vegasrunner

can i have the crack welded? or is there a way to replace shock tower? any advice is highly helpful

MaK92-4RnR

Welcome to the club, sir.

Trust me, I've repaired worse:

Showing the crack:


Original picture:


Granted, this is in a near 50 year old vehicle. There's a couple things you need to take into consideration. If the tower is cracked, guaranteed something else in the chassis has shifted. It doesn't look like the crack has any separation or metal fatigue. You might be lucky!

To explain metal fatigue, here ya go:


After some serious wrestling and a plethora of ratchet straps:


Here's what I would do:

take all the weight off of that side ( as much as possible, obviously don't want to pull the motor like I did on my 67 )
weld it up.

You should pull the strut out and see if there's any splitting on the inside of the tower.If there is, roll a bead down on the inside and the outside, grind the weld smooth on the visible side.

vegasrunner

thanks! i was thinking same way jack it up remove strut clean up the tower and have my friend bead it up and look into a reinforcement bracket. the truck has had some damage due to previous owners. but the crack is new from me hauling thru the desert. if im lucky i can save correct? ill take pics of it when the strut is out thanks a bunch!

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

It can be welded if you know what your doing.

If you have to pay it most likely will not be cheap.

Without looking at the rest hard to say what else needs done.

Just how did you break it??

vegasrunner

i assume it cracked when i hit a whoop to fast and the bumps stops were fully compressed. dont need to pay to have it welded i have a buddy with a welder. thanks a bunch guys!

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

if you already have issues with the driving you're doing, then perhaps look into welding on some reinforcing plates for both sides so this doesn't happen again.

vegasrunner

i was thinking that maybe a thicker top plate? im not great with reinforcing ideas. but i do thank everyone for help. is it wise to still drive it like that for dd. not wheeling though

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

I earned a lot of tool money from people having buddies with welders.

Good luck.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

will it definitely fail on you? probably not, but that's your call to make. having once had a front wheel fall off while driving my old k5 blazer, i personally wouldn't drive the rig if i knew there was a compromised part somewhere (think neighborhood hooligans tampered with my lugs). also, looks like the crack is getting close to the edge and connects two of the three strut mounting holes.

i've seen different ways to reinforce strut towers, there are even pre-drilled/cut pieces you can buy to weld in. rice burner/drift guys do it all the time since their car suspensions are so rigid and it's not uncommon to crack a strut tower.