Broken Frame
Discovered today my passenger side frame rail Is fully severed. No idea how long it has been like that. Big TC's and rough roads don't mix well. Oh well, take it to a frame shop and splint it then sel...
Forum Discussion
Yes, boxing a "C" frame can be a big help for strength but the original "C" frame metal must be up to snuff in strength first as in NO strength compromising cracks or fatigued areas. It's the vertical metal cross section (some refer to it as the "web") that provides most of the strength and adding another vertical wall (edge metal/web) of the same metal thickness that closes the "C" into a box can be a real help as long as the added metal doesn't end abruptly but rather tapers away and doesn't occur at a high stress area. There's more to it also.
Welding a crack closed and going beyond the visible crack length and then grinding the surface level and plating over both sides and the using of puddle holes about 1" dia spaced out on the centerline along the added plates and welded 360 degrees in the puddle holes along with the welding of the outside edge of the added plates will nearly accompolish the same strength as the one added plate to close the "C" shape into a box. The boxing is usually a lot less work. There's no perfect way to repair a broken frame as it depends on so many factors as to where and why it even had broken or cracked.
Red, of course I know hydroforming and its advantages and disadvantages. Liquid used is not compressable and forces sheetmetal walls to move to the mold/die female shaped surface within reason. Any expansion in the root metal's shape/linear circumference results in thinning of the root wall thickness but allows shapes to be made that can or will increase the structural integrity of the formed section. Some steel compositions and/or alloys do not do well when hydroformed.
Welding a crack closed and going beyond the visible crack length and then grinding the surface level and plating over both sides and the using of puddle holes about 1" dia spaced out on the centerline along the added plates and welded 360 degrees in the puddle holes along with the welding of the outside edge of the added plates will nearly accompolish the same strength as the one added plate to close the "C" shape into a box. The boxing is usually a lot less work. There's no perfect way to repair a broken frame as it depends on so many factors as to where and why it even had broken or cracked.
Red, of course I know hydroforming and its advantages and disadvantages. Liquid used is not compressable and forces sheetmetal walls to move to the mold/die female shaped surface within reason. Any expansion in the root metal's shape/linear circumference results in thinning of the root wall thickness but allows shapes to be made that can or will increase the structural integrity of the formed section. Some steel compositions and/or alloys do not do well when hydroformed.
