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WD21 Frame Rust Repair Q's.


Harbinger
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Howdy all.    I have some of the dreaded rot on the passenger side, over the rear axle.   I've searched but old threads have no photos, so I'm sorta lost.  

 

Imgur Link of Damage

 

I'm curious how others have repaired this, now that the kits are no longer being offered.    I have a welder and can use it well enough to not confuse my welds with bird crap.  

 

1) Is 1/4" plate too thick for this application?  I figure 11ga or 1/8" would match the frame material better, but I already have some 1/4" flat bar.  

 

2) Do I cut out the rotted section and weld the new piece to clean metal on the outside of the frame?  Or is it better to place a repair piece inside the frame, after removing the rot? 

 

3) I have a myriad of different square tube pieces - if I can find one that roughly fits the interior of the frame, would sleeving it be better?    Hesitant to sleeve the outside due to the upper spring mount and the metal lines that bolt to the top of the frame.  All the bolts on my frame are rusted in place and aren't easy to remove or replace.  

 

4) Am I overthinking this and should just clean it up and slap a patch on the outside? 

 

Thanks all.  

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Side patches would buy some time. I would want to cut out as much of the rot as possible, but if it's like mine was, you'll have to stop somewhere before you run out of metal. I like the idea of the box section, seems like that  would add a lot more strength than just plating the outside. The quarter plate might be a bit overkill, though.

 

When I found the frame rust on my '95, I knocked off the loose stuff and my uncle welded plates (I think we used 1/8") over the outside of both rails. We made the plates the full height of the frame and as long as we could get to through the wheel well (though one side stopped at the panhard bracket). When my uncle welded them on, though, he said the welder kept blowing holes in the frame rails, suggesting that the frame was thin in a lot of places that hadn't broken through yet. Then I found rust in the bottom of the driver's side frame rail, where it runs parallel to the exhaust. I suspect the bottom of both rails was compromised from the lower link mounts back. Cutting out all the cancer and rebuilding it from fresh steel wasn't possible with my skills and resources at the time. We went looking for a frame donor and instead found my current '93.

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Wow, that's not a place where you want frame rot. I would bet what you can see is only the tip of the iceberg and what's left is thin and pitted.

I'd be looking for another frame, but that's easy for me to say from here in Oz where we don't experience that sort of frame corrosion. 

 

I hope you manage to save it!

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For the 1995's I think this is a common spot for them to rot out.   This is the worst of it, but think it's also the extent of it.  It didn't look like that until I struck it with a hammer a few times.   Haven't found anywhere else yet.  

 

Frame replacement isn't an option for me - don't have the money, space, or time.    Just want to get this spot patched and then I'm going to sell it.   Figure someone will give me $1000-1500 to have a beater for hunting/snowboarding/desert running.    The junkyard is only offering $250, so screw that.  

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Yeah that photo was after a few good whacks with a 4lb/1.8kg hammer.   I'll cut out an area outside of the broken spots to make sure I contain it. 

 

Still trying to find a decent piece of scrap metal to plate it with.   I work for a manufacturing company and have been checking the scrap bins, but all the pieces so far are too small or too thin.  We also use mostly stainless, so that might be a decent option if I can find some 11ga.  Drew up a fishplate style patch in inventor, and sent it to a few metal companies in town looking for some quotes.  

 

Edit - Found a piece of 1/8" 304 Stainless that is big enough to work.  Just wondering if combining it with whatever mild steel our frames are made out of is a good idea.  Hobart sells a 309L wire they say is good for joining the two, so not sure if that's the way to go or if I should hold out for some carbon steel. 

Edited by Harbinger
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I would not use stainless. You can get strips of 1/8" plate at home depot or any metal store, last time I checked. That is what I used on mine and it held up for years until I parked the truck.

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