Cracked Frame

[OGBeno]

BUMP

Well, here is a bump for this thread.

Just found a nice crack where my panhard mounts on the DS under the steering box. Anyone who wheels their rigs should be checking this area for signs of wear and cracking/tearing.

Should've taken care of this two years ago when I had the box off and such.

Oh well, life goes on. Good thing is that area will be nicely exposed with the body off of it. Plate it, weld it, reinforce it and things will be good to go.

 

[clownmidget]

Oh Snap! Please go back to that thread where I tell you to do that

glad you caught it 'cause that is not a cool place to have a failure

 

[OGBeno]

Oh Snap! Please go back to that thread where I tell you to do that

glad you caught it 'cause that is not a cool place to have a failure

Yes, you were right dear....

I should've listened to you dear...

 

[warpdriv]

Please post some pics when you get around to fixing it.

Thanks,

^^^ 2nd that

 

[longuito]

Hi guys,

I just discovered similar issues on my LX450 after a LONG hit and miss sequence of changing the shocks and springs due to some weird swaying at 45-50 mph. Since addressing these issues seemed to improve very little, then I started looking at the steering components in case they were worn and that's when I discovered the broken frame, (see photos).

Now that I got the frame welded back together the symptom seems to have gone away. This is just in case anyne is experincing this same issue, should have this looked at. Regards,

 

[longuito]

For some reason I can't post any pics. If anybody wants to see them please PM me

 

[DSRTRDR]

like I needed to know that 80s frames can be cracked as well

 

[wrongway around]

not many that arent cracked if you know what to look for ,for the rhd guys in vancouver get ahold of ateb they have the bomb proof fix . sorry dont do the picture thing but its a custom plate wrapping the frame under the steering box, besides the obvious welding the frame first. maybe one of the local coastal cruiser guys will post a picture. although im sure there is already a thread fix from our club

 

[CRUISER MONKEY]

Thank you to all for posting this info and clear pictures,,,,will check my 96 ,,,,, our rigs are getting older with us,,,,,lol. Just need to wait for old man winter to go away.....

 

[alby_39]

Happens here in Australia too, especially with big lifts and tyres. Nothing new, get it welded back up and strengthened at the same time.

 

[LINUS]

No pics to show as I just burned it back together, but I had the LS mount crack free from the framerail where they use pipe under the motor as the crossmember. I just figured it's the cost of using these like we do. And the newest of these now have 18 yrs on them of stress-flexing.

 

[longuito]

As soon as the photo upload functionality is back to normal I'll post photos of my weld+reinforcement. My mechanic told me it has to be a mig weld otherwise the frame gets too much thermal stress, or something like that, (clearly I'm no engineer!).

 

[CruiserDreamer]

Another BUMP

I have a 1990 HDJ81 and I also noticed the cracked frame under the bottom of the steering box, right along the bend of the frame rail. The top of the panhard mount on the inside was also cracked, along with small cracks around welds that hold the steering box bolt tubes in place. I never took any pictures of the cracks, but I took pictures of the repair. The outside crack was ground out and welded up, as shown in the picture


and the inside had 1/4" reinforcement plates welded on.


After repairing the cracks it was noticeably tighter on the highway and doesn't wander nearly as much.

 

[jellis]

I'm reviving this thread just to link to my new thread about this because I created some templates to use to cut out the reinforcement plates, actually they are based on CruiserDreamer's photos above.
Hopefully this saves someone some time later (my templates are RHD but I think the LHD is a mirror so they should work?):
Cracked Frame Plate Template