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Look what I just found... a chassis crack --FIXED IT--

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udm
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Look what I just found... a chassis crack --FIXED IT--

Post by udm »

I have had the great pleasure to discover this crack today :shock: , it's right in between the steerbox and the panhard bracket.

It looks like it's the panhard bracket ripping itself off the chassis, but not sure. :roll:

What comments do you guys have about this????
Would you patch/strengthen or just grind and weld on top of the crack????

It's my cruiser btw (80series).

Image

Image

Image

Ulises
Last edited by udm on Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by 65Mog »

This is a common problem with lifted 80's, the only way I've seen it fixed is to plate the chassis.
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Post by udm »

TSL wrote:This is a common problem with lifted 80's, the only way I've seen it fixed is to plate the chassis.
And I thought I knew everything about the cruiser. :?

Looks like I will have to unbolt the steerbox, grind off the panhard bracket, and plate around the chassis... I hope it's that easy. :roll:

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Post by high n mighty »

Drilling and stopping of the crack would also be advisable wouldn't it?
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Post by 4x4Monkey »

that could cause the crack to go faster.. that only works on windscreens lol

yeah plate it and weld it
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Post by runnin4life »

the same thing happened to my old
his pan hard mount brok completly off and the power steering box was ripping the metal off around the box

and apparently the mechanic who fixed it said 70% of the 80series that come in that have been off road lifter or not have a small crack or worse

not sure how much it cost but the mech we went to is a little expensive but very good work

cheers
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Post by Modified Toy »

seen same thing on a nissan they stoped it by having a bracket thats bolts to the panhard bracket and to the side of the chassis to stop it from flexing on hard use.
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Post by DX80 »

UDM, I thought I'd have a quick squiz at mine after I saw your photo, and strike me lucky, guess who also has a cracked chassis in exactly the same spot??

Dave.
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Post by DX80 »

UDM, I thought I'd have a quick squiz at mine after I saw your photo, and strike me lucky, guess who also has a cracked chassis in exactly the same spot??

Dave.
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Post by YankeeDave »

4x4Monkey wrote:that could cause the crack to go faster.. that only works on windscreens lol

yeah plate it and weld it
no

while a whole drilled acts as a stress consentrator, a crack has very high strain levels which cause the crack to keep growing

and if you'd like i can grab out my books and show you how a crack is always worse than a hole (stress concentrator)

But other than that i agree, plate and weld is the best fix
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Post by 80UTE »

I new of this problem when building my 80UTE years ago as i had repaired a few lifted 80's. The panard mount is made up of 2 pieces and where they join on the chassis the bracket isnt welded to the chassis or either are the 2 parts of the bracket. I fully welded all connection/intersections and have not had a problem here and on repairs i have done. An other area where problems can start is on the steering box bolts, there are crush tubes on each of the 4 bolts that hold the steering box to the chassis these protrude on the inside of the chassis rail 10-15mm and the nut tightens up on the tube. Each tube is held in place with 2 small stitch welds on either side of the tube, with flexing of the chassis and big tyre loads these stitch weld fail/crack and the crack will keep traveling along the rail. I have full welded the end of the crush tubes to the inner rail and have not had any problems here either. When repairing the rails i use a rotary high speed grinder with a 1/4 " ball end rotary carbide burr and follow the crack to the end and slighly past the end of the crack. I grind it out about 2.0mm deep as the chassis is only 3.0mm thick so you dont want it too thin and blow a hole through when welding. I do a single pass with the mig and leave all weld material for good reinforcement. If your not a good welder clean it up to neaten but dont grind back to flush. When welding on the underside gravity works against you so dont let it get too hot and end up with a big hole. This type of repair is better if attemped by a good welder b/maker to ensure it done well as most of the welding is done out of good welding position .

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Post by udm »

Thanks everybody... I might get into it on the weekend, i'll keep you all posted with the outcome (pics and everything). ;)

Cheers
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Post by beally »

normally cruiser owners are too proud to say that something has gone with their truck, AGAIN.
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Post by bogged »

80UTE wrote:I new of this problem when building my 80UTE years ago as i had repaired a few lifted 80's. The panard mount is made up of 2 pieces and where they join on the chassis the bracket isnt welded to the chassis or either are the 2 parts of the bracket. I fully welded all connection/intersections and have not had a problem here and on repairs i have done. An other area where problems can start is on the steering box bolts, there are crush tubes on each of the 4 bolts that hold the steering box to the chassis these protrude on the inside of the chassis rail 10-15mm and the nut tightens up on the tube. Each tube is held in place with 2 small stitch welds on either side of the tube, with flexing of the chassis and big tyre loads these stitch weld fail/crack and the crack will keep traveling along the rail. I have full welded the end of the crush tubes to the inner rail and have not had any problems here either. When repairing the rails i use a rotary high speed grinder with a 1/4 " ball end rotary carbide burr and follow the crack to the end and slighly past the end of the crack. I grind it out about 2.0mm deep as the chassis is only 3.0mm thick so you dont want it too thin and blow a hole through when welding. I do a single pass with the mig and leave all weld material for good reinforcement. If your not a good welder clean it up to neaten but dont grind back to flush. When welding on the underside gravity works against you so dont let it get too hot and end up with a big hole. This type of repair is better if attemped by a good welder b/maker to ensure it done well as most of the welding is done out of good welding position .

