Glucosamine treatment for an old warrior

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Also need to start making a plan for reworking the rear mount now that everything is truly in the center.

Big shift. I'm hoping I can cut it off and reuse it.
rearshift.webp
 
So this weekend was slow and a little distracted. One day was spent digging out a TBI system from a parted out 4x4 for future use.

The other day saw a little motor mount progress making pieces with the plasma. I'm stuck now waiting for my main mount plates to come back from the water jet guy then I can get to sticking it all together.

Meanwhile...I took some time to remove this from the back (pic 1)

Now for sale!
It's the early Bronco rear seat I installed for a platform to lash down the baby seat years ago. These days the baby would rather be behind the wheel than back there. :rolleyes:

It has also been reported that this seat is not too comfy for people older than about 11 years. Can't say as I've never been back there myself :D

Plans for the now empty space (pic 2) is a box for tool and parts storage.

I'm open to suggestions?????
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Got the water jet pieces back this week. Started tacking it all in place. Got a little rework to do now after seeking input from the Mud fab gurus.

I'll be rounding off all the sharp welded corners to minimize stress points for cracking:wrench::wrench:
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A productive Sunday results:
Two newly minted SBC motor mount brackets for a FJ40 w/SM465 located in exactly the "perfect" spot. A least in my world it's perfect. No laughing at my wayward seam welds. I can't seem to weld a straight line to save my ass. :bang: I think I need a bifocal prescription for my weld helmet.

Engine is now hovering on it's own once again.
mounts done.webp
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Got the rear mount cut off and managed to make a nice hole in the tube with the plasma cutter. :doh:
Dangerous tool in the hands of a rookie operator.:hillbilly:

The 1st pic is the repair.
Next is the relocated mount tacked with new pieces.

Got to decide what's next, exhaust maybe.........
rearmountremoved.webp
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Practice, got a lot of that this weekend. Welder sunburn to go with it too.
Also when MIG welding it really helps when you add the "G" part of the puzzle. Forgot to turn on the gas for about an inch worth of bead. :rolleyes:

Silicon 70 said:
Looks good.

I can't weld in a straight line either. I think I just need more practice.
Click to expand...
 
Not too much progress this weekend. Other than making the decision to stick with a mechanical fan and rework it all to make room for a clutch.

Pick N Pull donor from a 79 Caddy



Still pondering if I still go with this old Ron Davis rad or go with something different. Got to resolve the fore or aft of the cross member PS box question 1st.
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Another new goodie found it's way to me this week. One more small step.

Still trying to locate a Scout PS box core to evaluate.....
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So after much him hawing and flip flopping I think I've arrived at a plan for power steering changes. I like the idea of the behind the front cross member box mounting ala FJ60, FJ80 or Scout style.

I don't like the golden prices on the Toyota stuff, even in reman. The Scout one is unobtanium around here. Been looking for a core to use for a mock up to decide if I can fit it with my radiator setup. One local classic parts yard has one for nearly the price of a reman. I'm not willing to shell out for twice the value for a core while not even sure I'll end up using it.

I don't want to go cheap used and end up just replacing it down the road. I've got a used Sag box already. And it works fine. So I'm going to just move it to the more popular location.

So with that, I shifted gears back to some frame/suspension work.

Off with the old shackle reversal and power steering mount. Surprisingly I was able to get it all off without too much collateral damage. I'm leaving the old bracket side plates in place because getting them off would likely do more harm than good.


My implements of destruction and their casualties:
implements.webp
 
pb4ugo said:
.......... I pulled the bumper, fenders,rad etc, cut off/ground the rivits & used a high lift to spread the frame rails and R&R'd the crossmember. Instead of rivits I used fine thread grade 8's & welded the nuts to the bolts to make premanent. I made sure I did not weld the crossmember to the frame rails.
Click to expand...

pb4ugo, I'm following your lead on this one. Took a big bite of the elephant today. The frame tumor has been removed and I hope I can find a good one to replace it with. As I don't think I want to patch this because it will probably just crack through again.

The bottom of the driver side rail was missing two rivets and the passenger had one missing. On the rest, half came out peacefully and the other half :bang:
The two back ones on the top got stuck in the inside channel and to be worked with a cut off wheel and an air chisel. But they finally succumbed to the onslaught.
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My best shot at repairing the inside channel rivet holes:

Not optimal because of the crappy access, but it is what it is.

Passenger side crack grooved as best as I could .

Next
Welded crack and ground down weld.

Then
A reinforcement plate welded on top. I think I got it pretty good all the way around.
rightcrackrepair1.webp
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rightcrackrepair3.webp
 
Drivers side is missing a piece and I found a crack behind the hole

pics
Crack grooved.

Next
Traced the missing area and transferred to a piece 1/8 plate.

Then
Replacement corner after some fine tuning on the grinder.
leftcrackrepair1.webp
leftcrackrepair2.webp
leftcrackrepair3.webp
 
woodsfj40 said:
I'm really having a hard time believing that all this damage was from a poorly placed steering box.
Click to expand...

I'm not blaming the box location either. At least it's distance from the cross member. I think the major culprit is the notch taken out of the lower flange of the cross member to clear the steering u-joint. That major crack propagates from the corner of that notch directly to the rivet hole.
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The other stuff I would chalk up to lots of rock crawling.
 
More pictures

Seems like this thread is all me and my pictures lately. Hopefully I'm not getting too long winded with it. From the view count I guess there's a few out there interested. Everyone around here seems to love pics though, so I'm shooting as many as I can.

So, finished the inner channel repair on the drivers side, replacing the missing corner.
leftcrackrepair5.webp
leftcrackrepair6.webp
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