Can springs be welded?

Having spent two years of my life working in an auto and truck spring shop, I can tell you that one of the last things done to a spring before the spring shop sees it is, often, an attempt to weld it.

Unless you have a forge to de-temper the spring steel before welding it, have access to the correctly matching alloy filler rod/wire, then re-temper it after welding, your chances of successfully welding a spring are slimmer than holding a dozen winning tickets for the multi-state Powerball lottery.

Any attempt to simply weld it will affect the spring temper in the HAZ, and it will break again either at or near the weld.

Another thing that is often done before finally conceding that a new spring is necessary is to replace the shock absorbers. Shocks do not hold up a single ounce of weight, but the new shocks - with their clean, unrusted hardware - usually made my job replacing the spring a bit easier.

Bob Paulin - R.A.C.E. Chassis Analysis Services

KoRn Kid® wrote in article ...

Yes but you will ruin the heat treat, the spring will just sag or=20 snap near the weld.

Suggest replacement, look for "trailer spr> I have a Lincoln 155 WeldPak 220V with Argon.

yes, and no. as a jeeper and off roader ive seen springs broken on the trail that were welded to get the vehicle back home. this can be done with relative safety _if_ you keep the vehicle below 20mph or so. if you plan on travelling at highway speeds its a foolish thought. leaf springs (_especially_ trailer springs!) are cheap and you could swap it out by the time you break our your welding equipment. since you share the roads with my family, _please_ dont attempt to travel at highway speeds on a welded spring.

I guess I can just forget about this little project.

Oh well....nice thought :-)

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'll just look into a new spring.

-Kk-

Can springs be welded?

Of course.

Will they hold?

Probably not, and you will be betting your life on it. And others on the highway as well.

HTH

Steve