Broken frame

[TJS1011]

I have an opportunity to buy an '01 4X4 4.0L automatic Ranger with 170K for $400, however it has a cracked frame located right at the rear shock mount' drivers side. A friend who is an experienced body man said we could fix it by jacking it back in position and weld in some plates. I've attached a picture, I guess I'm looking for some feedback on feasibility , thanks in advance.

 

[franklin2]

That is not just cracked, it's very rusted and thin. What does the rest of it look like? Nothing wrong with patching it, but how large is the patch going to have to be to get to solid metal?

I patched a f150 a long time ago. It had not cracked but was getting very thin in spots and the crossmembers were rusted through. I went to the junkyard and bought the rear half of a frame that was in good shape, they charged me $50. I took it home and drilled all those rivets and swapped the crossmembers, and while I was at it I cut about 24 inches of the frame rail off the good frame, and then cut the top off the frame rail. Originally the frame was a "C" I turned it into a "L" by cutting the top lip off. I then slipped this "L" piece of good frame into the thin "C" of the original frame. It fit perfectly in there since it was the same frame with the same bends. I didn't even have to weld it in place, I just had to ream all the rivet holes out a little bit, and when I bolted all the brackets and crossmembers back in place, that new piece was not going anywhere. That along with the rear receiver hitch bolts held it in place. After I painted it all up, you could hardly tell it was in there.

I don't see why you could not do the same to your truck, putting in a very long piece from a better frame to strengthen it up. You can paint it all up before you put it together with rustoleum if you are worried about rust getting inbetween the old frame and the new frame piece.

 

[TJS1011]

The rest of the frame isn't too bad, I'd probably have to weld in plates about 2 ft long. I thought about cutting a piece out of a parts truck I have but time might be an issue as I have no vehicle at the moment. We're pulling the bed off both trucks right now so mayby I'll check the parts truck frame out and replace the whole back end if it doesn't look too difficult. The parts truck is an 03 2wd 3.0 I'm not sure if the frame is the same.

 

[don4331]

I have an opportunity to buy an '01 4X4 4.0L automatic Ranger with 170K for $400, however it has a cracked frame located right at the rear shock mount' drivers side. A friend who is an experienced body man said we could fix it by jacking it back in position and weld in some plates. I've attached a picture, I guess I'm looking for some feedback on feasibility , thanks in advance.

If you go forward about 3', you will see where the front and rear sections of the frame were joined by 8 rivets per side. My recommendation - purchase a good rear section; remove box, springs, etc, remove rivets, install good new rear section using bolts (there is a Ford repair procedure that your body man should be aware of). Reinstall all the pieces.

Yes, more work and cost than welding some plates, but the right way to do it.

It takes me ~1/2 day to remove old section in wrecker's yard as some of the ideal tools aren't allowed (grinder). About the same to put back together - better tools, but I have to be more careful re-installing.​

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@franklin2: Putting in "doubler" changes the strength of the frame over the section where you have multiple thickness, leading to stress concentrations. Stress concentrations can lead to unexpected failures, better to keep it the way Ford designed it. What you and I do on our trucks versus what we recommend to others are different - all that liability crap.

 

[rubydist]

I would not touch that rusted out truck. Its only worth $400 if the engine and trans are good, and then only for the parts, imho.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

FWIW the shock mount is kinda poorly designed to catch debris and moisture and hold it against the frame rail. Let it do that for 20 years and have a shock doing shock things to exert force against it...

That said yours isn't worth fixing, find a a better rear half.

 

[Roert42]

I second the rear frame swap. I wouldn't think it would take much more time consuming then trying to rebuild that section of frame with patches. You are not going to simply glue some plate over that, there isn't enough meta to attach anything to. At the least I would think you would need to splice in a section of good frame rail, then weld it in with fish plates.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

98+ Rangers had two piece frames. There were two rear sections that I’m aware of. Short bed (6’) and long bed (7’). They join at the front leaf spring hanger. Really not all that bad of a swap to do, I did it with my green 00 Ranger

BTW, there are certain things to pay attention to if welding a frame, like no sharp corners, they add stresses. Also pumping a lot of heat from welding at one time can start to warp a frame, so on bigger patches you really should take your time welding and cooling.

 

[Josh B]

98+ Rangers had two piece frames. There were two rear sections that I’m aware of. Short bed (6’) and long bed (7’). They join at the front leaf spring hanger. Really not all that bad of a swap to do, I did it with my green 00 Ranger

BTW, there are certain things to pay attention to if welding a frame, like no sharp corners, they add stresses. Also pumping a lot of heat from welding at one time can start to warp a frame, so on bigger patches you really should take your time welding and cooling.

Wouldn't it be best to go around tacking it all real good first?

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Wouldn't it be best to go around tacking it all real good first?

