C-160 Cracked Frame Under Battery

[Joker72 88]

Can/should this be welded?

[wallfish 19,353]

Hmm, first I've seen that.

Yes, it could and should be welded. Pretty easy for that one. Jack it up by that 3/4 foot peg bar and it should close the crack gap. Weld it right to the bar inside and out and the crack too

[ebinmaine 77,496]

2 minutes ago, wallfish said:

Hmm, first I've seen that.

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, wallfish said:

Yes, it could and should be welded. Pretty easy for that one. Jack it up by that 3/4 foot peg bar and it should close the crack gap. Weld it right to the bar inside and out and the crack too

 

 

I hope I don't really need to say this but...

 

 

REMOVE THE BATTERY FIRST.  

[ri702bill 11,334]

OK - you have a lot going on there. Are both sides cracked in the same place?? If so, it must ride like a hobby-horse with the frame flexing.

Flexing - did the frame take a permanent set, dipping downward - on both sides?? If it is all in the affirmative for my questions - game over. Find a good donor frame.

Sounds extreme?? Here's why. There is severe acid corrosion on the frame and in thru the crack. You cannot weld over that - the surface must have all that removed, and the crack Vee gouged out. That requires stripping the tractor to the bare frame. Then the forces that caused the crack need to be spread over a longer area - that requires either a plate or other angle to be inside the frame with the frame inverted and clamped down on a stout welding table..

Short version- - can it be done to properly fix the frame, yes. Is it worth going thru all that, probably no.

I agree with the others that if all you want is a short term "field fix", then even the easy way out is not easy. My 3 cents...

 

 

 

Edited 22 minutes ago by ri702bill

[ineedanother 1,899]

Wow. I've never seen anything like that before and can't even imagine how that would happen other than maybe running REALLY hard over rough terrain.