Is this weldable

[sixtwoeight]

Just being cautious as its part of a steering arm.

This is on a 65 year old chevy.
The steering arms do not have modern type TRE's but have a ball stud and socket arrangement.

I guess the arms themselves are cast steel? But the ball stud is pressed into the cast arms. One of the ball studs has a bit of damage on the stem (cant think what else to call it) which id like to weld just for peace of mind really. Is it just steel that has been machined therefore MIG or TIG weldable.

Photo to follow in a min

 

[sixtwoeight]

 

[hotrodder]

Noooooooooo

Is it just steel that has been machined therefore MIG or TIG weldable.

'Steel' covers a massive range of iron/carbon alloys, being cast and/or machined doesn't mean anything with regards to weldability... whether welds and their HAZ would be brittle, whether the part was induction hardened for wear resistance etc

This is why the MOT (yeah, i know it's old enough to be MOT exempt) states

inappropriate structural modification or repair by welding to a steering linkage component, or signs of excessive heat having been applied

is a fail

Not so applicable to damage on the stem rather than some wear or pitting on bearing surfaces but FWIW if the joint isn't too excessively worn but is a bit sloppy then sometimes it's life can be extended some by having some resin/nylon/ptfe concoction designed for the job injected into the joint (google ball joint refurbishing). If it's properly worn out or damaged then really need to machine the arm(s) to accept 'modern' press or taper fit balljoints. If it's very slight damage (small gouge/nick) i'd maybe dye pen it and if there's no cracks then just smooth off any sharp edges to minimise the chances of a crack growing

 

[sixtwoeight]

Noooooooooo

'Steel' covers a massive range of iron/carbon alloys, being cast and/or machined doesn't mean anything with regards to weldability... whether welds and their HAZ would be brittle, whether the part was induction hardened for wear resistance etc

This is why the MOT (yeah, i know it's old enough to be MOT exempt) states

is a fail

Not so applicable to damage on the stem rather than some wear or pitting on bearing surfaces but FWIW if the joint isn't too excessively worn but is a bit sloppy then sometimes it's life can be extended some by having some resin/nylon/ptfe concoction designed for the job injected into the joint (google ball joint refurbishing). If it's properly worn out or damaged then really need to machine the arm(s) to accept 'modern' press or taper fit balljoints. If it's very slight damage (small gouge/nick) i'd maybe dye pen it and if there's no cracks then just smooth off any sharp edges to minimise the chances of a crack growing

Thanks for your reply. Glad i asked! I had a feeling there was probably more to it. Its a gouge around the stem, probably 2-3mm deep going around no more than a quarter, i guess from lots of overtightening of the cups and the spring breaking. Mmmmm, maybe i should see about getting a draglink made up.

 

[hotrodder]

Cheers. If there's no play in the joint i'd probably dye pen it for peace of mind and, assuming that doesn't find any nasties, smooth any sharp edges for now. New drag link and a modern ball joint conversion is probably a good idea in the long term though, or go to straight to that if it's a project in pieces