Need some ideas guys on shock mount

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I need an opinion! Now that the other shock mount has the stop installed it is time for the other side. I took a brown Scotchbrite pad, mounted to my angle grinder to the outside showing shock mount and when I got to the mounting surface in the top of the tower I was cleaning and after using a heavy wire brush on a die grinder I went back in with the Scotch Brite pad to go after what looked like a lot of paint filled with dirt lifting but turned out to be was:



A little closer view:



What the question is, it is worth fixing this beam (I already have the stop added on the other side) and if so: do I make a local patch or make a larger patch. I could beef up the top w/a doubler and call it good but it wouldn’t be as the other part of the shock mound does add a lot of strength.

Lee

[ntsqd]

Find the guy somewhere near you that does repair work on the dump truck beds. Get a remnant of AR plate from him. The thinnest that they use is 10 ga. I did exactly this and bought a rem of Core-10 (Abrasion resistant, High Strength - Low Alloy steel) for nearly nothing. I've made all sorts of high stress application parts from it. Cut the patch piece from that and weld it in. It'll never wear out in your kid's life-time.

[fusername]

My thoughts on the matter would be that is just due to some unlucky rubber/dirt grease situatuiin that trapped moisture for quite a while. You could double it stronger than it was, but if you have the stock I don't wonder if it wouldn't be easier to cut it out and rewed. It doesn't look too bad at all, but cutting gets you around needing to worry about final thickness. A big hole saw could probably remove it and make our replacement plug nice and easy. Its hard to tell the state of things from the pic, but I dint doubt you could figure it out. You already did a lot of work on this beam, why start over for something so small

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Fuser, I agree that I need to cut out more than a little material and put something to inhibit the rust inside the patch (see below).

ntsqd, coming from and AL and CRES background I had never heard of AR (Abrasion Resistant) steel before so I need some knowlege; is it easily formable or is it brittle and do you know how thin does it comes? I was thinking of trying to form a pocket like replacement piece but I don’t have a forming bag as of yet. Something I need to get anyway I go.

Good advice from both of you.

Lee

[Big Dave]

I think you're getting a bit CDO on this Lee.

FYI, CDO = OCD except the letters are in the proper alphabetical order

This is just an upper shock mount, right? Its not like its holding up the weight of the car. Pushing that section of steel up through there completely would be next to impossible in my book. I would paint it the way it is so it doesn't rust, and take a big grade 8 washer and hammer it a bit to match the contour of the inside of that mount. Then just tack it in. As long as it was a little bit bigger around than your rust damaged area, I seriously doubt you would have any problems.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Since I don't text, the texting short cuts usually don't mean much if anything to me... Sorry guys.

BD, you might be right on this. I have dropped off a couple of dunes over ten feet tall and landed hard; the new Bilstein 6100s get pretty stiff on that hard of a hit. The reason I went to the Bilsteins in the first place was I hit a “no-see-um”, in this case a water washout that you couldn’t see until you were on iy. The hit was so severe than the shocks I was using at the time collapsed and the driver’s side shock (ball-joint beams have not stops) jammed up and into the bell of the shock so hard that it took a long crow bar in the trailing arms, with two of us lifting, to break the shock body loose from the dust shield.

One of the reason’s I am rebuilding this beam is that it is the beam that took the big hit. (time passed) I just went out to the garage and looked at the beam; this is on the driver’s side of the beam which explains a couple of other things I found and had to fix already; e.g., a bulge in the tower by the upper air hole.

I did brace the back side of the shock mount somewhat and, like you said, that may be enough. I hadn't thought of using a washer (grade 6 w/b over kill if I welded it in place as with the weld, it would loose its temper and not be grade 8 anymore [I don't think I ever used a grade 8 washer before; as a matter of fact, I don't even think I knew about them either. Everything we did was in KSI so I never thought about things that (grade) way. Just for the heck of it; I have seen washer shapes and designs most people have never even dreamed of . You get into the Fed “standards books” and it is hard to keep your concentration directed to what you are supposed to be in there for mainly because of all the different designs you find there which attract your attention ]).

Thanks for the thought; it might be a winner as I have some really big washers sitting around doing nothing.

Lee

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Dang BD, I do have several big washers that with a little heat and some friendly persuasion and some trimming of the rusted area just might be made to work. It’s more than worth a try! Out of the box thinking for sure!

