Broken Frame

[Raften]

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 sell the TC and get a small fiver.

[bigfootford]

Here are the frame pictures that Raften (Jim) took of the break.












Jim

[Raften]

Won't be any pics of the repair since the tie down mount bolts over the area. The holes drilled for the mount will always be a question in my mind but weight of TC is at the top of the list.

[Trackrig]

jimh425 wrote:

As far as the auto industry engineers go, what makes people think that every part is made with the most reliability in mind? My experience tells me that those engineers like every other engineer makes a tradeoff, and there will almost always be potential improvements that are possible.

If people think auto engineers are so great why do they design oil filters to mount horizontally and put them above the exhaust pipe so you have the smell of burning oil for the next 100 miles? Why do they design engines and bodies so you have to loosen the motor mounts and raise the engine to change spark plugs? Why do they design the fuel pumps inside of the fuel tank? Why do they design bad exhaust manifold so they break and mount them with bad studs that break? Give me someone who's gone through the school of hard knocks vs a dumb degree.

Bill

[BlueCoyote]

Raften wrote:
Repair is done, end of story until there is a after story. One or two pics of the break will be up but no pic of the repair so as to avoid more of a P match. Jeeze

Please do post a photo of the break- it can be a valuable lesson for the rest of "us" on what to look for. As for not posting the repair - I can respect that too. 5 different fabricators may repair the same damage differently, does not mean 1 is right and 4 are wrong - its a different method with the same result - truck frame is fixed and is going down the road safely. Glad you got it taken care of.

[jefe_4x4]

Blue Kioti,
That tech bulletin was a very good read. Ford always comes thru with the helpful goods, whereas Dodge obfuscates as much as they can or provides no information bowing to the wishes of their high bucks counsel to stay mum: don't claim any ability=no lawsuit.
If Ford only had a Cummins and a G56. Im sure I'm not the first to come to this.
After Raften's broken back, I'm looking on C.L. for a suitable used, 5 series truck, or maybe even a 24', 4WD class C on a 5 series chassis.
jefe

[bka0721]

When I was doing vehicle inspections as a course of my work, it was always shocking to see the number of frames that were cracked, broke in two, shock mounts broken and even motor mounts broken. The driver's not knowing what to expect were still driving them. Even school buses. depending where and how catastrophic of a frame break is, it would be easy to be driving down the road with a vehicle in this condition. Crawling up and under a vehicle for a vehicle inspection of your truck, loaded preferred, should be a standard thing to do on at least an annual basis. Especially if you know that your vehicle would draw the attention of the Weight Police. Good thing the OP was doing just that, when this situation was discovered.

I was just under my truck and trailer a week ago. I mostly check for nests and other things that just might catch fire. Another thing to check for, if you are prone to camp out in the middle of no where, even for just one night.

b

[Reddog1]

billtex, you are correct.

Wayne

[billtex]

Reddog1 wrote:

jmckelvy wrote:

jimh425 wrote:
I'm not sure why there is an assumption that a different feel means bad. .......

I was thinking the same thing. The truck had a BROKEN FRAME that is now fixed. 🙂

It should feel different. Perhaps as it felt before the frame broke?

Pretty much my thoughts. Who knows how long the frame was broke. Driving with one frame rail would be less ridged than two frame rails.

Wayne

Wayne...I think you mean "rigid" (unbending/stiff)

[Reddog1]

I think it would be great to see the before and after photos. It could be of value to others.

At Raften's request, I will lock the thread after he posts the photos.

Wayne
Moderator

[silversand]

Wayne:

OK. Got it.

OP:

Very much looking forward to seeing a pic (or, pictures) of the break. Of course, it is completely up to you if you don't want to post photos of the repaired item. No question there.

Cheers,
Silver-

[Reddog1]

silversand wrote:

Wayne wrote:
Pretty much my thoughts. Who knows how long the frame was broke. Driving with one frame rail would be less ridged than two frame rails.

... Tell me you are just being facetious? Or, do you mean driving with one frame rail would feel softer?...

I think you might be reading into my post. I am not being facetious at all. In my opinion, driving with one frame rail would be less ridged than two frame rails. That does mean driving with one frame rail would feel softer.

Wayne

[Raften]

Repair is done, end of story until there is a after story. One or two pics of the break will be up but no pic of the repair so as to avoid more of a P match. Jeeze

[silversand]

Wayne wrote:
Pretty much my thoughts. Who knows how long the frame was broke. Driving with one frame rail would be less ridged than two frame rails.

....driving with one frame rail (God forbid) puts the driver's and passenger's lives in grave danger, and endangers the lives of everyone driving in close proximity.

Am I wrong? Tell me you are just being facetious? Or, do you mean driving with one frame rail would feel softer?

A question for the OP would be: is the repair markedly stiffer feeling than the original frame-intact experience (just to clarify) ?

Silver-

[Reddog1]

jmckelvy wrote:

jimh425 wrote:
I'm not sure why there is an assumption that a different feel means bad. .......

I was thinking the same thing. The truck had a BROKEN FRAME that is now fixed. 🙂

It should feel different. Perhaps as it felt before the frame broke?

Pretty much my thoughts. Who knows how long the frame was broke. Driving with one frame rail would be less ridged than two frame rails.

Wayne