Frame rot

[mwilson]

Maybe it had some other thing like steps or something??

The Reese rib neck bolts are 1/2" Coarse thread....the rib is a little deeper than the frame but it doesn't matter due to thickness of the mounting bracket.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

There are remains of some step brackets on the backside of the rockers... maybe that's what they're from.

 

[promisedland]

Good job, I looked my rams frame & I see i need to clean the dust out of the frame. Moisture could be held in there. Now a C frame seems more appealing as it would easyer to keep clean. That's how the 2015 T370 Kenworth that I drive is.

 

[Motorhead]

Mark, How thick would you say the frame steel is? I remember when I had my '01.5 that Dodge was bragging about the new Hydro-Formed frames for the 3rd gen trucks. The rest of your truck looks pretty good for being on the East Coast.
Dodge should have engineered some drains in the low spots on the closed frame tubes.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Mark, How thick would you say the frame steel is?

The sections I repaired were .118 thick according to info I was able to find. It cut very easy with a cut-off wheel compared to the tubing (.120) I used for the repair.

Dodge should have engineered some drains in the low spots on the closed frame tubes.

Especially since there are a few larger holes in the sides of the rails where moisture and debris can get in.

 

[Wayne M.]

Hey Mark, I’m catching up here, and I just showed this to a pretty talented machinist/ metalworking friend of mine. You get thumbs WAY UP from the both of us!
I’m glad you’re saving the truck.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Thanks Wayne, I had to save the old girl...

I've put almost 200 miles on her since the repairs and everything seems to be holding up fine.

Funny thing is evertime I see a 3rd gen now, I want to crawl under and look at the frame. I have to believe there's many more out there in rough shape.

 

[Wayne M.]

I’m about to put a starter in mine, and I’ll be hosing in some extra fluid film for sure now! Mines a bit crusty around the drain holes near the transfer case, but looks okay otherwise.

 

[jgillott]

I haven't been under mine since installing the new oil pan last winter. I'm almost a little nervous to go under and look.

 

[Motorhead]

No rust....... almost makes me like Commiefornia. I had a 1955 vw I owned over 40 years and I sold it rust free last year with the original floor boards and battery box.

 

[Timd32]

While heading down the Huck fasteners YouTube rabbit hole from that big rig frame rail repair.

Ran across these fasteners, video poped up after one of the Huck videos.

They look pretty slick for one sided bolting. I'm sure you have to be pretty spot on if you had to drill and would worry about the chips and burrs on the inside if you could not clean it up.

Might be an alternative to someone who could not weld it all up?

 

[steven courville]

Any hope of fixing this?

Passenger side at rear of cab.
View attachment 122318

To say I'm devastated is an understatement t...

Absolutely. My frame was rotted the same way on both sides. I had a welder cut all the rot out and he beveled a heavy wall steel pipe to fit in place and welded it front to back. I regularly haul 10-12k on a gooseneck and also heavy tag trailers and it has been rock solid since. My truck is a 2500 4 door short bed.

 

[jgillott]

Well Mark, I didn't want you to feel like you are in this alone. So I just had to crawl under mine and look. Passenger side just under the cab mount.

 

[DavidC]

Marks frame repair parts depot

 

[jgillott]

Marks frame repair parts depot

He could have quite the business just from us unlucky 3rd gen owners here on TDR.

 

[Wiredawg]

I thought ALL you guys up Nawth drove you trucks off the dealers lot straight to get it Z-Barred. If you did have it done, would they have sprayed inside the frame. When we bought my wifes 2003 Ram 2500 was new, I sprayed the inside of the frame with that expanding foam from Home Depot. It was quieter too as the boxed frame can amplify road noise.

Cheers, Ron

 

[jgillott]

I thought ALL you guys up Nawth drove you trucks off the dealers lot straight to get it Z-Barred. If you did have it done, would they have sprayed inside the frame. When we bought my wifes 2003 Ram 2500 was new, I sprayed the inside of the frame with that expanding foam from Home Depot. It was quieter too as the boxed frame can amplify road noise.

Cheers, Ron

Mine was Ziebart treated from new and I did their annual updates up until the Ziebart store I was using closed 2 years ago. It didn't help the way I had hoped it would have.

 

[Wiredawg]

Mine was Ziebart treated from new and I did their annual updates up until the Ziebart store I was using closed 2 years ago. It didn't help the way I had hoped it would have.

Since we don't have real Winter down here, no way to tell if my method would have prevented what happened to y'all.

On the shiney side of the coin, Mark HAS nailed a solution to fix it.

Cheers, Ron

 

[jgillott]

Since we don't have real Winter down here, no way to tell if my method would have prevented what happened to y'all.

On the shiney side of the coin, Mark HAS nailed a solution to fix it.

Cheers, Ron

The difference is, Mark can weld. If I tried that myself it would look like a 3 year old did it.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Well Mark, I didn't want you to feel like you are in this alone. So I just had to crawl under mine and look. Passenger side just under the cab mount.

View attachment 123132

Ouch! Is that the bottom or side of the rail?