Ok here are some detailed pics. I washed inside the frame rail to give you a better idea of where the crack is as it is small. The metal near this crack is weakening i can knock on another part of the frame and it sounds solid. When I knock on it around the cracked area it has a hollow noise to it. I noticed this after going up to burning timber for a 3 day trail ride. I mean I beat the crap out of this truck I bring it out almost every weekend and play with it in the mud. It is damn near indestructible. I would imagine if I bought a new one I will end up doing the same thing... unless this is just the frame rotting. In that case I might talk to budbuilt.





My questions are how long do you think I might have before it gets really bad? What are my routes for repairing this, if any or am I better off buying a frame from budbuilt? Would bringing it to my buddy whom does frame welding and repairs on a day to day basis be the best route? Opinions please on what to do would be great. Thanks guys.

 

Drill a hole at either end of the crack.
Weld the crack.
Grind the weld.
Plate (3/16ths or bigger) over the affected area.

 

make sure that plate is a fish plate... not only to secure the crack, but to strenghten the frame there to prevent any future damage...

 

I got a thread on this with pics
"Project Mascot"

1982 Pickup

:wabbit2:

 

This is NOT what he means:


He means a rectangle, with a triangle shape on both ends, to spread out the load. You can also look into hardfacing the frame if you're really interested, but it's not worth your time if this truck isnt a serious dedicated wheeler

 

Before repairing this try and get as much of the crap as possible out of the inside of the frame.

That is what causes it to start rusting from the inside out make sure you find just how far the rust goes before starting to make your repairs

If your friend knows what he is doing it should be no problem

 

Theres a kit you can buy that has little particles of medal and a magnet you would want to use that so make sure the crack is not longer that what you can "see". Its the same idea how they look for cracks in blocks and what not at shops.