Frame Cracks
I was getting the Bronco ready for a day trip on the weekend, and upon doing a visual inspection underneath, I noticed several cracks
in the frame rails. All were hairline cracks, except for one, which was about 1.5" long and right through the bottom of the frame.
Right frame rail.
One crack behind the shackle mount.
One big crack in front of the shackle mount.
Factory engine crossmember.
One crack behind the crossmember.
Left frame rail. Signs cracks in the exact same spots as the right side.
I also noticed the rear body mount was toast. Good thing I've been planning on changing them.
The quick fix:
Cracks drilled and welded.
Cracks drilled and welded.
Cracks drilled and welded.
We decided to put a piece of 32" long plate along the bottom the frame.
Painted.
On the drivers side, the cracks were drilled and welded.
How to prevent this from happening again:
This is how the shackle tube goes through the frame.
And this is how the frame is "boxed".
If I were to remove the ,aterial in red, this would allow the frame to
flex as it wants to, but still keep strength around the shackle tube.
This is a friend's Unimog frame.
Instead of removing the red, add to the outer edges, making them round.