Does anyone have any feedback on the "ORD High Clearance HD Engine Crossmember" I'm in the process of putting a new squirle cage in my truck and i figured if it was worth it i would go ahead put this on there while i got the motor out of it. thanks
CK5
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ORD High Clearance HD Engine Crossmember?
- Thread starter 79ON40s
- Start date
B'lieve the big point is so that you can run a straight draglink for crossover, instead of a bent one.
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what are the limations of a staight one...i know BDAMNRZ runs a staight one he made out of a tie rod and it is no were close to his crossmember..i think he has about 9 inches of lift...he ran dle's insted of tre's cause the allow more movemnt for angle...what is the minumim lift you need to run to have a straight draglink with dle's??
twoslo4five0 said:
He has 9" of lift, which gives him tons of steering clearance.
5280k5
1/2 ton status
My motivation to use it was the factory one has somehow loosened up and some of the bolts fell out, never thought to check those bolts. Anyhow, it was loose and pulling sideways enough to crack the frame around the driver side motor mount bracket where it sits in the frame. The crack was welded and plated over for extra strenght but I figured the tubing from the ORD crossmember was going to help also. Turned out the factory crossmember came out with cracks in it too so glad I'd upgraded. Here's some pics of it installed with DIY motor mounts. Sorry they're not that good, just started raining outside.
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so im running 7 can i get away with a straight one too??38377k5 said:
I would agree, mine was cracked (didnt know it) and it had several loose bolts (didnt know it) and it was dragging on the oilpan (did know that) due to incompotent previous owners. ORD Big Block crossmember (and DIY4X mounts) did away with those issues, probably stiffened up the frame some, and made it look MUCH cleaner. Well worth the money in my case.
If you do get one, get the big block crossmember, it is slightly deeper for the oilpan, so if you ever do go BBC you wont need to change it
btw, unless you have your front axle out, it is a total PITA to drill those 6 holes in the frame... i used a right angle drill with a 9/16" bit and had to decompress suspension (~4" lift) in order to get it in
If you do get one, get the big block crossmember, it is slightly deeper for the oilpan, so if you ever do go BBC you wont need to change it
btw, unless you have your front axle out, it is a total PITA to drill those 6 holes in the frame... i used a right angle drill with a 9/16" bit and had to decompress suspension (~4" lift) in order to get it in
BlitzK5
1/2 ton status
was it easy to install the DIY4X motor mounts without moving the motor other then supporting the motor? Im looking to do the same thing, it just does'nt look like there is much room to remove the old motor mounts and install the new ones without lifting out the engine.
5280k5
1/2 ton status
I did my mounts at the same time as the crossmember, so it was real easy to install them. I had the engine supported with a hoist during the whole process so.....
79ON40s: definitely think it's worth it especially after seeing how easily the
factory one cracks. The ORD one has so many extra bolts going to the frame and made out of strong tubing I'm positive it will help strengthen the frame.
The DIY mounts are also beefy stuffy and only transmit a little more vibes than the stock ones(mine came out in dried up pieces of rubber)
79ON40s: definitely think it's worth it especially after seeing how easily the
factory one cracks. The ORD one has so many extra bolts going to the frame and made out of strong tubing I'm positive it will help strengthen the frame.
The DIY mounts are also beefy stuffy and only transmit a little more vibes than the stock ones(mine came out in dried up pieces of rubber)
BKinzey
1/2 ton status
So one time, at Band Camp.....
Geeze, talk about a hijack!
Other than to say they are better & stronger than stock I can't recommend a particular brand so I'm interested as well
Geeze, talk about a hijack!
Other than to say they are better & stronger than stock I can't recommend a particular brand so I'm interested as well
BlitzK5 said:
yeah, there isnt much room, and I cant really see doing it other than using a hoist on the motor. When i did mine, i pulled the crossmember, then the mount pads, then the mounts themselves. Install was mounts, mount pads (cleaned/repainted while out of truck) then finally crossmember. Had the engine hanging from a hoist the whole time.
Without pulling the crossmember, it will be a pain to get to all the bolts (esp the ones on the block itself) it was nice to have offset wrenches, lots of different length extensions and a second set of hands for the whole process
