Hi Folks, something I've been wondering for a while. Regarding the rear shock mounting tube/crossmember, would it be a good PM job to weld additional support on the shock mounts, and possibly on where the tube mates to the frame? I know that some people have had unexpected problems/breakage back there, so I thought it would make the rig more reliable before a major trek to strengthen the welds. Make sense? I don't weld so would have to ask a shop to do it.
Rear shock mounts - preventative welding? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter rstl99
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Seems like reheating that area will weaken the metal. Unless there is a bunch of rust I'd leave it alone, If there is a bunch of rust I'd put a whole new crossmember in.
I replaced mine because I needed to find extra room for long shocks and there is more room, a few inches more, to be had if you do it right. I used a 2.5" x 2.5" x .25" square tube and welded some extra beefy brackets to it. Then I welded the whole affair inbetween the frame rails behind the original and up as high as I could get it. I left about 1/2" between the tops of the shocks and the body to maximize the length of the shocks since I don't want the bottom of the shocks to hang below the axle and I refuse to run shocks that limit my suspension travel either up or down. I had attempted to weld brackets onto the original tube to raise the upper shock mounts, but I broke them twice before going overkill with the new setup which has worked flawlessly.
lehiguy, I've noticed the space up there and though several times about using it to get longer shocks in there, could you post pics of your crossmember?
When...
When I got my rig from the PO, it had the 1st Gen. "Slider" u-bolt plates from Spectre (now infamous for being Pieces of Sheet-shock mount included) but they now make an "extreme" version with 1/4 inch steel on the plate side and nice shock mounts with beefy welds. I put them on and like them alot, plus the shock mount is no longer the lowest point, it is higher than the skid plate part of the ubolt plate
When I got my rig from the PO, it had the 1st Gen. "Slider" u-bolt plates from Spectre (now infamous for being Pieces of Sheet-shock mount included) but they now make an "extreme" version with 1/4 inch steel on the plate side and nice shock mounts with beefy welds. I put them on and like them alot, plus the shock mount is no longer the lowest point, it is higher than the skid plate part of the ubolt plate
We're talking about the upper crossmember not the u-bolt plate/shock mount. Good info though, I've got the MAF ubolt flip on the front and I don't really like where the shock mount is.
Wow, I should read more carefully, my bad.
