millertime_t1

Ok to start with there are 29 photos in the thumbnail above -- please click on it and let me know what you think?

This was an '89 4x4 4cyl. I bought it approximately a year ago on ebay. It has a rust free body and at the time it had a running 22re with a hole in the block on the #3 cylinder. Being that the body had no rust, even here in Indiana I never dreamed that the frame would have issues, but to my dismay when i brought it home i noticed a huge problem. The axle was sitting in the truck at such an angle that the one tire was actually rubbing the mudflap. Upon further inspection, I found that the shackle had rusted off and that some one had half assed (not even that good) repaired it by welding the shackle onto a piece of 2" angle and then welding that to the frame. In the process they never had any concern about putting the shackle back in the appropriate location. So any way I have been wanting to build another trail rig, so last weekend a buddy of mine and myself started on Project High Ho Silver. He mainly took care of all of the engine duties as far as swapping in a replacement. (may do a story on that later) while I took care of rebuilding the frame. I cut out all of the rust (over 3' section of frame) and set out to make it strong and of the correct geometry. The main tools I used for rebuilding the frame were a torch, cut-off wheels, die grinder, regular grinder, and a millermatic 210 welder <--- best investment i ever made.
I used 10 gage steel for the repairs and reinforced the inside of the frame with 3\16" angle. I really wanted to alot better write up on this, but i'm not very good at expressing what i did or was thinking. Anyway I ended up with about 20-24 hours in the rebuild on the frame. I finished it up a couple days ago. We just fired up the engine tonight.
In the very near future, the plans for this truck include but not limited to building custom bumpers, buying sliders and a rollcage <--- I don't have a bender yet?, also going to do a leaf spring solid axle conversion. This truck will be driven on the street some but it will mostly be an off-road beast.

This is not the first frame repair that i have done but it is my best to date. I seem to learn a few more tricks every time I do it. That is why I would like your feedback both positive and negative. It is hard to learn new tricks without constructive criticism !

slacker

iTrader: (1)

looks good ... but !!!

I think I would have done a whole "back1/2" .. instead of repair .

millertime_t1

I considered that, but I dunno, I didn't see where it would gain me anything?

trbizwiz

How has this repair held up after 2 years?

HAVOC

Just don't do anything like this:

bobcat101

Where is a good source to purchase the components to replace the back half of the frame on my '92 4x4?

ozziesironmanoffroad

oh god... that picture again?????
repairs look great dude

trbizwiz

If you do decide to do a back half, that joint is going to be very critical. From both a strength and alignment stand point. I had rust issues on a 92 and I elected to do a similar repair to this one. I am very happy how it turned out so far. I used 1/4 inch steel plate on the inside frame rail, outside frame rail and top and bottom. I basically made a sleeve over a 3 foot section. I also did the Chevy leaf swap to move the front hanger away from the previously weakened area. I borrowed a miller 210, and I had a machine shop make up the steel plate out of scrap. The repair cost around $100 including all the cutting wheels I needed. If you have access to a torch or plasma, it could save a lot of time, and money on cutting wheels. On second thought I did buy a new roll of wire and a bottle of gas, that was around $90, so probably closer to $190 for the repair. I did not use anywhere near a bottle and a roll, but my dad always taught me when you borrow a bowl return it full.

tyoter

these are a fiew pics of my build. i had a similar problem with rust. i live above the rust belt(in new hampshire) and the bend in the frame at the back of the cab was pretty thin. so i decided to not patch it but to cut it off and start over.

tyoter

i used 2x4 1/8 wall tubing. i dont know why the pics are so slow to load( probly cus i suck at using computers) but if you want to see pics of the end result i can email some to you. it came out real nice and it is super rugged

4307

Wow! thats ambitious. How is the new frame section holding up?
Any more pics?

4307

Yes please! you have a pm...

tyoter

its real strong. the new rails are sleeved 8 inches into the old frame. they are plug welded in 6 spots on each rail. the frame is based off the stock measurements and somehow my friend and i got everything square within 1/16 of an inch. i will have more pics of the k member and bed mounts when i figure out where the cord to my camera went.

4307

What's the wall thickness of the stock you used?

tyoter

sorry for my ignorence but whats a pm? im new

tyoter

1/8" i was scared it might be a little to conservative but it was just right. it does not flex or bend and i am pretty hard on my trucks

4307

Private Message. look at the top right corner of the forum page, your on, were it says Welcome Tyoter.

4307

1/8'' is thin but, will work because its boxed. you can always add reinforcement plate to beef it up. the main stress point would be the angle joint where the welds are, coming up to the rear level part of the frame.

What leaf pack are you running?

tyoter

i have the all pro 5 inch long travel leaves. i have the all pro 6" in the front and for some reason i ordered 5" for the back. so i made due and made some 2 inch "leveling shims" for the rear. i will make a trac bar also

4307

Did you do the SAS?

If you were running the 63'' Chevy leafs in the rear, frenching the front hangers, for the rear leaf spring into the new frame would be real slick.
The All Pro leafs... the same would be possible but shortens the wheel base. You should build some hanger protection for the front hangers in the rear, like a ramp, to protect the hangers from rock rash.