Warbled out leaf spring hole

[kennythewelder]

I'm confused why a simple welded washer wouldnt work??? Trailer manufacturers do it on trailers grossing over 20k.....would love to hear why.....

It's not that is won't work, it's just a chicken **** way of doing the repair. If your going to go through the trouble of doing the repair, why not do a proper repair. Also, adding a washer adds thickness to the frame, because your adding to the outside of the frame. A proper repair, is to remove the dammaged area, and replace it with new metal, or to fill weld the hole, and redrill a new hole in its place.

 

[Chewy11B]

I mean sure if it's a high end show car I get it, but the average everyday vehicle? Hey what do I know, just a guy on the internet with an opinion right......

 

[Carlaisle]

In this situation, welding a washer on the outside of the bracket would also change the geometry and increase the shear on the bolt. Is this likely to ever cause a problem in this application? No. Could it conceivably do so? Yes. If using a washer, you should make sure the washer is at least as thick as the steel of the bracket where the hole now resides. Fill welding the hole and redrilling is the best solution. Shouldn't take a couple of hours working at a leisurely pace.

 

[letitsnow]

When I used to race atv's - I would buy new trx450r's and weld washers on the frame where the a-arms mounted. We did that as preventative maintenance.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

I'm confused why a simple welded washer wouldnt work?

The idea is to spread the load over a larger surface area. A washer will cut through the bolt a lot quicker and wallow out the washer too. If you can keep the pivot point to be inside the leaf spring and not the washer then it would work. Look at a front-end loader or back hoe where the arms pivot, the pin is bolted to the outside sleeves so it pivots inside the arm where there's a lot more surface area, AND they have grease zerks to reduce friction too.

 

[Chewy11B]

How is a washer surface any different then the bolt riding on the surface of the mount in this case. I understand single and double shear. I'm just trying to wrap my head around how a washer, in this example, changes the sheer strength of the bolt. The only way the strength would be effected is if the load was placed onto a threaded portion of the bolt vs a shouldered portion.