One troubling and all-too-common question we receive is “Can I weld on my springs?”
Our answer is always no. You shouldn’t even weld near your springs, let alone on them. Springs don’t stand well to heat, since heat causes springs steel to de-carbonize and lose tensile strength, making the area around the weld brittle like a cheap pencil.
And wherever weld splatter gets on a leaf or coil spring, you can bet it’ll creat a ‘stress riser.’ As the name implies, this creates stress, which causes a weakness in the steel.
This causes your springs to break very easily. Would you trust a half-chewed No. 2 pencil with holding up your shiny new big block?
We’ve covered this topic many times, but we’re not afraid to beat this dead horse into the ground for the rest of our lives. Your spring’s construction is directly related to the safety of you, your friends, your family, and anybody within spitting distance of your vehicle.
Springs are a part of the suspension, which connects the wheels and axle to the vehicle. As a rule, never do anything that compromises the integrity of the suspension.
Bad ideas and their Alternatives
Bad Idea: I’d like to lower my vehicle, so I’m going to heat my coils until it sits right where I want it!
Alternative: Buy new springs designed for your vehicle and customized for your specifications. Not only is this a safer alternative, but you can be sure your vehicle sits where you want it by having an expert guide you through the process.
Bad Idea: I don’t need to weld the spring, but this thingy right next to the spring could sure use some welding!
Alternative: Take the springs out before you weld. Ingenious, right? If that’s not possible, take every precaution imaginable to make sure the springs or other suspension parts are not heated even close to 400 degrees.
Bad Idea: Welding to the spring honestly seems like the only solution.
Alternative: A wise man once said, “’We tried everything’ is another way of saying ‘we tried the two or three things we could think of before we got frustrated.”
We bet you tried more than three things though, and since Spring Tech isn’t a mandatory course in all high schools yet, you can call or email us without charge and tell us your problem.
We’re always more than happy to help figure out what you need done without compromising the safety of your suspension system.