Yup, except when I’ve had to hammer form a repair. Then it’s tack what you can, weld what you can, heat, beat, tack, weld, repeat

 

[Josh B]

I truly have no actual metal frame building experience except on a trailer built from scratch using 1 1/2 x 1/8 angle iron, using the cheapest 220V welder available from HF. The only other experience was on 300 ft barges when I did ship fitting.
I expect that frame has a lot of different parameters with being treated and such, which should be imitated close as possible, and anything I might add will be mere speculation

 

[franklin2]

If you go forward about 3', you will see where the front and rear sections of the frame were joined by 8 rivets per side. My recommendation - purchase a good rear section; remove box, springs, etc, remove rivets, install good new rear section using bolts (there is a Ford repair procedure that your body man should be aware of). Reinstall all the pieces.

Yes, more work and cost than welding some plates, but the right way to do it.

It takes me ~1/2 day to remove old section in wrecker's yard as some of the ideal tools aren't allowed (grinder). About the same to put back together - better tools, but I have to be more careful re-installing.​

​

@franklin2: Putting in "doubler" changes the strength of the frame over the section where you have multiple thickness, leading to stress concentrations. Stress concentrations can lead to unexpected failures, better to keep it the way Ford designed it. What you and I do on our trucks versus what we recommend to others are different - all that liability crap.

I didn't know the factory already had a splice, that would be the way to go.

Saying doubling up the frame to strengthen it where it's rusted and thin may cause "stress concentrations" is hogwash. Ford on their chassis/cab pickups "doubled up" the frame top and bottom on those trucks to strengthen the frame. Fish plating is also a frame doubling method used all the time for frame lengthening/shortening and frame repair.

 

[Vindictus]

This is an option https://www.diyoffroad.com/ford-ranger-backhalf-with-tube-structure-from-tekk-plasma-table-friendly.html
But I think a little out of your comfort zone
I also found this https://www.autorust.com/product-category/ford/ranger/ might help if you goo the patch route

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I truly have no actual metal frame building experience except on a trailer built from scratch using 1 1/2 x 1/8 angle iron, using the cheapest 220V welder available from HF. The only other experience was on 300 ft barges when I did ship fitting.
I expect that frame has a lot of different parameters with being treated and such, which should be imitated close as possible, and anything I might add will be mere speculation

Someone posted on here years ago a whole manual section on how to repair frames and I used that as a guide. Fish plating is the way to do it, or cap large sections.

I did build a custom small trailer a few years back, used 3” C channel for the frame, angle doesn’t class as a structural steel shape even though a lot of small trailers are built from it. Turned out really nice and goes down the road really nice. Used my big 220v Lincoln PowerMig

The biggest concern with welding frames is whether the frame is spring steel or not. Ranger frames are not, so easily weldable. My F-150 frame isn’t either, nor the B2s.

 

[Josh B]

Mine started as a scrapped U-Haul U-shaped axle, with a spring on each side and the angles it was welded to on each side had been cut just beyond each spring. It was advertised in the paper and I went to see. He had a barn yard full of schtuff and I picked an axle and paid the $25.

a couple years or so later I was working on a Spa and Tub showroom and warehouse and as we we wrapping it up, and each company was packing up, the framers had some angle iron to dispose of and I built a ladder rack for the 87 Ranger and hauled a load of it off

I got a tongue, a light kit, and a tongue jack at tractor supply and stowed it away. My unemployment ran out and I took a job with another company building a nature trail, and day one I got stuck with 2 day laborers and a trailer load of 20ft 8x8" soaking wet Ground contact treated posts to cart down the side of a hill and stand up in holes that were already there. It was one helluva long day, and around midnight I came out of bed with more pain in my shoulder than I could bare. A gf told me to go to ER and I got put on 5 lb lift limit.

After a while I began getting more aggressive with using it, but the pain was so intense it was good I had no close neighbors. I had hoped to do a better job with it but wound up with a small HF 220V stick welder and began welding. I used a 10 inch miter saw with a metal blade to cut, and those 1 1/2" 10' angles to build a trailer onto that axle frame.

I had six hole rims on the 80 Chevy LUV that fit the old axle and that got me on the road, but I knew it was not safe, because in case of a flat, the U-bolts on the axle would hit the pavement.

I had set up an appointment to have it inspected and certified by the TN Highway Dept, and even as he asked questions which included any safety concerns I replied "none".

My shoulder was injured permanently, and nerve damage to this day affects my spine and back but I've lived with it. It took all I had to pay off my landlady, that woman carried me the best part of two years, and when I gave her the check she all but cried.

I bought a factory axle for the trailer and tossed the drop axle, and had a safe to use 4x10 ft trailer with 2ft sides all around and a drop tailgate.

So in effect, I built a trailer onto an axle, and then replaced the axle But, it made 4 heavy duty loads 600 miles to home, and an empty 600 mi back to TN for 4 round trips

And those angles on front of that trailer today are where I go when I need an anvil