Frame rusting out above shackle..suggestions?

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

As the title says when i was underneath my 98 because i was changing the rear bumper to one in better shape i noticed the frame was a little thin by the shackle on the driverside and i pushed on it a little and it was soft and small chunks off leaving actual holes in the frame.

Now i'm torn on what i should do with this. I just stuck some money into it with upper balljoints, alignment, brake lines and a radiator.


I would like to try and fix it if i can/patch it in some way.

just wondering if anyone else has had a issue like this and what they did to repair it.

It's so hard to keep anything older in decent shape in this god-forsaken state with all the road salt.

anyways, I'm looking for solutions please.

 

[shucker1]

That's pretty extensive rust damage.

About the only think I think you could do is to find someone willing to splice weld in a new section of frame rail from a donor vehicle.

Or try and fabricate something from new steel.

 

[Mbrooks420]

That’s going to need some extensive welding, and that is assuming the steel ahead of that is in good enough shape. Looks like you’ll need to cut out a section of frame, or have done steel bent into a channel. I repaired a frame section on my previous Mounty, but it wasn’t that bad, and wasn’t in that critical of an area. I don’t think I’d be driving that until getting it fixed.

 

[koda2000]

No real suggestions. It's likely the metal in that area of the frame is too rusted to make doing a repair viable. I would err on the side of safety and not drive a vehicle with frame damage that bad. I'm surprised the shackles didn't go first. Unfortunately all rust-belt vehicles return to the earth.

 

[96eb96]

That would be an instant failure in a NYS inspection because it is corroded near a suspension fastener.
You have to find a place that does welding. It is repairable. Lots of Semis get repaired and welded because they are on the road so much.
Maybe ask around heavy truck repair places to see who does that kind of work. I'm guessing $200-400 to repair.

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

yes i realize its not safe to drive on the road and as of yesterday it will be parked until i figure out what to do with it, the frame forward and rear still seems to be solid and the back side of the frame where the bushing mount is still solid and welded to the channel, its just the outside of the frame and below the mount, i'm going to attempt to repair it myself when i get a chance, I will have to remove the shackle and bolts and possibly remove the hitch. if nothing else i'll fix it good enough to run down the driveway and i'll put a snow plow on it and it can finish out its days clearing my parents driveway.

 

[boominXplorer]

Clean it up with a grinder and knotted wire cup then assess your damage. It might not be as bad as it appears.

 

[Mbrooks420]

If there’s solid metal you can definitely fix it. I cut back a piece of 1/4 thick angle iron and welded it to the inside of the frame, and then played the outside with a thick piece of sheet metal. I drilled a few holes, and pinned the two together. After I used a mallet to beat he sheet metal down around the bottom of the frame, and drilled and pinned it there as well. Was so strong it became the preferred jack point.

 

[96eb96]

yes i realize its not safe to drive on the road and as of yesterday it will be parked until i figure out what to do with it, the frame forward and rear still seems to be solid and the back side of the frame where the bushing mount is still solid and welded to the channel, its just the outside of the frame and below the mount, i'm going to attempt to repair it myself when i get a chance, I will have to remove the shackle and bolts and possibly remove the hitch. if nothing else i'll fix it good enough to run down the driveway and i'll put a snow plow on it and it can finish out its days clearing my parents driveway.

I have a hole developing behind the shackle, toward the bumper. Technically would pass inspection, but I have to get it welded. NY only checks for rot at a point that holds suspension. Theoretically, a cracked frame could pass. They also don't care about ball joints or rusty brake lines until they leak. Probably 1/2 the cars would be illegal otherwise. Some places (like the quick lubes) will scrutinize your parking brake, others won't. They do that to find reasons to fail cars.

That is why it is not really worth putting more than $100 or so in a rusty truck, it can be gone at any time. And once it can't pass inspection, it is $150 of scrap. Maybe in states without inspections some redneck will buy it and weld it up or just drive it. I guess you can sell some parts on ebay, not the greatest market for a 20yo SUV :lol:.

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

if it ends up not being repairable i'll just keep it for parts for the 97 i recently picked up.


or i can always find another 5.0 to swap parts from it.

like i said, such a shame, runs and drives great yet, but the body is rough as hell

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

after having it parked for months I finally got it into the garage and started working on it, I took pictures and will post them later.

I ended up removing the shackle completely and cutting out the outside of the frame around the bushing etc.

I put a piece of steel along the bottom of the frame and welded it on then i took a piece of steel with a bent end and drilled a inch and 3/4 hole in it to go around the bushing and started to weld on on over the frame that i cut out. I'm gonna weld another small plate over the bushing to the new steel to take up some of the space and then i have to welded it up on the inside and then should be good to go. So I'll finish it up then and then it will be run-able again, I'd like to get at least another winter or so out of it, and then I'll probably pull the license on it and put a snow plow on it.

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

some pics

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

2 more.

 

[shucker1]

Surprised there was enough metal left in there to weld to.

 

[974X4BLACKSPORT]

I thought I was looking at pictures of the Titanic under the ocean.

 

[Mbrooks420]

What’s the reason for two separate plates? What holds the second plate on?

 

[poker4me007]

Nice weld job. Looks a lot safer now.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

That body looks rough under there, like that's ROUGH, I'm not sure you bought yourself much time but you did get some.

 

[RacerX]

Might make a good test project for some of Eastwood's rust converter products - just hose down everything crusty and see how the treatment lasts.

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

the 2nd plate that was sitting on there just wasn't welded on yet. I called it a night and i finished it earlier this afternoon.

after welding the second plate on the bushing ring wasn't really tight so I welded the 4 smaller pieces on to hold the bushing in place because i didn't want to weld it around solid around the bushing because i would have fried the bushing.

I looked around at the frame in front of it and behind it and it all looks ok and the otherside of the frame (right side) was fine, don't know why it rusted out in that particular spot but i'll make sure to rinse it off regularly.

Unfortunately living in this state every vehicle this age looks like this underneath unless it was undercoated from new.


I was glad i fixed it being that i had stuck a new radiator and balljoints/alignment earlier this year, so i can get some more use out of it. and run this one more in winter vs. the 97 i picked up back in march.

Took it for a drive after and its surprising how much more pep this 98 has compared to the 97, and the 98 has more miles. Not sure what changed from the 97 to 98 model but the gearing etc is the same on both.