CK5
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Steering box frame crack.

I let mine go, without paying any attention to it, for way too long.
When I did finally get to looking at it, the frame had nearly cracked in half. Causing the steering wheel to be 1/2 turn off of center.
I had to use a ratchet strap to pull the frame back together, with the frame under the cab sitting on a jackstand, it was very sketchy, and took a ton of welding and "adding" reinforcement to get it back to where I wasn't scared of it.
Mine happened on the Rubicon trail, it cracked the frame completely, the spring pushed the front of the frame up, made a 90degree angle, and the middle section between the four bolts holding the steering box on came off and the steering box fell off breaking the rag joint completely.
I had to cobble it back together to drive it out.
I used a come-along to pull the frame back in, a 2" wide ratchet strap to hold the box in place and some bailing wire loosely woven back and forth to connect the steering together.
Drove it off and all the way to Sacramento.
I ended fixing it myself at home with pieces from 4wheel parts.
Both pieces had to be massaged in place to match my slightly tweaked frame.
 
Reminds me of the night we sat in the Florida swampland at 3am welding spring perches back on that got ripped off of my blazer when a stuck pull went badly... rotating battery's out of vehicles to weld with a set of jumper cables and welding rods...sitting in 4ft of black gumbo mud and water, K5 damn near turned on its side...all in the pitch black....skeeters big enough to carry you off,, Man, that was a bad ****in' night...
 
I put the rough country plates on the last frame I did.
No issues. Just basic welding metalwork required.
For those saying you need heat or a big hammer. You don't. C clamp is the right answer.
Toss some bolts in the holes to line them up. And c clamp it down.
Even using vise grips won't do it. You need the mechanical advantage of the screw to bring it in close contact. 20230319_170227.jpg
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$26 bucks Amazon plates. They look identical to ORD and wouldn’t surprise me if they are. E8D33712-66FC-4984-891A-D62A2F5CC605.jpeg
 
Shocking mark-up from ORD if the same. You could 3 sets from amazon for what ORD sells them for, unless ORD is actually making the ones they sell.

Even rough county is only about $8 less than ORD so, not sure what Amazons' source is or the other two.
 
I put the rough country plates on the last frame I did.
No issues. Just basic welding metalwork required.
For those saying you need heat or a big hammer. You don't. C clamp is the right answer.
Toss some bolts in the holes to line them up. And c clamp it down.
Even using vise grips won't do it. You need the mechanical advantage of the screw to bring it in close contact. View attachment 442975
View attachment 442976
View attachment 442977
View attachment 442978
Thank you for the pics and quick write up.
 
Yes. I did. I don't have any pictures of that. I was just kinda snapping pics for my own accord.

The bottom plate I worked from the center outwards..

Vs the side plate I tightened the bolts tight with a Impact. (These will most likely be sacrificial bolts) and they were as the threads were smoked when I was done...
Anyway you work that plate one side at a time from the bolts outward.
 
Mine happened on the Rubicon trail, it cracked the frame completely, the spring pushed the front of the frame up, made a 90degree angle, and the middle section between the four bolts holding the steering box on came off and the steering box fell off breaking the rag joint completely.
I had to cobble it back together to drive it out.
I used a come-along to pull the frame back in, a 2" wide ratchet strap to hold the box in place and some bailing wire loosely woven back and forth to connect the steering together.
Drove it off and all the way to Sacramento.
I ended fixing it myself at home with pieces from 4wheel parts.
Both pieces had to be massaged in place to match my slightly tweaked frame.
reading this.... I'm gonna think again about having a trail welder with me
 
I put the rough country plates on the last frame I did.
No issues. Just basic welding metalwork required.
For those saying you need heat or a big hammer. You don't. C clamp is the right answer.
Toss some bolts in the holes to line them up. And c clamp it down.
Even using vise grips won't do it. You need the mechanical advantage of the screw to bring it in close contact. View attachment 442975
View attachment 442976
View attachment 442977
View attachment 442978
especially with the rosette in the center of the plate, how did the box fit, and did you have to shim under the mounting tabs of the box? or did you just torque it and hope the ears don't snap off?
 
especially with the rosette in the center of the plate, how did the box fit, and did you have to shim under the mounting tabs of the box? or did you just torque it and hope the ears don't snap off?
Shim as is washer(s) between box ears and outer frame, where the bolts go through into the box, so the bolts clamp on them instead of pulling the steering box ears in (towards the frame) thus leaving a gap that could crack them? Washers would fill in that gap?

Why would they make this product and not factor that in or does the box sit flush somehow? I don't see how it can be flush but, pics are scant on the web
 
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Here is my 2 cents on ORD being more expensive.

Yes they are more expensive but they are a true grass roots family company... They wheel what they sell and excellent customer service. I have sat on the phone with Stephen for probably hours. My truck is damn near a catalog of ORD and I will pay extra for the tech and knowing the stuff will work.

Most of all they support the site and Blazer Bash.
 
especially with the rosette in the center of the plate, how did the box fit, and did you have to shim under the mounting tabs of the box? or did you just torque it and hope the ears don't snap off?
Ground down the plug weld flush, where it was high. Tried to weld it so it was low.
The reinforcement doesn't add any strength to the weld. No problem with the box, it sits flush.
 
Here is my 2 cents on ORD being more expensive.

Yes they are more expensive but they are a true grass roots family company... They wheel what they sell and excellent customer service. I have sat on the phone with Stephen for probably hours. My truck is damn near a catalog of ORD and I will pay extra for the tech and knowing the stuff will work.

Most of all they support the site and Blazer Bash.
This is why I bought theirs...
 
Shim as is washer(s) between box ears and outer frame, where the bolts go through into the box, so the bolts clamp on them instead of pulling the steering box ears in (towards the frame) thus leaving a gap that could crack them? Washers would fill in that gap?

Why would they make this product and not factor that in or does the box sit flush somehow? I don't see how it can be flush but, pics are scant on the web
that was exactly the problem i had, and others have had, that made them decide not to use the reinforcement plates at all.

concentric bends, and /or tolerance stacking with the thickness of the material made it so that no matter how I tried to use the plate, it would not line up, OR, even if I had gone to all the trouble to make it fit, the "valley" between the mounting holes would have been too shallow, resulting in shims or washers being needed between the box and the plate... and considering none of the areas where the bolt holes were drilled in the plate were flat (all domed and irregular) or in the same plane with each other, the plate was altogether abandoned.
 
I'm gathering this info, so when and if the shop doing this for me, potentially runs into a bump, I can steer them here for advice. Hopefully they don't but this info will prove valuable either way.
 
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