Any aluminum weld experts?????

[RedWhiteandBlue]

Hey all, any of you have any expert opinions on these welds? All cracked while one year old trailer was sitting ove rthe summer. They will warranty but want me to freaking take the trailer to the factory for the reapirs and not just one of their dealers. It looks like the welds just plain old sucked to me. I would take it there when I make a run down to PA soon but then I have to go back to pick it up in who knows how many weeks. Thanks...Blue

[racer7x]

Thats sucks....

[racer7x]

Tom, What brand trailer is it ?

[RedWhiteandBlue]

Worthington, top of the line!

[racer7x]

Where is the factory in PA ?

Maybe some pancake mix to re-weld it, may hold better !!!!!! LOL
Just joking !!!

[Skinner]

Damn Blue, yer just hav'in all kinds of fun
Looks to me like a lack of support with the adjoining members. Thermal expansion and contraction causing the welds to crack
My .02
No expert by the way

[SRV540]

just pay a few bucks and go have it TIG welded @ the local welding shop! if its a hassle to take back to manufacture.

[Roadrunner]

Holy shit Blue! I can't believe that weld broke. I had a few issues with the enclosed Worthington trailer we had but nothing like that. Is it safe to pull it down to our house? I can probably get a local welding shop weld it for you here. If you want me to find out let me know.
Dean,
The factory is in Williamsport.
Doug

[4with4]

What are the pieces connected to beyond what the pic shows? The weld was done with a TIG unit and by the way the weld pulled the walls out of the tubing, I doubt they are the problem. I would think more along the lines of a design flaw that allowed too much vibration. Like I said it's hard to say without seeing a larger field of view. A local shop could fix that for about an hour's labour. Maybe get them to throw a gusset or two in there to prevent that from happening again. Just my thoughts.

Ian

[SRV540]

Well said!!!:urock:


What are the pieces connected to beyond what the pic shows? The weld was done with a TIG unit and by the way the weld pulled the walls out of the tubing, I doubt they are the problem. I would think more along the lines of a design flaw that allowed too much vibration. Like I said it's hard to say without seeing a larger field of view. A local shop could fix that for about an hour's labour. Maybe get them to throw a gusset or two in there to prevent that from happening again. Just my thoughts.

Ian

[RedWhiteandBlue]

Here is where they are and they do nothing but support the cross member/lower front access door frame. The welds look much better up top and there are no cracks at the other end of the tubes. I have to think that there is no design flaw. Coming from Worthington and thousands of these trailers out there made the same way! They said they had never had one do that before and that is why they want to see it/fix at the factory. That is fine except for the whole two days of driving to get it there and bring it back and the fact that they will not make an appointment so it could be fixed the day I am there (we will fit it in sometime, one-two weeks or maybe more!).

I weld allot of steel and some aluminum. If I was looking at steel, I would immediately say those welds suck, HARD! Too hot it looks like trying to get penetration in the thicker piece and they weakened the thin tubing. A good steel weld would NEVER crack right though the middle of it! The weld should be stronger than the original material.

I already talked to one of the local shops who welded up a crack in my chassis by a strut when I was building the drag sled. I'll take it over this week and if he thinks the weld was the problem, I'll just have him fix that for now. Otherwise, I'll be on the phone with Worthington trying to get them to do this and fix the other probelms (fuel door won't close right and the roof vent crank mech fell apart!) right away.

[4with4]

After seeing the larger field of view, Tom, I agree with you. The welds shouldn't have let loose like that. There is no evedence of there being any structural damage that would have caused that failure. My thoughts are along the lines that the joints weren't prepaired (cleaned) properly before welding. Any aluminum weld must be cleaned with a stainless wire brush or wheel before welding. Preferrably within 1 hour before welding. The rods should be wiped down with acetone as well if they are stored in an open container. This is even more important if you're using MIG as a process. Aluminum has an oxide layer that melts at a higher temp than the base metal. It can form within a couple hours of being removed. It also forms rapidly at higher temps. You'll notice this if you try to gas weld aluminum. You never see the puddle, it just falls through and makes a hole. This is why the TIG process on AC has much higher quality results when the high frequency option is used. The reversal of the AC along with the high frequency arc breaks up the oxide layer so you have access to the molten base metal below. If there is a chance this was MIG welded and the tubing wasn't cleaned with a chemical or mechanical method before welding, an epoxy glue would have given the same results. If it was TIG welded and the operator was marginally skilled, (quite possible in a factory) then the weld may have passed visual inspection but not have been fully fused to the base metal. Sorry for being long winded. I still recommend gussets.

Ian