cracked front mounts

[simkell]

has anyone seen or come across a 80 series with cracked front control arm mounts on the diff. mine have cracked on the drivers side and was wondering if this is common on this type of vehicle that has done a lot of four wheel driving.

secondly anyone have any recommendations on fixing it? should i just weld it up, or should i also brace it to stop it from happening again?
will post photos later.

[krakatinny]

This is definitely common in vehicles with aftermarket castor bushes as they do not allow as much flex as the OEM items, i am guessing that the vehicle is lifted and has these bushes fitted? Solution is to grind out the crack and weld up appropriately, then fit castor plates if able to, and remove offset bushes, plates worked for me for years of daily abuse, with a considerable lift and runnig 35s, all went well.

[simkell]

yeah has a moderate lift and running castor correction bushes (poly not rubber), so it may of contributed to it cracking. was also thinking of plating the mount stop it from happening again. think it is a good idea?

[krakatinny]

The idea of the castor correction plates is that you use standard 0* factory bushes and the correction plates do the castor change, 5* was the figure in mind in my vehicle with standard bushes and this was punished in the bush towing heavy dual axle trailers with zero problems over 8 years, we broke a swag of other high ticket items but no issues at all with the standard bushes and brackets. I have had plenty of feedback from a local reputable 4wd repair shop that does plenty of these repairs exactly the same as your scenario, he fixes other peoples unfixables with great sucsess and a no b@llshit style, deal with it approach and it works, either way a weld up/strengthening is in order and then try and utilise factory spec bushes,,,,, best of luck, i am sure you will get on top of it.

[V8 Hilux]

Mines just done the exact same thing. Thinking of stripping the diff and getting a superior diff brace kit. Will need to make sure housing is not bent. I am blaming the iron man adjustable caster bushes. Found a few pic.s of broken RHS side radius arm mounts. Maybe it is a bit common. Mine appear to be leaking a bit of oil. Might have to find another housing

[stilivn]

Mine appear to be leaking a bit of oil. Might have to find another housing

Buy the marlin crawler HD seals and you will never have to worry about leaking hubs again.

[simkell]

In the end I had mine drilled and welded, also went back to standard bushes. Can't comment much on the longevity of the repair as it has been off the road for a few years for modifications. From the time of repair I drove approximately 5000k's and had no further dramas. Next mod equals new front diff and coil overs.

[V8 Hilux]

Mine appear to be leaking a bit of oil. Might have to find another housing

Buy the marlin crawler HD seals and you will never have to worry about leaking hubs again.

Didn't make my post very clear. The diff housing is actually leaking oil from where the radius arm bracket is cracked. If the housing is straight. I'll just get it welded up and get the diff brace kit welded on at the same time.