Frame rot

[mwilson]

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[mwilson]

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[mwilson]

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[mwilson]

Now I really gotta quit making Mark's thread too long and go back to work before I have waaay more than three days off...

 

[DavidC]

Now I really gotta quit making Mark's thread too long and go back to work before I have waaay more than three days off...

Let's be honest now. You have 3 day's off from being paid. I know you to well, there are things waiting for you whether you know it now or not.

 

[MichaelOverfield]

What is considered the "upper" part of the frame. I think I'll be within 1-1/2" - 2" (top third anyway) with this repair.

My read of the note was the top and bottom edges, I think anywhere in the vertical section you should be fine. I would not think 1-1/2" to 2" from the top will be a problem. I think that is far enough from the top to mitigate any issues.

 

[Ozymandias]

I have another thing to figure out... the bottom of the frame is radiused and I’m using rectangular tubing with square corners the fit over the rail. Will need to come up with a way to fill the void. First thought is seam sealer or something similar. Second
thought is welding in some kind of of plug.

Just cut a triangle of the edge of the repair tubing out and then hammer it onto the radius and weld it all up, gives added strength.

 

[mwilson]

I wanted to ask my top welder yesterday his opinion for additional perspective but he was off.

I will ask Monday, curious as to what he may add for suggestions.

 

[JR]

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As an old timer used to say, grinders don't weld and welders don't grind.

 

[JR]

My read of the note was the top and bottom edges, I think anywhere in the vertical section you should be fine. I would not think 1-1/2" to 2" from the top will be a problem. I think that is far enough from the top to mitigate any issues.

I think welding near a radius corner is not recommended on high strength steel. This is an area more prone to cracking, especially if you are not doing any pre heating.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

I wanted to ask my top welder yesterday his opinion for additional perspective but he was off.

I will ask Monday, curious as to what he may add for suggestions.

That would be great Mike. Hopefully, he doesn’t have any memes to add.

 

[mwilson]

That would be great Mike. Hopefully, he doesn’t have any memes to add.

You never know....

 

[Ozymandias]

I think welding near a radius corner is not recommended on high strength steel. This is an area more prone to cracking, especially if you are not doing any pre heating.

His frame isn't high strength anymore.
At that point now it really doesn't matter anymore where he welds.
But that's my opinion.

 

[JR]

His frame isn't high strength anymore.
At that point now it really doesn't matter anymore where he welds.
But that's my opinion.

Where the frame is rotted, I agree there's not enough left to be concerned about. But assuming he's welding to solid (good) steel I'm pretty confident it could still crack under the right circumstances.

Of course once the weld repair is done alot of the tensile strength will be gone due to the heat.
This is why body shops have all but abandoned heating frames in order to make straightening them easier. They now use a process called cold straightening.
At least shops that follow vehicle manufacturer repair guidelines.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Looked at the driver side today and it looks like I’ll need to drop the fuel tank to do the welding. The straps seem to be in decent shape but the bolts are a rusted mess. I can find aftermarket straps locally but am having trouble sourcing the 2 bolts.

Laying under there it amazed me that the sheet metal is in such good shape while the frame shows rot. I see so many Rams where the rear wheel wells and rockers are all but gone. There must be a lot of frames in this condition, especially wherever heavy road salt is used.

 

[Ozymandias]

The bolts are part of the frame and welded in place.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Things going a little slower than I’d like. The steel that was supposed to be here Monday didn’t arrive until almost 9pm. Got things cut and roughed out yesterday at work. Came home last night and test fit everything. Of course, some massaging was required and got that done today. This afternoon we had torrential rain with heavy lightning. Managed to get about an hour in tonight but the driveway was a bit too wet. Maybe tomorrow I can start the frame prep but we’re fixing to get tropical rain Friday into Saturday. I don’t want to rush this but I do need to get it done.

Hopefully I can get some pics of the process but, to be honest, working on the ground takes a toll on this old body so I’ve tried to limit the up and down.

 

[JR]

Send some of that rain my way! I've got fissures in my yard that are starting to resemble the Grand Canyon

 

[jgillott]

This is in my buddy's shop as we speak. Owned by a local landscaping company. Just thought I would throw these pics up to let you know that you are not the only one going through this right now. As you can see, frame rail basically below the cab and the crossmember where the front torsion bars mount.

 

[JR]

If anything can be taken away from those pictures, it's the massive crack in the frame from what looks to be a previous attempted repair (1st pic).

Without knowing the full story I'd venture to say it
Kinda reinforces the necessity of doing some pre heating while welding.