Cracked strut tower, tig weld?

[Cubieman]

Edit: Any tips on how to prep these cracks for welding would be VERY much appreciated, I think I can have a mobile welder come deal with the cracks. I need to know how much material to remove etc.




I have found cracks around a few holes on both strut towers, no mushrooming I can see but I need to get this fixed. I'll use a dremel/wire wheel to see the full extent, but just hand sanding revealed some decent cracks.

Would this be a TIG weld or what? Not very knowledgeable in this area.

Unfortunately living in Nebraska there aren't really any performance shops around. I'll likely have to assemble the suspension and drive/transport the car somewhere if I cannot come up with some experienced mobile welder.

These photos give an idea of the damage, not showing everything as its hard to photograph, most cracks appear to be through and through as to be expected.

[sbay]

Damn dude, I feel like everytime I come on here the car hands you another L…either way, welding should be sufficient for this. Were you using the reinforcement plates?

[Cubieman]

Damn dude, I feel like everytime I come on here the car hands you another L…either way, welding should be sufficient for this. Were you using the reinforcement plates?

Yeah, a previous owner had the reinforcement plates installed, however I have no way of knowing if they were installed before or after the cracks.

Really unfortunate, had a few days off work, finally, and was going to install everything but found this. I have a feeling its been this way for quite some time but it needs to be fixed.



Also found this, granted this is seam sealer, but its suggests movement of the strut tower on this side. This is also the side of the vehicle in which I can't achieve anything less than ~ -1.5° of camber whereas the other side I can set positive camber.

All things considered I think I'll have the cracks fixed (somehow..) and maybe slightly file the holes on the tower if I need to for alignment purposes.

I know this isn't the best thing but I simply cannot afford whatever it would cost to really fix this issue. I am already probably in the multiple thousands, welding, possible transport/disassembly, painting etc.

[sbay]

The seam sealer part is pretty normal, mine looks the same more or less. I don’t see this being too expensive of a job and I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on paint work since it’s underneath the strut bar mount; just enough to prevent rust I’d say. Regarding your camber issue, have you tried different camber plates? Also I just read you took it to a bmw dealership for the alignment but have you tried a performance shop that does track alignments that may be more versed with camber plates?

[Cubieman]

The seam sealer part is pretty normal, mine looks the same more or less. I don’t see this being too expensive of a job and I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on paint work since it’s underneath the strut bar mount; just enough to prevent rust I’d say. Regarding your camber issue, have you tried different camber plates? Also I just read you took it to a bmw dealership for the alignment but have you tried a performance shop that does track alignments that may be more versed with camber plates?

I may opt for other plates, I don't think TCK'S are compatible with Turner plates unfortunately, those would be nice due to the larger surface area.

Hopefully just the softer springs and reinforcement plates will be good enough to prevent more damage.

I really don't have many options in regards to alignment shops, around here you mention you have a BMW let alone one with aftermarket suspension they practically hang up on you.

My local dealership wouldn't even do an alignment after they knew the car wasn't stock so I had to drive to the next town over.

[BL92]

You running a strut brace?

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/main-forum/e46-2001-2006/323693-downside-to-driving-without-a-strut-brace?p=324342#post324342

that what mine looks like

[Nate047]

I feel like you’ll be able to get a skilled mobile welder to fix this for a couple hundred bucks. There have to be qualified guys in your area. If they don’t want to do it, just tell them soft handed people in California do it all the time lol.

I feel like this would be a good opportunity to learn how to do your own alignments, if you have a work space and the desire.

[Cubieman]

You running a strut brace?

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/main-forum/e46-2001-2006/323693-downside-to-driving-without-a-strut-brace?p=324342#post324342

that what mine looks like

Yea, I have the factory strut brace, I wonder if a one piece would fit, might be my tower(s) are far enough off it wouldn't.

[fattycharged]

Yea, I have the factory strut brace, I wonder if a one piece would fit, might be my tower(s) are far enough off it wouldn't.

Why would they be off? This is nothing, mine completely ripped through...ran without a strut bar for a minute....doh... I just hammered them back and welded, nbd, alignment is still fine. I'd just run the plates underneath, dont over torque the strut nuts.

