Geko Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Folks, quick one to keep the brain engaged. This morning I attended the rear suspension and found out that the trailing arm hole to Armstrong link is elongated - not much but enough to tear the new poly bush within no time. Can't weld because it's aluminium. What are the best solutions to deal with it: 1/ Leave alone 2/ Drill a larger hole and fit a nozzle in it 3/ Find some kind of cold fusion filler 4/.....? Pics attached Thanks for your sagacity. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 There are aluminium repair methods which don't use actual welding. Look up TECHNO- WELD on the web (http://www.techno-weld.co.uk/) This is sort of aluminium brazing, with filler rods which can be melted with a normal propane torch and it works quite well, though you might need a big torch to get a component that size hot enough. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwifrog Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 stef You should be able to find a garage that will weld that for you, You can weld aluminium with oxy acetelyne or tig it is just a bit more difficult. Other option is to replace the trailing arm. Cheers Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ctc77965o Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 JB weld, lah You get it from Ace Hardware at The Curve. Or could you drill it oversize & put a sleeve on the drop link. Or, put a proper compliant rubber bush in there instead of that urethane bling? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted September 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 JB weld, lah You get it from Ace Hardware at The Curve. Or could you drill it oversize & put a sleeve on the drop link. Or, put a proper compliant rubber bush in there instead of that urethane bling? Got a Ace Hardware at Mid Valley almost across the street, on my way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Hi Stef, JBWeld is good but Ali has a distaste for things sticking to it. Make sure the sure is clean but rough to form a key. TIG welding would be easy and permanent. Or Drill out the hole to make round and insert flanged bushes top&bottom. 'Technoweld' as suggested or Lumiweld. Insert a thin walled bush and fill the gap with lead. Ignore it Running out of ideas now. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Only TIG welding for this job. This will work well for a long time. Lumiweld and Technoweld would work also, but for this job are not worth trying. This is because you must raise most of the arm to the right temperature. Doing this will want a LOT of heat. You would need oxy-acetylene and blankets and temp sticks and a lot of expensive rod because quite a bit will run to waste. These products are OK for smallish parts. I can just about use 'em on a grille. I've been doing quite a bit of this and it's useful. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted October 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) Ok, I'm almost done with the rear suspension - I left the elongated hole as is but will file it a tad, the other side had been previously welded. Now upon cleaning the Armstrong RH I found that the side nearing the chassis rail is full of dings so it must have lost its bolts at one point and banged against the chassis rail. My question is: is it advised to Loctite these bolts or just fit them with spring washers and proper toque ? Anyone experienced this situation? Edited October 13, 2014 by Geko Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 I had trouble with these. The pressure from the bolt head gradually squeezes the alloy out of the way and the bolt goes loose. I like Loctite but you need to get the parts clean. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted October 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 (edited) This being being the case I re-bored the holes in the armstrong and inserted a piece of steel tubing with inner dia same as the bolts and leveled the whole thing before realizing that I could also have put longer bolts and a counternut at the back... Damn, this is what it does to work on the car at night Edited October 14, 2014 by Geko Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 I made "top-hats" in marine stainless. Ideally these need press-fit into the shock. You have done it right I think. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted October 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Before and after enlarging the hole with a Dremel up to the diameter of the flange of the bush Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 I apologise for having a laugh! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted October 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 yes, there's only one hole but 2 different pics Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Which hole is round? The upper or lower. I rectify such things with an end-mill cutter running in an ordinary pillar-drill. To aid starting I use a countersink first. Otherwise it argues a bit until you get going. A drill bit would not cut round but a short stiff end-mill will. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted October 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Which hole is round? The upper or lower. Fair enough but i said "enlarged" not rounded Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) It'll be OK, for a while. Edited October 16, 2014 by AlanT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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