Dump truck snow plow rack.

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Hey guys i don't have picts because i forgot to take them but i have a dump truck plow rack to repair. The beam on the left side that goes under to the front axle is cracked. The beam is 5 inches wide and 4 inches tall by 1/4" thick. its broke thru the top and down the side about an inch. I am going to plate the top with some 3/4" steel on top (clearance is an issue on the top plate). Then i am going to weld in a 17" piece of 1/4" thick channel that fits tight inside the beam. Of course i'll grind the cracks out and weld them up first. Oh its a newer rack with no rust at all.My question, i have 6011 and 7018 rods. Which one should i use to weld the cracks up and then the channel and plate. I might not get the penetration with 7018?. I have 125 amps dc available to me and i know my Miller 211 doesn't have the power needed. Thanks for any info. I know with out picts its hard.Fireman BillHH 210 MVPMM 211 Spoolmate 100Lotas LTP5000D PlasmaOxy/Accet (Victor)Wards AC/DC buzz box30 ton old hyd pressA few brand name toolsA bunch of cheap toolsA wife to worry me and4 dogs to supervise me
Reply:Grind out your cracks, v groove and 7018. If you can't get the unit off and its an I need it yesterday job then 6011. If it were me I would take the unit off if I couldn't get to it and v groove with the 7018. Grind flat and fische plate. I'm saying this as if your working on the plow frame and NOT the steering axle. Also if it were me in regards to the Miller 211. The machine has more than enough for that job. If that is a factory plow assy. it is probably harder than a-36 steel. So I would make multiple passes minding my temperature of the work.Arcon Workhorse 300MSPowcon 400SMTPowcon SM400 x 2Powcon SM3001968 SA200 Redface1978 SA250 DieselMiller Super 32P FeederPre 1927 American 14" High Duty LatheK&T Milwaukee 2H Horizontal MillBryan
Reply:Hey Firestarter Bill since I'm the only one that posted a reply I was either close to being right or these guys hate you. hehehehehe. Can you post a pic when your done. I need to mount a beaten up snow plow on one of my farm trucks. I'd like to see how they mounted it to the frame. Often times I get happy and overbuild stuff. Or I'll decide it needs to be overbuilt so I can use it to push dirt and clean out the cow pens.Arcon Workhorse 300MSPowcon 400SMTPowcon SM400 x 2Powcon SM3001968 SA200 Redface1978 SA250 DieselMiller Super 32P FeederPre 1927 American 14" High Duty LatheK&T Milwaukee 2H Horizontal MillBryan
Reply:Bryan most guys are probably hoping he posts up a picture of the problem. I've fixed a lot of plows and I'd really want to see something like this before I made a call on how to do the repair. I'm not really visualizing what the problem is from his description.The beam on the left side that goes under to the front axle is cracked. The beam is 5 inches wide and 4 inches tall by 1/4" thick. its broke thru the top and down the side about an inch.
Reply:Hey guy's here are a few pictures of the snow plow rack i have repaired. Yes it is a big truck plow rack for a single axle GMC top kick. The rack pins to the front bumper which had a push plate fastened to the bumper. The I beams run under the truck and stop about 2 inches short of the front axle. There is a 1/4" plate the width of the I beams welded on the bottom of the I beams and it runs under the front axle. Also there is a 3/4" steel L bracket welded to a cross piece on the I beam to support the rack on top of the axle. The repair- I ground  out the crack which ran across all the way and down the I beam about an inch. I then welded it up using 7018 DCEP which i am very slow and not the  best at but it burned in well and once ground flat looked great. I had a co-worker cut a piece of 3/4" steel notched to fit around the racks bumper bracket (a bad move on my part because the notch was cut to large). I found a piece of 5" channel that fit into the I beam perfectly. The weld areas were ground clean. I used the mm 211 to weld it all up. 9  & 90 i think on the knobs. 3/8" I beam 3/4"" plate and 3/8" channel thickness. Confusing i know because i don't  have a picture of the entire rack. Surprisingly the 211 had plenty of power. I paused a little longer on the plate when welding it.I hope my picts post because i have never posted picts to this forum yet. Welding web journeyman; it is very important the I beams do not go back touching the front axle, you want the I beam plate to bare the impact/weight along with the bumper push plate.Last edited by Fireman Bill; 12-15-2013 at 02:36 PM.Fireman BillHH 210 MVPMM 211 Spoolmate 100Lotas LTP5000D PlasmaOxy/Accet (Victor)Wards AC/DC buzz box30 ton old hyd pressA few brand name toolsA bunch of cheap toolsA wife to worry me and4 dogs to supervise me
Reply:Oh i forgot to mention guy's i am self taught but have been a farmer all my life so you figure it out or shell out the bucks (not). I really enjoy welding and learn something with every job i do. I  work for the state and my boss counts on me getting these done quickly and the trucks back in service.Fireman BillHH 210 MVPMM 211 Spoolmate 100Lotas LTP5000D PlasmaOxy/Accet (Victor)Wards AC/DC buzz box30 ton old hyd pressA few brand name toolsA bunch of cheap toolsA wife to worry me and4 dogs to supervise me
Reply:Originally Posted by Fireman BillHey guys i don't have picts because i forgot to take them but i have a dump truck plow rack to repair. The beam on the left side that goes under to the front axle is cracked. The beam is 5 inches wide and 4 inches tall by 1/4" thick. its broke thru the top and down the side about an inch. I am going to plate the top with some 3/4" steel on top (clearance is an issue on the top plate). Then i am going to weld in a 17" piece of 1/4" thick channel that fits tight inside the beam. Of course i'll grind the cracks out and weld them up first. Oh its a newer rack with no rust at all.My question, i have 6011 and 7018 rods. Which one should i use to weld the cracks up and then the channel and plate. I might not get the penetration with 7018?. I have 125 amps dc available to me and i know my Miller 211 doesn't have the power needed. Thanks for any info. I know with out picts its hard.
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749I don't say a word on a plow repair until I've seen it.Even if I'm giving a simple ballpark figure over the phone I tell them a minimum price & it goes up from there.Got one to quote this week as a matter of fact.
Reply:reach for full pen,clean clean prep, don't weld to hot or to cold,get a test piece for your position, and use whatever rod your better with..when your done, look to see if some area's should be stress relieved and try and ascertain the cause of the failure.modify as needed.ie....gussets, fishplates etc.
Reply:Originally Posted by Fireman Bill
Reply:Looks like it'll get the job done.  I take it you only beefed up the one side?Might not be an issue here but you should carry your bead around and not stop right on the corner.  Stopping/starting at a corner creates a stress point that could be the starting point of a failure on another application.MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:what duane said x2
Reply:DSW, i think what you are seeing is the edge of the plate. I'm not sure why my picts posted in such positions. Duaneb55, Very good tip. I tend to always forget that because i start at one end and want to finish at the other. I will practice following around the corner. I have difficulty getting comfortable when I'm welding sometimes and need to work on that also. I did put a piece of channel in the other side to help but i agree about over doing it on this kind of stuff. My guess is this rack saw a pretty big jolt from the plow hitting something. The operator of this truck is known for being wide open sometimes. Thanks guy's.......Fireman BillHH 210 MVPMM 211 Spoolmate 100Lotas LTP5000D PlasmaOxy/Accet (Victor)Wards AC/DC buzz box30 ton old hyd pressA few brand name toolsA bunch of cheap toolsA wife to worry me and4 dogs to supervise me