frame crack repair

[skidmarks]

Originally Posted by Mart

The welder did a good job. For the life of me though, I cant see why the modern approach seems to be the stack o dimes look. ( I suppose it's from tig welding.) Personally I prefer a nicely laid down bead.

I do think the repair will be perfectly serviceable, though, especially with the strengthening gussets added.

Thats mig welded

[TJ]

That deformed top means it could also be cracked around the spring center bolt. A common problem in old Fords. I would be looking for a better crossmember to put on the shelf for the future.

[flatford8]

I think that repair will work fine. I agree the center bolt hole needs to be repaired ...... Mark

[Adam/Mill Valley CA]

Yes MIG welded, the fellow who did it felt that was the best option given the situation (access, position) he was presented with; he's very experienced so I accepted that. He spent far more time prepping it than the actual welding, which is obviously pretty quick with a MIG. There were two small cracks on top of the crossmember, one an extension of the larger crack on the side, he welded up both, and ground down the bead from the inside so the spring will sit up there properly. I certainly will take care to be sure it's seated properly when I put it all back in. As I said, I'll pursue a new crossmember if I have to but will try this repair first. Regardless, I will keep this old gal on the road, one way or the other!

Adam

[Mart]

It might be worth modifying the center bolt so the head is higher than normal so it reaches the raised hole in the crossmember. A thick square washer ought to do it.

[Bored&Stroked]

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I think that repair will work just fine . . . the guy who welded it did a great job and it is probably at least as strong as when it came from the factory.

Keep in mind that most of these trucks were "worked" pretty hard, with a lot of loads put into them that far exceeded what they were designed for. The original cross member takes all the load in the rear as the spring mounts in the one center place. Given what you're doing with it today, it will never see the loads it surely carried in it's past.

You should be good to go!

[Adam/Mill Valley CA]

Mart, that sounds like a good idea, I could just weld a little extension on top of the existing center bolt. Bored and Stroked, thanks for the good advice and encouragement-fingers crossed, I'll see how it does

[JSeery]

Your repair should be fine, that vehicle will most likely never see the kind of use that lead to the original crack. Some of these cars/trucks were USED HARD in their day!!!

[Mart]

Used hard and the road surfaces were probably nowhere near as good as they are today.

[Bored&Stroked]

On the bolt hole: You might consider making a sort of "puller" with a thick piece of material that goes across the bottom of the cross member and maybe a 1/2" bolt that goes through the cross member to the top (where you'd have another smaller plate. Then, if you have an oxy/acet torch, get it up inside the cross member and heat the bolt area to cherry red while tightening the bolt. This should pull the top metal back down to where it should be.

I know, it sounds like a lot of work, but really is pretty easy to do - as long as you have an oxy/acet torch and a bigger rosebud heating tip.

[Zeke3]

Originally Posted by Bored&Stroked

On the bolt hole: You might consider making a sort of "puller" with a thick piece of material that goes across the bottom of the cross member and maybe a 1/2" bolt that goes through the cross member to the top (where you'd have another smaller plate. Then, if you have an oxy/acet torch, get it up inside the cross member and heat the bolt area to cherry red while tightening the bolt. This should pull the top metal back down to where it should be.

I like that idea.

[Adam/Mill Valley CA]

B&S it's a very clever idea and I do have oxyacetylene, but I think it might be a lot easier to just add a bit on top of the spring center bolt as Mart suggested-unless you think that would weaken the bolt?

[Bored&Stroked]

It is not a big deal to add to the bolt - is more of a question as to how much of an OCD perfectionist you are! LOL Me - I'm definitely a perfectionist . . . or maybe I just like a good problem to solve. Anyway, creating an "extended" spring bolt is an easy solution and one that I can see no issues with - as there really is not a "load" on the bolt, it just gets the spring in the right place. The big spring u-bolts are the ones holding the spring where it needs to go.

On the other hand, ME . . . I would be thinking of that big pimple on top of the cross-member, that nobody but me would ever see . . . but my "minds eye" would be haunting me forever. So - I'd probably make the "puller" I mentioned . . . for shits and giggles, just to see if it worked.

In the end, we all know that it would please nobody but me - but then again, most of what I do, pleases nobody but ME! LOL

[Mart]

Personally I'd probably try and pull the top down especially if I had oxy gear. an extension to the bolt would be my second choice, or first choice if no gear available. If welding to the top of the bolt to build it up, it would probably be a good idea to clamp the spring both sides of the bolt, so the bolt is not under tension while red hot. It would probably be best to remove the bolt before welding. If long enough I'd probably use a thick washer underneath and file it square.

Thinking further, with the top of the frame bent up like that, it is likely the hole is not the proper shape anyway. So pulling it down and filing to a nice square shape is probably a good idea, then custom fitting a bolt to the hole would be the next step.

Mart.

[Adam/Mill Valley CA]

B&S, I definitely understand your viewpoint, unfortunately with too many vehicles to work on(my own fault!), grandkids to attend to, house chores, and my other great passion of woodcarving/sculpture, I have to pick and choose my battles-when I retired last July I thought I would have infinite time to spend on whatever-somehow,that appears not to be the case. So, on this one, I'll go the easy way out. Mart, I assume a couple of big C-clamps can hold the spring together while I move the center bolt up to work on it, or is something stronger needed? The spring is still attached to the axle

Adam

[Mart]

Yes, a couple of big C-Clamps should be fine.