[Cubieman]

Why would they be off? This is nothing, mine completely ripped through...ran without a strut bar for a minute....doh... I just hammered them back and welded, nbd, alignment is still fine. I'd just run the plates underneath, dont over torque the strut nuts.

I say that as I have a strong suspicion the DS strut tower is pulled inward, I have looked at every component, and nothing seems bent, granted the control arms/sprindles don't need to be bent very much to affect alignment.

If I set both front wheels at -1.5° camber the PS strut is more or less centered in the tower hole and the DS strut is pulled all the way to the outside of the hole if that makes sense. It's really nothing to do with the cracks, thats a separate issue.

I could really use advice on precisely what do to prep these cracks for welding. I found someone to weld on this coming Tuesday under the condition I prep the cracks to receive weld.

[bigjae46]

Are they going to MIG or TIG? If they MIG, there will be splatter. So you'll need to protect the area around the weld - any painted surfaces, glass, etc.

Disconnect the battery. I recommend completely disconnecting and removing the ECU. Just avoids having an issue.

Strip the paint. Then you will want to hit it with a flap disc to get it to bare metal. Remove any surface rust and you have to prep the back side as well. And the area has to be bigger than the heat affected zone - 2" to 4"? The flap disc should be new - don't use a flap disc that has touched other metals. If you used the disc on aluminum, it will embed aluminum into the prep area and cause issues. Finish with an acetone wipe.

Here's the issue. Once you expose the bare metal it may start to flash rust. You could spray a weldable primer on it but those are not cheap. That is really odd that a welder would want someone else to do the prep work. That's the most important part of welding.

[Cubieman]

Are they going to MIG or TIG? If they MIG, there will be splatter. So you'll need to protect the area around the weld - any painted surfaces, glass, etc.

Disconnect the battery. I recommend completely disconnecting and removing the ECU. Just avoids having an issue.

Strip the paint. Then you will want to hit it with a flap disc to get it to bare metal. Remove any surface rust and you have to prep the back side as well. And the area has to be bigger than the heat affected zone - 2" to 4"? The flap disc should be new - don't use a flap disc that has touched other metals. If you used the disc on aluminum, it will embed aluminum into the prep area and cause issues. Finish with an acetone wipe.

Here's the issue. Once you expose the bare metal it may start to flash rust. You could spray a weldable primer on it but those are not cheap. That is really odd that a welder would want someone else to do the prep work. That's the most important part of welding.

I belive he is going to mig weld, I have disconnected the battery and the DME is disconnected.

Thanks for the info, its kind of a strange situation, friend of a friend, was somewhat reluctant to do it but I know he does good work.

I told him I would do the prep work but I'm sure he knows that I don't know exactly what to do. Unfortunately I have already taken parts of the tower to metal, more or less just the cracks themselves. I sure hope they don't rust. Also, I used a paddle disc on a dremel and I swear that took away some metal. I then switched to just using a stainless and brass wire brush on the dremel, takes forever.

I will have to communicate with him further, I need this done correctly the first time obviously.

Should I or he be putting a small "V" in the hairline cracks to allow for the weld to fill better?

[bigjae46]

Should I or he be putting a small "V" in the hairline cracks to allow for the weld to fill better?

I think so....it will make for less grinding afterwards. Might be a little tricky since they metal isn't very thick.

[sapote]

That is really odd that a welder would want someone else to do the prep work. That's the most important part of welding..

I'm guessing the welder doesn't want to spend tons of time to do prep work, from coarse to fine; but he will do the final touch before welding.

[CrisSilberGrau]

Yeah, a previous owner had the reinforcement plates installed, however I have no way of knowing if they were installed before or after the cracks.

Really unfortunate, had a few days off work, finally, and was going to install everything but found this. I have a feeling its been this way for quite some time but it needs to be fixed.



Also found this, granted this is seam sealer, but its suggests movement of the strut tower on this side. This is also the side of the vehicle in which I can't achieve anything less than ~ -1.5° of camber whereas the other side I can set positive camber.

All things considered I think I'll have the cracks fixed (somehow..) and maybe slightly file the holes on the tower if I need to for alignment purposes.

I know this isn't the best thing but I simply cannot afford whatever it would cost to really fix this issue. I am already probably in the multiple thousands, welding, possible transport/disassembly, painting etc.

I've had this for years, on both sides. Checked them yearly and there has been no progression in the cracks. They are still there though.