Lee

[turbobaja]

I like the big washer idea if the rust is just local to the shock mount hole area. But that beam looks to be pretty heavily pitted on the tower some too? Have you considered just fabing some new shock towers from plate?

[Ol'fogasaurus]

no..

Now that it is darker out, I went out and took a flashlight to examine it and it isn't as bad as the picture shows. Yes there is some pitting and some black paint I didn't get off but most of the thin out is in the bottom of the bowl, before the mould line of the bend for the bowl and is limited to be locally around the shock mount hole. That radius is not in contact there with the other side of the shock mount tower. I think Fuser is correct and it was just a loose shock at sometime which allowed water and dirt in and held it in place.

I checked with HF and I couldn't find if they carry forming bags and hammers for them (I thought I saw them there once) and a body shop supply house would require me to spend a bundle on a low (if not one time) use tool. I could probably do it by hand but I am not sure as I have never tried something like this before. It sure would be a coup if I could do it.

Hmmmm! I’ve got most of a sheet of flat sheet about the same gauge too. The washer also could be formed to match the other radius and be welded to it. Got a yellow jacket problem I am dealing with so maybe I will have some shop time between bee stings!

Lee

[turbobaja]

Cool, if the rust isn't too bad elsewhere I'd try bolting a washer in from the bottom, possibly ground to fit the contour slightly, then form it in place with a pick hammer and sinch up the bolt as you go. Tack it in place and call it a day.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

That is what I am now thinking. I got pretty excited when BD suggested the washer bit; it seemed like such an easy/exquisite fix going his way. Forming the metal out of sheet is a lot of fun too but there has to be a time limit on things and the washer trick makes the time line so much more reasonable. One of the reasons STF and other sites like this are so good to find.

When I looked at the metal after you mentioned about the pitting, I used my fingernail to see just how deep things really were. Pretty smooth and I could hardly feel any depressions at all. Granted that bends and spherical radii thins the metal but I think this will be OK. I was kind of worried this after noon but not so much now. I looked at the other side which I have premiered and it was not in the same condition as this side was.

Lee

[fusername]

Also you will get 1/8 more shock travel to help soak up those bumps! Lee there is a reason I have to avoid ordering from mcmaster too much, you start browisning and you find all the fun hardware you had no idea you needed! I would do a fender washer as well, in my original suggestion I forgot there were multiple layers there, not just a stamped top piece.

As for a forming bag, I have never used nor seen one, but I think I have a vague idea of what they are. Harbor freight was having a sale on a three piece welding set, gloves apron and electrode purse for like 12 bucks. I was ready to spend 10 on some non nasty gloves, so I jumped on it, esp after using the apron at school while welding under the bike. Not needing to worry about setting your nips on fire really let's you focus on your bead. I digress however. The apron has three big pockets down low and a smaller chest one. You could easily remove the lower pocket, sew it with a needle and pliers ore staple gun and fill it with sand or shot or whatever they are full of.

Just an idea, no idea if it would work. Probably a handy tool to have, but you really need it to form a shock tower? That's OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) which you seem to have caught hard. If you have made it this far without a bag, why need one now, esp on something like this? For mildly complex, ie more than one plane, and especially with thicker metals I cheat. Just form the major curve in a vice, you can clamp pipe in there with it to control the radius. Then put it in place if the shape is roughed in, and err on the side of under bent. Tack the lowest place in, lightly hammer a bit more curvature, tack, repeat with the occasional grinding brake. The heat helps too

[fusername]

Also, bolt the washer down tight on the top first and hammer it around the tower, then put it on the inside and finish it off with an awl or whatever real tool you have (I use a brake adjuster for a ton of metal work ) then you wont start dead flat and it should fit decent. Also could pull thru a big socket to form it all even like if you want to be OCD

[bajaherbie]

oh gawd, i don't think i will be able to sleep tonight.

[ntsqd]

Some AR alloys don't take impact very well, others do. They are all classified as "High Strength, Low Alloy" (HSLA) steels. Roughly 1040 to 1060 'mild' steels. Each alloy has it's own, unique combination of properties. Two trade names that I remember: Core-10 and Ten-X. As far as I know 10 gauge is the thinnest that any of them come and most are 3/16" at the thinnest offerings.

Top tip (yes, I stole that from Tony Tellier) for dealing with the plating on the washers is white vinegar. An over night soaking, at the longest, will remove the plating. Rinse thoroughly with water and dry immediately or it/they will flash rust. Much, much less dangerous/caustic/etc. than using Muriatic Acid for this sort of job.