makeing my own rear frame cross member

[wardly258]

i have now noticed that haveing a 33" spare tire can do some damage while its just sitting on the back of my jeep. after hitting 100's of bumps it has finally rocked itself back and forth enough to tear my rear cross member right by the frame rails. i want to try and make my own out of 1/4 or maybe 3/8 steel to beef it up because the ones that 4wd and quadratec sell are AMC 150 for a weld on and even more for a stainless and there still only 3/16 thick from what ive saw so far. also while im on this subject what are the pros and cons of boxing a frame?atriot:

 

[BajaEdition]

pros to boxing a frame is it is a lot stronger, cons are it flexes less
the results are directly related to what you put in it sloppy prep or not doing everything that needs to be done causes problems later on
Boxing is worth the effort in the end product.
now when you go for that rear crossover use a bigger steel, I used some u beam on the 67, way stout

 

[wardly258]

sweet i was planning on taking my time on this project. thanks for the pointers and i hope it turns out well

 

[KenB]

Had that problem as well, but fortunately caught it before it became severe. I put in some 1/4" angle braces on both sides of the frame, inside and out, and long enough to two bolt through the frame. Now the rear bumper/tire carrier bolts to these braces, and the rear cross member is sandwiched between. Solid so far.

 

[wardly258]

Had that problem as well, but fortunately caught it before it became severe. I put in some 1/4" angle braces on both sides of the frame, inside and out, and long enough to two bolt through the frame. Now the rear bumper/tire carrier bolts to these braces, and the rear cross member is sandwiched between. Solid so far.

thats actually a really good idea and seems like it will prevent this from happening again. hopefully

 

[mhubacek]

Very interested in this thread since I need to make or purchase one for mine. Any pics on this to come?

 

[wardly258]

i will upload pics i plan on buying the steel sheet today

 

[mhubacek]

Sheets? Are you planning on using a brake, or are you going to weld the pieces together? I was hoping to find some I-Beam that was close to the original size. Have you seen anything that comes close to the original dimensions needed? Or maybe rectangular tubing that could be used by cutting rectagular holes on the inside to allow it to be sliden over the rear of the frame and mounted? Just some ideas that have been floating around in my head since I removed my severely damaged rear cross member.

 

[mhubacek]

I just started reading the thread again and noticed Bajaedition mentioned U-Beam. What were the dimensions on the U-Beam you used? Was it a good fit, or did you have to make modifications to make it fit just right?

 

[wardly258]

Sheets? Are you planning on using a brake, or are you going to weld the pieces together? I was hoping to find some I-Beam that was close to the original size. Have you seen anything that comes close to the original dimensions needed? Or maybe rectangular tubing that could be used by cutting rectagular holes on the inside to allow it to be sliden over the rear of the frame and mounted? Just some ideas that have been floating around in my head since I removed my severely damaged rear cross member.

i was either going to use the forge or a torch and bend it on the brake. using u beam is a good idea though. i dont want to weld it with the arch welder so it would give me an excuse to buy a mig but we will see. my heater core just went bad today so im goin to have to postpone this for a few days