Many have experienced their 80 frame's cracking around the power steering box and Panhard bar mount. This is mostly limited to 80 series with 35" and larger tires. The frame cracks can be welded and patched. Delta has a nice kit out to reinforce the area that cracks.
The frame cracking issue is a complex one. The frame is not supposed to be perfectly rigid, it is designed to flex to an extent. The extent to which the frame is flexing from steering box and panhard forces with 35" and larger tires is clearly more than design limits, leading to cracks. Forces from the steering box twist the bottom of the frame rail left or right while the panhard mount experiences opposite forces.
The 32MM tubular crossmember connects low on the panhard mount to the opposite frame rail. It acts to distribute panhard forces, but it isn't much of a crossmember. It flexes quite a lot.
The frame cracks generally appear in the frame below the steering box and in the panhard mount where it meets the frame. They spread from here if unnoticed.
The idea was a product to addresses frame cracking for good and potentially improve the handling of your lifted 80 series. Something that could be used on any 80, but is definitely worth the effort to install it if you have the need.
Hope all that makes sense. This is the working prototype we came up with-
We're using two of the RHD steering box bolt holes (with solid spacers inside) and a 7/8" bolt through the remnant of the old tubular brace. There's a spherical misalignment washer under the 7/8" nut so we can fully torque it down without distortion.
This plate is sandwiched under the steering box. The brace extends down as far as it can with 1/2" clearance at full suspension compression.
Here you can see the remnant of the old tubular crossmember cut off and how the new brace attaches as low as possible- Directly to the 16mm panhard bolt tying it into the frame and the steering box.
I'm planning to sell these as a weld together kit. Every frame is slightly different so the kit is designed with some give and take in the tab and slot construction. It's made from 3/8" laser cut A36. The weld joints are designed for minimal distortion so you can tack it up, pull it out and weld it pretty hot and it will still fit when you put it back in. It completely unbolts and removes completely if that was ever needed, say for oil pan access.
Thoughts?
The frame cracking issue is a complex one. The frame is not supposed to be perfectly rigid, it is designed to flex to an extent. The extent to which the frame is flexing from steering box and panhard forces with 35" and larger tires is clearly more than design limits, leading to cracks. Forces from the steering box twist the bottom of the frame rail left or right while the panhard mount experiences opposite forces.
The 32MM tubular crossmember connects low on the panhard mount to the opposite frame rail. It acts to distribute panhard forces, but it isn't much of a crossmember. It flexes quite a lot.
The frame cracks generally appear in the frame below the steering box and in the panhard mount where it meets the frame. They spread from here if unnoticed.
The idea was a product to addresses frame cracking for good and potentially improve the handling of your lifted 80 series. Something that could be used on any 80, but is definitely worth the effort to install it if you have the need.
Hope all that makes sense. This is the working prototype we came up with-
We're using two of the RHD steering box bolt holes (with solid spacers inside) and a 7/8" bolt through the remnant of the old tubular brace. There's a spherical misalignment washer under the 7/8" nut so we can fully torque it down without distortion.
This plate is sandwiched under the steering box. The brace extends down as far as it can with 1/2" clearance at full suspension compression.
Here you can see the remnant of the old tubular crossmember cut off and how the new brace attaches as low as possible- Directly to the 16mm panhard bolt tying it into the frame and the steering box.
I'm planning to sell these as a weld together kit. Every frame is slightly different so the kit is designed with some give and take in the tab and slot construction. It's made from 3/8" laser cut A36. The weld joints are designed for minimal distortion so you can tack it up, pull it out and weld it pretty hot and it will still fit when you put it back in. It completely unbolts and removes completely if that was ever needed, say for oil pan access.
Thoughts?
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and I certainly commend you for coming up with a solution to a problem for a small market and then putting that to a production product. 
