It would at least be an easier fix to ponder if it cracked right around the bolt. But instead, the cracks are appearing further away. So it's not just the point loading - but the overall weight/stress on the panel.

 

Seriously?

 

What? A fender liner is in need of some help here and you guys off gallivanting over a 3 day weekend? Ok, so I just got back from a short little backpacking adventure myself.

Currently instead of a large patch I'm thinking of a couple-few well placed bars of metal welded here and there as supports for the awkward extra battery weight, plus the crack welded back together. What are your thoughts?

When y'all get back from yer barbecuing and lake lounging and having to work and all those more important things (and they are more important) tell me why this is a dumb idea, would you?

 

Now lookie here!......... Redeth, his neighbor and I only went to Big Bear for 1 day! Hahaha..... I actually did a thread about it..... if that doesnt show how much more I need to get away, ...well, then I dont know! Hahaha

 

You do need to get out more, Chef, play some more with your ridiculously cool truck...off to find thread now....

 

Sorry hab, I'm one of those suckers that had to work all weekend. That said I still haven't checked in as much as I should. I would pull the battery box and try and make a flat spot or flatter spot to sit otherwise any fix will make things worse, any welding you do is going to harden the surrounding metal and make it brittle IE it will crack worse. Might even cut the bad out and start fresh. I will try and go back and look at your dual battery install pics and see if I can come up with any ideas.

 

That is an excellent point Jason, I didn't think about the brittle factor at all. Sorry you had to work all weekend, other than the dough part.

What I started with:



How I molested it:



About 1/3 of the starting battery is unsupported by anything but the box. Part of the box is shoved under the fender in an effort to get it as far over the liner as possible:



When it lightens up outside (stupid camera w/bad flash) I'll get under there and get pics of where the fender is cracked from inside the engine bay.

 

I would try and find a way to support that unsupported weight. Not sure how to do that exactly but maybe find a way to spread the weight lower on the skirt or to the frame with an isolater.

 

I was working all weekend too Hab... what you might consider is making a frame out of 1" angle iron to fit the dual Batt. tightly in side it. Then weld two braces from the outer edges angled back to the fender and bolted to the inner fender. With the bottom of the frame bolted to the fender where you have the fender washer now. After fixing the cracks that is... you will have a solid batt tray that will support the weight and the batts won't go anywhere.

 

Hi Hab. Sorry, I have no input on the battery holder situation. Seems Jason and Avi are on the right track though.
I'll check in when I return.

 

Thanks Jason and Avi, that's some helpful and solid stuff for me to think on. I'm betting I caused the weakness when I bashed at it to make it flat enough to scoot the tray back a bit. Bad me, but I really needed that space. The battery box itself is nice and solid, but it's still a bit of weight hanging there. Maybe I needed a better, more load distributing way to fasten the box and keep the fender liner from flexing.
Living and learning. Seems like I do a lot more of that than I need to some days. :/


Rw- have an incredible good time and we'll see you 'round when you get back.

 

140# haul of LoveOcados, yesterday! Hahaha.....

 

Ooooooh, please don't be mad at me? ... Forgot all about the flower. Someone reminded me private message.

As far as I've been taught, at Armstrongs and elsewhere..... the multi colored Daisy Relative is known as a Gazania. There are some that are Gloriana, plus others, but most of mine are tri or quad colored Gazania.... All of them........

Although they don't look like daisies, the flower scientifically known as Liatris is permitted in this group because it belongs to the Asteraceae family like the oxeye, Shasta, Gloriosa and painted daisies, Black-Eyed Susans, false sunflowers, gazanias, cosmos, osteospermums and true sunflowers.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/daisyty.../93174672@N00/

 

Eww! Avocado! I know, hopeless, I am completely hopeless...

How could any of us be mad at you, Chef? Not even possible. Thanks for the flower info, though. I saw the pic when I was looking for something the other day and wondered about it again.


Still contemplating the cracked fender liner. Why can't I just JB Weld it and call it a day and no, do not remind me of the failed cup holder repair using said JB stuff. The batteries are in a Ruff Stuff dual battery box, don't remember if I mentioned that. The box itself is not flexing under the weight of the batteries as best as I can tell.

Also contemplating an annoying, occasionally working door lock module. I've actually got two, but let's deal with them one at a time, m'kay? This one is in the right rear door. I'll post some pics up when I get something worth show and tell.

 

recognize us, Habanero? Vietnamese in St Louis

 

Wow, they really got a good shot of you guys.

 

96 4Runner 256,xxx miles

Find junk in basement:


The bracket is a piece of angle aluminum cut to size with holes drilled in it.

Carefully put hole in dash between plastic fins, high enough to fit the cool weird nut:



Attach bits and pieces together to make hoopty bracket:



Here's the stuff I found in the junk drawer to attach hoopty bracket to dash:

 

Attach bracket (hoopty) to dash



NEVER look in the driver window again:



Or the passenger, though it does look better from this angle:

 

Well, this is the more important angle anyway:



And the mic is finally not floating around on the passenger floorboard:



About time.



Cost not including the cb, mic and bracket that all came together:
FREE!
(but y'all can't tell, can you?)

 

And as alluded to earlier. I have pulled the right rear door lock module. It's not working and I'd have to replace it anyway, so I:



I said to myself, "self, that's a hobby motor!". So I started looking for hobby motors. They are available but I wasn't sure of which to get and I thought maybe others have had this same problem and come up with something.
Sure enough, they have and they made threads on it and some of those threads had PART NUMBERS! I am a happy me and have ordered my motor to come in Tuesday. More later, when I get a chance to put it all back together and hopefully see it work. If it does I'll also try to repair the left front door lock module.

I found the motor on Ebay with a search using 280PT-22125, and got the shorter shaft with a collar.