Need to reinforce rear crossmember/bumper and add recovery points (1 Viewer)

[Devilmans Hand]

hello everyone

This is for my 40

Currently I've got a ball hitch bolted to the back and want to switch that to a pintle hook and also add some shackle recovery points. I'd like to be able to pull a military trailer eventually. I also noticed that there is a crack/rip forming in/on the bottom of the member.

The crack/rip is maybe a 1/32nd to 1/16th of an inch and on the underside of where the ball hitch is mounted.

So my questions are:

1. Can the crack be welded up?
2. How should I reinforce the crossmember to allow for a solid pintle hook?
3. How should i attach some rear recovery points? Do I have to remove bumperetts when doing so?
4. What else should i be looking at?

I had to get snatched today from the rear [no homo] and didn't like just having the ball hitch. Too damn dangerous!
I don't have the cash for a super duty bumper, so what are my options?

GreyTandy, I saw some pics of your set up during my search and do you have any further information on what you did?

IPOR, what can you do for me?

Thanks fellas

Sam
​

 

[greytandy]

I had no issues with cracks in my crossbar so I got a pintle a while back from IPOR. Simply bolt and go as the four holes matched the pintle bracket. A pintle is also a nice recovery point, so you don't need to any extra.

I actually used the FJ40 pintle and a snatch strap a few years ago to extricate my FJ Cruiser from some bad mud.

Let me know if you need any more info.

- Dave

P.S. Don't get the ball-style pintle.

 

[Devilmans Hand]

hmm...so i found these drawings so far...

Or maybe just get some thick piece of square tube and replace the entire thing...

 

[Devilmans Hand]

did you reinforce the rear at all? I'm already getting a bit of a bend and need something strong enough to tow from and be extracted from.

 

[greytandy]

did you reinforce the rear at all? I'm already getting a bit of a bend and need something strong enough to tow from and be extracted from.

No reinforcement. My crossbar is in good shape, and so far no deformation. Of course, I never had a hitch either. A pintle is centered so there will be minimal torque on the crossbar.

 

[John Smith]

What condition are the diagonal cross braces in and the backside of your rear cross member behind the bumper? This thread covers some different fixes.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/275867-rear-bumper-replacement-possible.html

 

[Devilmans Hand]

I'll go check it out real quick and snap some pix. Just need to pull the cruiser onto some dry asphalt.

 

[Devilmans Hand]

The braces are solidly connected and rivets look good.
There is however a slight bend in the passenger top diagonal brace at a little bit halfway in said brace.

The crack is slightly bigger than i thought earlier, but just slightly.
Another pic of the crack

You can see the bend a little better in this pic than the pics in the first post.

I don't think its too bad, but I'm not sure that its good enough for a tow point and recovery point for an energetic snatch. I'm no engineer though. Prob could just pound the bent spots back in place, weld up the difference, then brace them w/ plate. Then run that for a while until a new problem develops.

 

[Thornton]

You might be able to add a plate to the bottom of the crossmember. The sketch you have looks like a good idea but it looks like it takes away your option for an auxillary tank if you were to want one.

 

[Devilmans Hand]

good point. I'll prob add an aux tank under the bed in the next couple of years.

 

[H2o]

that dent is not a big deal. it should be in tension anyway. You do want to make sure that the rivets (if they are still there) are in good shape and that there is no rust expansion going on. If rust has started pulling apart the rivet, it will weaken it. Could not tell from your pics.

I might be able to help with welding...

 

[Devilmans Hand]

there is minimal rust down there and the rivets looked good to me. I'll try and snap some better pix later tonight. its just a hard spot to get the camera oriented correctly.

Thanks for the offer Sebastian, I'll prob take you up on that.

I'll be at the cruiser thing this sat if anyone wants a closer look

 

[Devilmans Hand]

ok, so i bought myself a 15ton pintle hook and am in the process of installing the beast.

Is there any reason why i shouldn't add a backing plate on the inside of the rear cross member channel? I plan on cutting up the old drop down ball hitch mounting plate and putting that on the inside of the channel.

I also intend to replace the nuts with grade 8 as soon as i can find some 1/2"nuts. Until then i'm just gonna double up with a jam nut.

plate is about 1/2"thick

Time to test out my new to me oxy/acet torch in the back yard. I wonder how pissed my HOA will get.

 

[Devilmans Hand]

ok, realized that there was no handle/knob to open acetylene bottle, so used grinder instead. Took a while to get through an inch of steel

My neighbors love me...

Had to do some more grinding to fit it

and a crappy pic of it installed

washers come when i can find them.
Also wondering if i should use anti-seize or loc-tite since i'm using a jam nut(not shown)?
Now i'm off to a bbq and fight night!

 

[kulangot]

Sam,

I have the little wrench

or you can use a small adjustable wrench

 

[Devilmans Hand]

cool. thanks. I had some vice grips on it for a sec, then decided that i didn't want to risk snapping it off and or blowing myself up.

I'll get to play with it eventually.