Window guide rail broken.

wotnartd · Post by **wotnartd** » 04 Jun 2015, 15:18

Hey,

So... I replaced my door latch yesterday. And I found the window guide rail where it is riveted (in some cases bolted) to the exterior of the door frame, broken. Now, see, I assumed it was just a thing, went to the scrapper, found one that was also broken.

Is this common?

I JB Welded it together with no issue. Just curious about the ramifications.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 04 Jun 2015, 19:38

It is very common.

I have had two or three of them break and it is typically at the tab where it is anchored to the back of the door on the bottom of the rail. I fired up the torch and silver soldered the tab back on a couple of them and they seem to be holding. I can get silver solder to flow at a much lower temp than a brazing rod and it is still very solid. By using the lower heat I avoid burning away the thin metal I am trying to join.

...Lee

wotnartd · Post by **wotnartd** » 04 Jun 2015, 19:55

Ozark Lee wrote:It is very common.

I have had two or three of them break and it is typically at the tab where it is anchored to the back of the door on the bottom of the rail. I fired up the torch and silver soldered the tab back on a couple of them and they seem to be holding. I can get silver solder to flow at a much lower temp than a brazing rod and it is still very solid. By using the lower heat I avoid burning away the thin metal I am trying to join.

...Lee

Yes! I tried to solder it together. Think I had more heat. The solder would wick in for a moment and then bead off.

The JB got it together. Probably already broke. But it's assembled, and since it seems common, we're probably okay.

Thank you, Lee.

-Dave

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 04 Jun 2015, 20:32

Plain tin/lead solder likely wouldn't do it anyway. For silver solder I use an Oxy/Acetylene torch and a small tip.

...Lee