Illegal to weld to frame?

[puppetz007]

I heard today that it is illegal to weld anything to the frame of a vehicle which is why tow hitches are bolted on. Is this true? Have any of you guys with welded-on sliders run into a problem with anyone?

 

[the great him]

That's completely wrong, someone just simply doesn't know what they are talking about

 

[Victor_inox]

is there vehicle inspections in Utah? go to the station if it is ask there. I call BS on it.

 

[KidVermicious]

There are inspections, and I've never seen anything specifically about welding in the manual. Inspectors can reject anything, including welding jobs, if it looks unsafe, but there's nothing inherently unsafe about a decent welding job on the frame.

 

[Tango71]

If it were true then I guess Shock mounts, exhaust hangars and leaf spring shackle mounts would be bolted on too?
I think someone is feeding you some BS. In fact I think that welding on rock sliders would strengthen the frame. I definitely want sliders if I ever have to take a side impact from another vehicle. They kind of act as an exo skeleton.

 

[puppetz007]

Yeah I didn't think it was illegal, but thanks everyone for clarifying. After a brief skim of Utah Vehicle Safety Inspection manual it seems every vehicle on the road would fail.

http://publicsafety.utah.gov/safetyinspections/docs/2011-2012 SI PLT Manual.pdf

 

[Tango71]

Yeah I didn't think it was illegal, but thanks everyone for clarifying. After a brief skim of Utah Vehicle Safety Inspection manual it seems every vehicle on the road would fail.

http://publicsafety.utah.gov/safetyinspections/docs/2011-2012 SI PLT Manual.pdf

If you were to go strictly by the book with a fine tooth comb when it comes to inspection regulations in all states or provinces I'm sure most of the cars on any forum would fail for something.

This is the same reason its easier to pass at a privately owned garage with a down to earth mechanic who knows his **** than it is at a major one like Walmart or Canadian tire (ask any Canadian and they'll tell you about past experiences, most will be bad)

Any decent mechanic will use regulations as a guideline and common sense when actually inspecting your vehicle. In my case I should of technically failed inspection because the lower plastic part of my bumper was removed after the lift. Should of failed for the lift too because its not "stock" oh and I altered my steering column when lifting the body and putting on my steering spacer, that is a fail by the book.

In all honesty all my mechanic did was check the main safety components, ie. Brakes, ball joints, bushings, lights, horn etc. Then he took my car for a test drive, came back and complimented the work I have done on my rig then gave me my keys and a piece of paper with a PASS on it. Told me to keep an eye out on my ball joints now that the car has been lifted because they'll wear out faster.

Remember that its only their ass on the line for the first 30 days after inspection. So most guys don't sweat it too much.

 

[JayRolla]

If you were to go strictly by the book with a fine tooth comb when it comes to inspection regulations in all states or provinces I'm sure most of the cars on any forum would fail for something.

This is the same reason its easier to pass at a privately owned garage with a down to earth mechanic who knows his **** than it is at a major one like Walmart or Canadian tire (ask any Canadian and they'll tell you about past experiences, most will be bad)

Any decent mechanic will use regulations as a guideline and common sense when actually inspecting your vehicle. In my case I should of technically failed inspection because the lower plastic part of my bumper was removed after the lift. Should of failed for the lift too because its not "stock" oh and I altered my steering column when lifting the body and putting on my steering spacer, that is a fail by the book.

In all honesty all my mechanic did was check the main safety components, ie. Brakes, ball joints, bushings, lights, horn etc. Then he took my car for a test drive, came back and complimented the work I have done on my rig then gave me my keys and a piece of paper with a PASS on it. Told me to keep an eye out on my ball joints now that the car has been lifted because they'll wear out faster.

Remember that its only their ass on the line for the first 30 days after inspection. So most guys don't sweat it too much.

Exactly true. Like stated we can all fail but they should use common sense. When I was in a court ordered driving class at the sherrifs office years ago when I was 16 the sherrif walked outside and found a reason to give every car in the parking lot a ticket.

Ohh and if you dont have a front lift spacers added on top of your coils for extra lift you will never wear ball joints prematurely.

 

[Brilliant]

TMK, The restriction is frame repairs often have to be done by a certified welder.

 

[fourwd1]

TMK, The restriction is frame repairs often have to be done by a certified welder.

Correct, poor quality welds, and welds in certain directions can weaken the frame.

 

[Tango71]

Ohh and if you dont have a front lift spacers added on top of your coils for extra lift you will never wear ball joints prematurely.

Thanks, Good to know, I guess I feel a bit better now. Still going to check them every time I change oil. We should all be doing this.

 

[Bucket81]

I built a set of sliders for I first gen years ago, my dad helped me out (he's a master fabricator) and he told me that stress runs front to back or back to front on a frame and you want to weld with the direction of the stress, so no straight up and down. but at an angle was ok to a degree. He said you can actually crack the frame...

 

[bandman659]

If you were to go strictly by the book with a fine tooth comb when it comes to inspection regulations in all states or provinces I'm sure most of the cars on any forum would fail for something.

This is the same reason its easier to pass at a privately owned garage with a down to earth mechanic who knows his **** than it is at a major one like Walmart or Canadian tire (ask any Canadian and they'll tell you about past experiences, most will be bad)

Any decent mechanic will use regulations as a guideline and common sense when actually inspecting your vehicle. In my case I should of technically failed inspection because the lower plastic part of my bumper was removed after the lift. Should of failed for the lift too because its not "stock" oh and I altered my steering column when lifting the body and putting on my steering spacer, that is a fail by the book.

In all honesty all my mechanic did was check the main safety components, ie. Brakes, ball joints, bushings, lights, horn etc. Then he took my car for a test drive, came back and complimented the work I have done on my rig then gave me my keys and a piece of paper with a PASS on it. Told me to keep an eye out on my ball joints now that the car has been lifted because they'll wear out faster.

Remember that its only their ass on the line for the first 30 days after inspection. So most guys don't sweat it too much.

Best thing about owning a vehicle in Georgia. The "inspection" process consists of them half-heartedly glancing under the car to see if something resembling a catalyst is present and the emissions test. They might flash the lights and honk the horn if they're feeling frisky. That's it, unless you're outside metro Atlanta or Savannah, in which case there is no inspection of any kind.

God I love living in this backward, redneck state. Except when the daily high temps go well into the triple digits, like they will every day until Monday. Then Georgia can suck it.

 

[Millerad1651]

Or you can be like Indiana, and have no inspections what so ever. I like not having them, but then again it would help get a lot of this crap off the roads. There are so many beaters about to fall apart, and the people driving them could care less, to the point of not caring about hitting your vehicle.