.com · Jul 8, 2011

beakie said:
if you read down on that thread they will explain that;
the stitch welds will keep a crack from continuing. so if a crack forms at the start of the full weld, it can/will continue.
where as with a stitch weld, each "stitch" is separate from the next, cracks may form, but will only travel to the end of that stitch.

to be honest after plating the majority of my "frame" over the last year, I would be apt to get some stiffiners, and weld the suspension mounts onto that.
if you are in a hurry, maybe just a 18"x3" piece of 1/8" stich welded to the frame and the mounts welded to that. spreads the load out a bit, and gives you something a little beefier to weld too.
worst case, install as per instruction, with stitch welds.

X2. I'm glad someone mentioned that. It's very important to stitch weld something like this especially due to the fact your welding to sheetmetal. It would be ideal to weld onto stiffener's as well if at possible. If your worried about sealing it up, your better off siliconing the gaps than welding.

boots4 · Jul 8, 2011

You will probably regret fully welding them if you are going to remove them later to weld them on to the stiffeners... Just something to consider...

Full bead or stitch weld

XGarfX

NAXJA Forum User

beakie

NAXJA Forum User

Hoooper

NAXJA Forum User

XGarfX

NAXJA Forum User

jeeperjohn

NAXJA Forum User

Boostwerks.com

NAXJA Forum User

boots4

NAXJA Forum User

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