welding broken coil spring

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My JD 350B crawler loader has been limping aorund with a broken idler spring(track tensioner) for a few years now.With the rust and all it is a big job and expensive to change it for a new one. I'm thinking of trying to weld the coils back together insitu, there's really nothing to lose other than some time and a bit of welding rod.What would the recommended procedure and rod type be? Also is stick or tig the best for something like this?The diameter of the spring stock is about 7/8" round wound up into about 5" dia coils.
Reply:i believe you can get it to stick together but it wont be a spring any more. the heat will frombulate the springability of the steel.
Reply:See what others have said...http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?p=56883There's more!  http://www.matbase.com/material/ferr.../spring-steel/http://www.spring-makers-resource.net/spring-steel.htmlLast edited by tanglediver; 06-05-2010 at 09:41 PM.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:after reading thru the provided links, it looks like my time would be better spent taking things apart and installing a new spring.thanks for the info.Glen