Can't weld to Toyota frames...?
 

I went to Avalanche Eng. today to get some quotes on sliders and some other fab work and they told me that they can't/won't weld sliders to Toyota frames because they are tempered steel. It seems that most people on this forum have sliders welded to their frames. What's the deal?

I don't know about that. I have welded sliders to the frame on mine and havent had any problems. maybe they started that on the 3rd gens. :think:

I also have some sliders welded to the frame on my 2nd Gen. Did over 7 years ago and have never had any problems. The only vehicles I've ever heard of having an unweldable frame are certain 18 wheelers. Those frames are painted orange in color to warn you not to weld on them.

I question the statement because if you couldn't weld to the frame, what would body shops do when these trucks have a tweaked frame and have to put them on the frame machine or do some welding on them?

Ive heard this before, Ive welded about 14 points to my frame for the tubes, and Ive never had problems. Ive never heard of any problems either. I think it is just one of those things that technically could happen but never really does. I would think toyotas are one of the most heavily modified and customed out trucks on the trail, and noone that i know of has had a problem.

Oh it has something to do with super heating the steel and making it britle

Tempered steel, Try mild steel, Frames haven't been made from tempered steel in over 30 years and then it was rare, Ive been welding on Toyota frames since 1980 and never had any trouble, Another thing is race trucks have tubes welded all over the frame and these builders know alot about welding to frames. The one thing is find a shop that's not living in the past. I have that same trouble with old-timers back when I was building parts and welding them on to my a-arms and I was told by a respected welder that the a-arms where heat treated which of course is not true.
You really have to be careful about what people tell you, If you listen to some of these guy's who are so called "know it alls" you might not ever get anything done.

I would Weld on the sliders like thousand of other's and find a better shop to go too.

Tacoma territory says the new tacomas have heat treated frames. As far as I'v heard the older frames are not.

Find another shop who actually knows what they are doing. As was mentioned, there are types of frames that should not be welded or drilled, like those commonly used in semi tractor applications. But, those are prominently marked as such.

Our frames take welding just fine. Thousands of weld on sliders and hundreds of solid axle swaps can't be wrong :)

well i have sliders welded on my 3rd gen no problems.

Yeah, I can't believe avalanche eng said that. They must not work on toyotas much.

I have personally seen Avalanche Eng. weld sliders to exocages onto toyota frames.
At least from there shop out near Durango. I dunno :dunno:

They must think the 3rd gens and older tacomas are heat treated? :dunno:

Yeah I believe that's a Jeep shop and probroly have plenty of broken Jeeps to work on and didn't need the extra work. In fact I've never seen so many Jeeps, as there is between Durango and Ridgway.

All treated Frames have to be marked as such according to Federal Goverment Reg. which would explain why simi's are labeled. Scott

my dad can tell whether or not it is tempered by using a punch and a hammer. both the size and depth of the dimple as well as the sound it makes.

Don't worry, welding is a-ok. :)

Thanks for all the info guys. Where would I be without Yotatech!
Also, I was thinking about buying a welder and saving money by just doing my own work. How much "learning" would it take untill I could weld proficiently? What would be a good welder to start out with? MIG?

Going with a Mig is a good choice. I did the same thing when I needed a roll cage and bumper back in 1987 and after I got prices for it I decided it was time tp use the money for a tube bender, Chop saw and a little Mig welder and the rest is History. If your good with your hands and a fast learner you should be able to weld it up in a week or two of practicing. It will take alot more practice before your welds get pretty. Good Luck. :welder:

Get the welder and do it yourself! If you go this route, you can make other things later and have tons of fun doing it. The better the machine is, the easier it is to learn. So don't go to harbor freight to get one. Take a look on ebay. I got a lincoln 175 pro for under 450 and it is more than bad ass!

The lincoln 175 and Millermatic 175 are the only ones I would recomend considering. As tempting as some of the cheaper ones the *claim* to have similar specs, no one has ever been happy with one or had it last too long.
They also have a 135 series which is the 110v version which will work, but I recomend getting 220v outlets if you can.
Also you can save a few bucks using fluxcore wire to get started before buying/renting a bottle for sheilding gas.

Nope, you can't weld sliders to Toyota frames, mine just fell clean off from welding them on last week. :laugh:

Why do folks have to flat out LIE? Why couldn't they just say "Sorry, but we are too busy to take an hour labor from you for a 30 minute job." :hillbill:

:guitar:

Is there a CAD file of 2nd gen sliders I could take to a shop?