jwhitton Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Genuine question on how bad my rear cross member is? See picture for details of O/S cross member and N/S chassis looks like it has hit something in the past. Outside of cross member is fine - just really the inside end bits. The holes below are close to where the "angle bar" goes to the back of the towing bracket. No doubt there are some MOT stringencies around this bit? How many hours of professional welding would be required? How bad are yours? TIA, Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Humphreys Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 A good garage should be able to do it in 3 hours. I did my 110 not to long ago. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Jon, I think the wisest course of action would be to replace the rear cross member with a replacement item with extensions, it'll be easier and therefore cheaper. Yours is throughly rotten and if the inner plate at each end is gone then theres not much thickness left in the rear face of the cross member either. HTH Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Rear crossmember - the corroded plate doesn't go all the way to the chassis rail, so not as much as you might think is missing. However - making the right shape plate to go in place of the original one would take some time to make, but a flat plate on the outside (inner lip) would be ok and restore almost the same type of strength to that end of it. The corrosion in the chassis lower rail is very confined and therefore quite easy to repair. This is all from an MOT pass perspective, but if you use your truck for off-road work/recovery/towing, then a new crossmember would be the better solution. 2-3 hours to repair it, a whole day to replace the crossmember. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwhitton Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 Rear crossmember - the corroded plate doesn't go all the way to the chassis rail, so not as much as you might think is missing. However - making the right shape plate to go in place of the original one would take some time to make, but a flat plate on the outside (inner lip) would be ok and restore almost the same type of strength to that end of it. The corrosion in the chassis lower rail is very confined and therefore quite easy to repair. This is all from an MOT pass perspective, but if you use your truck for off-road work/recovery/towing, then a new crossmember would be the better solution. 2-3 hours to repair it, a whole day to replace the crossmember.Les. Whats the story on replacement rear cross members? What sort of price are they and can you recommend a manufacturer / supplier. Guess like alot of pattern parts they come in all shapes and sizes and not necessarily the correct shape or size! Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 The quality of rear crossmembers are varied - depending on where you get one from. Paddocks seem quite popular. Your old one is cut off approximately 9-inches frome the rear across the chassis rails and the new one slots over the cut ends, bolted to the bottom of the rear tub by the door/tailgate and then the new crossmember is seam welded in place. It's worth mentioning that the rust in your chassis rail looks like it came from the inside out, so expect more to appear in the future. A new rear crossmember with extensions is around £120. It's a good idea to use a spreader plate either side of the crossmember to reinforce your recovery point. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2hotdog Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Your cross member looks to be worse than mine when I 1st got my 90 I did patch mine myself - its a dirty horrible job and worked out alot more work than expected Its been through a couple of mots since - no probs As metioned above it tends to rust from inside out and is far worse than it looks Knowing what I know now - replace the crossmember you will save in the long run Just my 2 pennyworth - based on my experances Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Mine was in a simular condition and there was no way it was going to get through an MOT. So I had a new one replaced and then gave it a few coats of black Hammerite. Well worth the money................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwhitton Posted August 14, 2007 Author Share Posted August 14, 2007 Looks like the chassis rail has been damaged by a jack or something. I opened up the holes a bit to see where I hit metal! The rest of the chassis rails look ok. Will take consideration on the rear cross member. Out of interest how much does a cross member usually cost / hours to be replaced by someone who knows what they are doing? Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I had mine done at AJS in Surrey. I think it was about £600 including the parts. The labour was the expensive bit as they had to cut the old bolts with a plasma cutter............... i wasn't popular LOL Glad I had it done though........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwhitton Posted August 18, 2007 Author Share Posted August 18, 2007 Looks like my welding mate is now going to do it and I was going to make the pieces that need to be welded on. What grade of steel and thickness should we use on the cross member? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 Use 2.5 - 3mm plate (seam welded of course) Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G_Cam Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 My X-Member was a LOT worse than I thought it was initialy!!!....The general condition of the truck was not too bad but the previous owner had used it for towing and launching a boat....it showed.....there was a tide-mark where the sea water had got up to! I used to do a fair bit of welding with my 120a Clarke welder on my classic cars but it was a bit too light. I contemplated getting someone to do it for me but decided to buy myself a new welder (165a Clark pro). It is an excellent bit of kit. I use Argo-shield and this combined with the higher capacity makes an excellent job. This worked out more economical than getting someone to do it for me as I got a new welder out of it (the last one lasted me 22years!). The X-Member was from Paddocks - it was a reasonable fit. I did get it hot dipped galvanised - so no rust problems for a while I hope as I intend to keep the truck for a good long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smarticus Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 just replaced my rear cross member and I wouldn't do it again. Turned into a really messy and involved job (and have several skinned knuckles and a black thumb to show for it). Next time I'd happily pay someone else to do it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 My rear cross-member is 12 years old and looks as if it will last until the next millenium. The advantages of living on the Highveld and galvanizing. I lived in the UK for a long time and remember the rust. (wossat?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Warman Posted September 24, 2007 Share Posted September 24, 2007 My X-Member was a LOT worse than I thought it was initialy!!!....The general condition of the truck was not too bad but the previous owner had used it for towing and launching a boat....it showed.....there was a tide-mark where the sea water had got up to!I used to do a fair bit of welding with my 120a Clarke welder on my classic cars but it was a bit too light. I contemplated getting someone to do it for me but decided to buy myself a new welder (165a Clark pro). It is an excellent bit of kit. I use Argo-shield and this combined with the higher capacity makes an excellent job. This worked out more economical than getting someone to do it for me as I got a new welder out of it (the last one lasted me 22years!). The X-Member was from Paddocks - it was a reasonable fit. I did get it hot dipped galvanised - so no rust problems for a while I hope as I intend to keep the truck for a good long time. I need to replace my rear cross member and I quite like the idea of having it galvanised. Can you tell me where you got yours done or whether anyone knows where I can get it done in Buckinghamshire? Thanks Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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