[TheForge] truck bed repair

[terry l. ridder]

hello

the driver side leaf spring rear shackle broke and the leaf spring
punched through the truck bed. I was figuring on mig welding the bed to
repair it. On a truck forum they are telling me to replace the bed,
which i will not be doing. the bed is in excellent shape except for this
punch through. One person has suggested welding a plate over the punch
through. I think a backing plate where the punch through is to be welded
to prevent burn through. A friend has suggested to gas weld the punch
through. whatever method i use i need to apply a rust prevention coating
to both the top of the bed and the under side.

I could remove the bed from the truck frame but that I think is
overkill. removing the bed would make repairing the leaf spring shackles
and brackets easier. would make repairing the punch through easier too.
working from above is preferred over laying on the floor and have rust
and sparks falling on the face shield.

so my question:
mig or oxy-acetylene welding.
weld both the top and bottom of the punch through or just the top.
is a backing plate needed.

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>