Simple welding cost question

TheGrendel

TheGrendel

Active Member
First off, I have no idea how to weld. In fact, I'm not mechanically inclined in any way. Fortunately, my old college roommate taught me a ton and I've read and read online to learn about a lot of things. So, I'm getting better.

With that said, I have zero knowledge of what welding should cost. I have a pair of Evo lower control arm skids I need welded on as well as front and rear track bar brackets when I do my lift.

Can you guys give me a general idea, so I don't get completely ripped off?
 
Are they taking the control arms off to weld the brackets on? How about cutting and cleaning stuff up? The shop?

$100 an hour at a shop probably 4-6 hours. Mobile welder, $50-60 an hour for same time maybe quicker.

Or you could call a supporting vendor, Exodus Jeeps, and see what they charge to do it. They are in New Braunfels.

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OverlanderJK said:
Are they taking the control arms off to weld the brackets on? How about cutting and cleaning stuff up? The shop?

$100 an hour at a shop probably 4-6 hours. Mobile welder, $50-60 an hour for same time maybe quicker.

Or you could call a supporting vendor, Exodus Jeeps, and see what they charge to do it. They are in New Braunfels.

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Click to expand...

actually hit up Exodus right after this post when i saw them referenced in another post and noticed they were in New Braunfels.

but, still I'm sure I'm not the only person that has wonder the same thing on this site. so, any info that people can provide will help.
 
OverlanderJK said:
Are they taking the control arms off to weld the brackets on? How about cutting and cleaning stuff up? The shop?

$100 an hour at a shop probably 4-6 hours. Mobile welder, $50-60 an hour for same time maybe quicker.

Or you could call a supporting vendor, Exodus Jeeps, and see what they charge to do it. They are in New Braunfels.

Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

Solid info right here :thumb:
 
OverlanderJK said:
Are they taking the control arms off to weld the brackets on? How about cutting and cleaning stuff up? The shop?

$100 an hour at a shop probably 4-6 hours. Mobile welder, $50-60 an hour for same time maybe quicker.

Or you could call a supporting vendor, Exodus Jeeps, and see what they charge to do it. They are in New Braunfels.

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Click to expand...

Yep, spot on. Whichever way you decide to go you have to pay attention to the work being done. If they don’t drop the arms they can damage them with the heat. If they don’t clean the weld areas prior to welding then they’ve wasted your time and money. If they place the ground anywhere that the current will pass through bearings they can damage them. I always disconnect the battery as well.

There’s a lot to consider when welding on vehicles and hiring just anybody with machine isn’t a good idea. It might seem like you’re getting ripped off sometimes but hiring the cheapest shop/person to do it can often cost you the most in the long run.


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Exodus Jeeps said:
It can arc across the ball/roller to the race and basically create small spot welds that will obviously cause your bearings to prematurely fail. It can happen across the gears too.


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:shock: Huh, never heard of that before but makes sense I guess. Welding = magic to me. So much goes into it and so much to learn about mettalurgy if you're gonna be good at it.
I've almost bought a cheap welder at Tractor Supply a bunch of times but the thought of fucking up a ton of shit like this or parts falling off of my vehicles keeps the local welder guys busy.
 
Exodus Jeeps said:
It can arc across the ball/roller to the race and basically create small spot welds that will obviously cause your bearings to prematurely fail. It can happen across the gears too.


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Click to expand...

Interesting but makes sense. I'm sure I've fucked up some stuff over the years then, I'm sure that I've probably welded across bearings before. Thanks for the info. I was taught early about disconnecting the battery though, actually watched someone weld on a vehicle and it wouldn't start after that, fried a module. He knew better too but was just being lazy.
 
Exodus Jeeps said:
It can arc across the ball/roller to the race and basically create small spot welds that will obviously cause your bearings to prematurely fail. It can happen across the gears too.


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Click to expand...

WJCO said:
What's the deal with the bearings? Never heard of that before.
Click to expand...

Ddays said:
:shock: Huh, never heard of that before but makes sense I guess. Welding = magic to me. So much goes into it and so much to learn about mettalurgy if you're gonna be good at it.
I've almost bought a cheap welder at Tractor Supply a bunch of times but the thought of fucking up a ton of shit like this or parts falling off of my vehicles keeps the local welder guys busy.
Click to expand...

He whole welding with the battery disconnected thing will never satisfy everyone. If you ask 100 people, 50 will say disconnect and 50 will say it doesn’t matter. I’ve done both ways and honestly, don’t have a clue which way is correct. Lol


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Ddays said:
:shock: Huh, never heard of that before but makes sense I guess. Welding = magic to me. So much goes into it and so much to learn about mettalurgy if you're gonna be good at it.
I've almost bought a cheap welder at Tractor Supply a bunch of times but the thought of fucking up a ton of shit like this or parts falling off of my vehicles keeps the local welder guys busy.
Click to expand...

Lol, but you have to start somewhere and it’s a great skill to have. Just buy it and start with projects your life doesn’t depend on.

It doesn’t happen all the time but it CAN happen. Something I learned as a machinist when I would have to make repairs with a part chucked up. Lathes have a ton of bearings and places sensitive to this sort of thing. You should always make the path as short as possible but this is where experience comes in because not everyone knows that.

As far as hiring a guy with a portable machine, that comes with its own set a problems. In Texas they are generally out of work pipeline welders that have only a few years experience thanks to the the oil booms that have occurred lately. Guys that ran out and bought machines to fill the work vacuum. They don’t have the experience or knowledge to work around this kind of stuff. I’m not saying they’re all like that or even the majority is like that, but it happens.


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I never would, but I used to work with a guy that would ground to a wheel stud on trucks when jump starting off of a welder. He claimed he did this to keep the spark away from the batteries. I just make my final connection on the welder side instead so my leads go straight to battery.

As far as disconnecting batteries I can attest that you definitely should. I fried an ECM when welding on the back of a trailer (total Length of the set was 106 feet). So no matter how close you are grounded to your work, or how far away from a computer you are, those voltage spikes can still do some damage.


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TheGrendel said:
First off, I have no idea how to weld. In fact, I'm not mechanically inclined in any way. Fortunately, my old college roommate taught me a ton and I've read and read online to learn about a lot of things. So, I'm getting better.

With that said, I have zero knowledge of what welding should cost. I have a pair of Evo lower control arm skids I need welded on as well as front and rear track bar brackets when I do my lift.

Can you guys give me a general idea, so I don't get completely ripped off?
Click to expand...

I will say, the guys at Exodus Jeeps KNOW what they are doing when it comes to welding for SURE! a simple GLANCE at the weld beads on the DTD mounts on "War Pig" speaks volumes! Head over there and have a look! Its just a short shot down I35 for you being in ATX! :yup:
 
WJCO said:
What's the deal with the bearings? Never heard of that before.
Click to expand...

Have heard of this before. Seems to make sense. How about the electrical surge protectors that you connect between battery terminals to prevent damage to electrical components, thus eliminating need to disconnect battery when welding. Do they actually work?
 
Slimebones said:
Have heard of this before. Seems to make sense. How about the electrical surge protectors that you connect between battery terminals to prevent damage to electrical components, thus eliminating need to disconnect battery when welding. Do they actually work?
Click to expand...

Never heard of them but I’d say the safest thing to do is just disconnect the battery.


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IMG_1897.JPG

The only reason I could imagine to use one would be on a vehicle that the battery is extremely difficult to access ( have to remove other parts of the vehicle to access) and you anticipate welding on the vehicle on a regular basis. Other than that, how long does it really take you to disconnect a negative battery cable [emoji848]


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