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ORD Steering Brace Install With Pics.

I stitch welded mine as per the diagram. I agree it is "just mild steel", but there is a lot of stress in that area already (hence the cracking from fatigue) I don't want to add to it.

Not adding extra stress is also the same reason that patch plate isn't just straight cut at the ends...

I did not weld prime the backside of mine, nor the bare steel frame it got stitch welded to. I also didn't seam seal anything. Priming between would have been a good idea. :doah:

Rene
 
I just wanna add an apology here to Joe, I shouldn't have jumped in your face... I think the OT is getting to me, but no excuses, my bad... :doah:

back to the topic tho... one thing I've heard is that all the weld-in's are made by the same place.. has anyone installed multiple ones of these, and can confirm or deny a difference from vendor to vendor?
 
Seeing as they're a stamped piece, it wouldn't surprise me that it's one original manufacturer and hundreds of secondary vendors. The tooling set-up wouldn't be cheap to make that part.

Rene
 
It may not be rocket science, but considering that the frame cracks with stock tires/wheels/steering system, and this mild steel plate is a reinforcement for those applications, would make me believe that this area of the frame needs all the help it can get. As ORD suggests when upping the ante of components that will stress this area, the additional diagonal brace should be used. Stephen has had plenty of experience with these trucks, and knows what works, and what needs help. If their instructions say to stitch, it would seem to have some reasoning behind it other than saving some wire.
In addition if you throw in the salt that the midwest and northeastern trucks are exposed to, any improvement or techinique for longevity is a welcome addition in my book.
 
If I remember correcty, I think the braces are manufactured by rough country.

I welded mine fully and did the weld through primer, hopefully it lasts...

SteeringBoxBrace006.jpg
 
I wouldn't be surprised to find out Rough Country is just another re-seller.

Rene
 
* Small Hijack*

I have a scrap Blazer frame section of the steering box area to use for this brace. Has anyone else used this idea?
 
79BRUISER said:
* Small Hijack*

I have a scrap Blazer frame section of the steering box area to use for this brace. Has anyone else used this idea?
Click to expand...

Yes. Ended up in the same argument of welding everything vs. stitch-welding.
 
My guess is AutoFab is the source. I think I saw these braces there before anywhere else, but who knows? My guess is that the instruction to stich weld came from the original source as well and just gets repeated by all the re-sellers.

I put some weld-thru primer down when I welded mine, but still need to go back with seam sealer.

Anybody else have issues with the front of the brace interfering with Kert's B52 brackets?
 
The way it has been explained to me is that stitch-welding is more efficient in distributing forces.

We just sprayed black Krylon, on the insistence of my welder friend. Since the truck is in AZ, I usually don't bother with paint...
 
I just installed the ORD steering brace this weekend. After all I had to do to get it in I can't recomend the product to anyone. The steering brace is designed for blazer with OUT an oil cooler. For those trucks it works great. For all of us other folks you are left with a compromise. You have to modify the steering brace to make the thing fit. None of which is mentioned on ORDs website. For $100 part I don't expect to have to modify anything.

I had to notch the bracket and cut a heft chunk out of the brace in order to get it in there without the oil cooler liner rubbing on it. If you call ORD the also recommend notching the brace. :confused: If they are going to sell these things and market them for all blazers they should at least make 2 different verions. 1 with oil cooler one without. Or just make it work on the one with oil cooler and by default it will work without.
 
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tRustyK5 said:
I wouldn't be surprised to find out Rough Country is just another re-seller.

Rene
Click to expand...

The Rough Country brace and the ORD brace are quite different. I looked at both and went ORD. They are similar in stamping but the shape is very different. There is a third brand that I could not find that is really cheap and not even close to the level of stamping on the ORD one. I have welded two of the ORD ones on to two different rigs and I stitch welded mine. In retrospect, I wish I would also have seam sealed it as well. I did paint it heavily once it was welded though spraying the paint into every nook and cranny so hopefully I will be fine.

ORD, at least what they have on their website. The pic from above though from ORD does look like the Rough Country one though.

picture.php


Rough Country

picture.php
 
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