Tower Repair or Replace

[lsltigeking]

hey all,

new to the forum here but have a 2002 20i and this past week end the tower broke.it right on the weld.

so I'm wondering what people have done in this situation. i really like the look of the factory one.

anyone have one for sale or know where i could find an originalFB_IMG_1466879557680.jpg?

[Jetdriver]

Post a pic of the damage.
Depending on the severity, most of the time that kind of thing can be salvaged by any good welder.

[jimidemo]

I have had mine repaired. This was done on Oct of 2016 and has been holding strong. Mine was cracked and separating almost all the way around a weld.

[lsltigeking]

This is the damage and location

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[gumby]

Yes you can have any if it saved. The question is is it worth it to you. A good tig weld shop worth there salt will have you done in a couple of hours. ($70 to $90 /hour) That is not so bad the sand blast and re-powder coat might cost you a bit. I got prices from 300-700. you might want to do a little research before you decide. You can see pics of my Fabrication tower on my profile My boat pics. (sorry about the order haven't figured out to move them) You could fix with spray paint just the level of the repair you want.

[jimidemo]

Just for our knowledge of what not to do...how did that happen? My repair was high $600's like gumby noted. Tower not powder coated. Had I had the time before next trip I may have just changed it. I go back and forth on that.

[lsltigeking]

It was strange, we were out noticed the passenger side was starting to chatter. I was driving and heard a chatter closer to my side and reached back to grab the back down pipe and it had broken. So I'm guessing just vibrations over 16years. Also our tower goes up and down every usage.

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[chpthril]

why does that look like an existing repair?

[lsltigeking]

why does that look like an existing repair?

I think a few years ago it may have been touched up

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[chpthril]

In the area you have circled, I cant figure out why it would have been 2 pieces of tube. However, it likes like the gusset is welded right there below that welded joint. Could totally see the tower cracking right there.

Whats the other side look like in that same spot?

[lsltigeking]

Its covered right now so some the photos are strange angles

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[gumby]

A proper repair is certainly in order if it were mine I would core weld a pipe on the inside 10 inch each way past the the break or as big as you can get. Core weld the inside pipe above ,below , then re-weld the joint. Make it bullet proof. 8 core welds should do the trick 4 on top 4 on the bottom 1/2 inch core holes.

[psegon]

I think it would benefit with some internal plating for extra strength


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[dj2]

Sleeving the inside of the tube is definitely the best fix, cut off the old weld, sleeve the inside as far as you can (I say this because it will be hard to get too far with that curve in the pipe) then have the gap tig welded over the sleeve. As mentioned above you can also drill a few holes and plug weld them to the sleeve to reinforce and spread the heat out, which will also weaken aluminum.