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Frame Repair

pauly383

Daddy383
Joined
Jul 22, 2001
Posts
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Location
Mesa , Arizona USA
Well a 2wd frame from 1981 does not exactly work for a frame brace on a 4x4 frame , but we made it work :pimp:

When my crossover parts are ready , and my "special" ( no more hints or clues ) arm arrives , I will do a complete write up for the everyday man :D

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Thats the steering box area, right? I am gonna do the same thing, using an old 79 k5 4x4 frame. Any advice b4 I start cutting?

Thanks 4 the pics.
Bruiser
 
You need to drill holes , and grind "V's" in the cracks , then weld all the cracks first .

You need to bolt it on to hold it in place .

You need to double check the countours , and hammer as neccesary before welding it on .

And when done you check the hole alignment with a drill , and redrill if off a little after welding . Then get longer bolts . And you may need to grind the center if you used the wrong year frame as a repair , so the box lays flat on the bolt holes .
 
Paul do you happen to have the ORD bolt in brace?

It went on TWO WEEKS BEFORE I lifted the truck in the first place :pimp:

First cracks were from the stock rig wheeling , the rest was from rockcrawling with the brace in place . It really didn't feel bad at all . If I hadn't of checked who knows how long I would of went with it cracked . It went to the frame edge , and to the bolt hole and stopped .

Note in pic , 12 bolt oil seal cover hits rocks , 12 bolt oil seal cover is gone , 12 bolt oil seal cover is EVIL :wink1:

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Ahhh I see, this is the first time iv head of anybody cracking a frame with the brace. But it doesn't surprise me one bit with the way our frames are.
 
I got the cowl hood :haha: This truck has been used and abused and it cries for more. Just today we had 60 sheets of plywood in it (5ply)
 
My frame got cracked after I put in the ORD brace. You need to have both the brace and weld-in plate to be 100% effective, or to the least.

Man, the ORD brace and the disconnects were the first thing I bought for the truck after a year of buying the Blazer. Kept the damn truck on the street and after my first camping trip two years ago, and now, well.... you guys know what happened to it. :laugh:
 
Thats what its made for , you done good Buford :waytogo:

Damn I am in a good mood tonight , and she went to bed early :laugh:

Thanks, this is the first load I have ever hauled and it was interesting to see how the truck responded to the weight.
 
I guess I'll be the dink and predict it'll crack/break much quicker after this repair. The weld on kit is something that has been well thought out and goes beyond doubling the area behind the box. There is very good reason the kit comes with a specific stitch pattern for the welding, as well as what appears to be a weird shape. It also has several holes for plug welds.

The rearmost vertical weld should be the next fail point, except it'll probably break much worse next time.

I don't think you saved any money doing this, and I wouldn't recomend that anyone else do it this way either.

My two cents.

Rene
 
If it does Rene , I will be doing something with tubing up front . The rig is eventually going to shed its outer skins sooner or later .

But given how I wheel it , and how long I have been wheeling with it cracked , welded up , and cracked again . I am not in the least bit worried about it . The crack predates the original bolt in brace , and I didn't grind it or drill it the first time I had welded it up .
 
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