Wally

Great post with good advice. would be worth making a bible of chassis damage/cracks etc on all rigs?
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Post by udm »

beally wrote:normally cruiser owners are too proud to say that something has gone with their truck, AGAIN.
Very helpfull comment... :x :x :x :x :x :x :x
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Post by matthewK »

could you un bolt it all, grind out the crack as best ya can then weld it up , redrill it ,

or wack a plate between the steering box and chasi after you done the above

i donno just asking :)
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Post by udm »

Hi all, we fixed the cracks on "both" cars :D .... yeh, we found out that the other car had the same problem :shock:

Got some pics www.ozsigns.com/aussie/fj80tohzj80/chassis_repair
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Post by RV80 »

udm wrote:Hi all, we fixed the cracks on "both" cars :D
Nice job :cool:
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Post by grazza »

udm wrote:Hi all, we fixed the cracks on "both" cars :D .... yeh, we found out that the other car had the same problem :shock:

Got some pics www.ozsigns.com/aussie/fj80tohzj80/chassis_repair
great stuff, example of how valuable forums can be :)

quick question, should the plate be filled behind prior to welding? like sikaflex or something to stop water collecting/rust? I really have no idea, just asking...
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Post by justinC »

I have a chassis crack on a Disco 2 to repair shortly, apparently a common problem on some early ones, from underneath and in front of the steering box, next to the panhard rod support. This one is bad and has already been repaired once. This time some plates will have to be made and the steering box removed. I've also heard of some LR warranty claims involving this problem, a really bad one got a new chassis apparently!!
The problem comes from the fact that the early disco2 up to 2000 had some stupid SQUARE holes stamped out of the underside of the chassis in this area, about 10mm square. Presumably to take a nylon nut for self tapping screws or similar. The cracks started in the corners and worked their way around...

Wish me luck with the mig...
JC
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Post by justinC »

I have a chassis crack on a Disco 2 to repair shortly, apparently a common problem on some early ones, from underneath and in front of the steering box, next to the panhard rod support. This one is bad and has already been repaired once. This time some plates will have to be made and the steering box removed. I've also heard of some LR warranty claims involving this problem, a really bad one got a new chassis apparently!!
The problem comes from the fact that the early disco2 up to 2000 had some stupid SQUARE holes stamped out of the underside of the chassis in this area, about 10mm square. Presumably to take a nylon nut for self tapping screws or similar. The cracks started in the corners and worked their way around...

Wish me luck with the mig...
JC
'92 Rangie Sherwood/turbo intercooled isuzu4BD1 /ACE/ full leather/2.5" exh/2.5" body lift/DeCarbon shocks/LR tanks/LT95 back in and OK now, Sals conversion soon...
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Post by udm »

grazza wrote:should the plate be filled behind prior to welding? like sikaflex or something to stop water collecting/rust?
The welding has covered every angle of the plates, and we painted it with a very very thick 2pack epoxy kinda stuff that really did seal everything, and its hard as, wont get scratched anytime soon :cool:

PS, now I know where the death wobbles came from... chassis flexing. Everything feels so tight now.

Ulises
Last edited by udm on Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by udm »

justinC wrote:I have a chassis crack on a Disco 2 to repair shortly, apparently a common problem on some early ones, from underneath and in front of the steering box, next to the panhard rod support. This one is bad and has already been repaired once. This time some plates will have to be made and the steering box removed. I've also heard of some LR warranty claims involving this problem, a really bad one got a new chassis apparently!!
The problem comes from the fact that the early disco2 up to 2000 had some stupid SQUARE holes stamped out of the underside of the chassis in this area, about 10mm square. Presumably to take a nylon nut for self tapping screws or similar. The cracks started in the corners and worked their way around...

Wish me luck with the mig...
JC
We do wish you luck mate, the job really was a pain in the butt. But hey, we did 2 cars in 2 days, you should be done in only 1 day ;)
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Post by hypo »

the plate should have had a diamond shape to it not a square shape like in the pic i have attached.
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Post by dumbdunce »

as ben has suggested it's bad to weld perpendicular to the chassis - it can create a heat affected zone next to the weld which is either soft or brittle, and can cause or contribute to future cracking. when I repair these I cut a 40mm circular hole near the front of the plate and do half a plug weld - weld across the top and bottom of the hole. at the back of the outer plate I make the weld over the top of the suspension mount weld that is already there. at the back I do like wally and finish the welds areound the crush sleeves but otherwise generally leave it alone. did DX80's one recently, he can post a pic if he wants.
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Post by DX80 »

Sorry about the dirt and crud in the picture. She's still dirty from Blackrat.

Dave.
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Post by udm »

Thanks, but too late now for advice ;) ... anyway, we wrapped/boxed the chassis all around (sides, top, bottom) with 6mm plates, the 4 tubes were welded properly to both side plates.
The 4 tubes and the top and bottom plates won't allow the side plates to flex.

Im not worried at all about the job we have done... but if something happens... we will just fix it. ;)

Ulises
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Post by udm »

dumbdunce wrote:did DX80's one recently
Did you only plate 1 side of the rail? What about the other side of the rail?, and the top? and the bottom? Cause one of our cars was cracked on the steer/box side and the other one was cracked on the panhard mount side, hence the boxing of the whole rail.

PS. When are we gonna turbo the 1hz? :)

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Post by dumbdunce »

udm wrote:
dumbdunce wrote:did DX80's one recently
Did you only plate 1 side of the rail? What about the other side of the rail?, and the top? and the bottom? Cause one of our cars was cracked on the steer/box side and the other one was cracked on the panhard mount side, hence the boxing of the whole rail.
yes only the outside, the cracks weren't that bad. The chassis needs to be able to twist and bend - it's not perfectly regid, so unless the cracking is severe (ie the front is about to fall off) then it's not sucha great idea to go all the way around.
PS. When are we gonna turbo the 1hz? :)
I thought you bought a full kit from a 1HD-T to bolt on? no time now anyway, I got a proper job :(
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