Steering Box....Stress Cracks!!

[eightbanger]

I did mention this in another thread but here's the full story for future reference.
When I was under my Truck checking on an unrelated problem I noticed a small crack between the bumper bracket mounting and one of the S/B mounting holes.



Round the back was not looking too sharp either at the top mounting hole.



Then I took a vid to see what might be going on down there, the S/B is tearing itself loose.

YouTube- MOV07829

Time to strip it down and clean off for a better look.







After some BFH treatment to knock the two sections either side of the main crack back inline with each other I had a friend do some welding, I didn't grind it down as I figured I wante as much metal on those cracks as possible...and it would not really be seen.



As a precaution I added a plate on the back which then needed longer bolts to fit the S/B due to the extra thickness and the original concave mounting points on the frame would now be covered.

[Tkmadone]

Good catch and nice repair. Did you anneal the metal after welding?

[vectorit]

WOW! good thing you caught that when you did!

Good job on the repair. I hope that's the last time you have to worry about that area.

I myself have never seen that on our trucks happen before. Must be all those round-a-bouts you have to do in your country!

[eightbanger]

Originally Posted by Tkmadone

Good catch and nice repair. Did you anneal the metal after welding?

Afraid to say we didn't... limited knowledge is a bad thing.

[eightbanger]

[QUOTE=vectorit;4100393

I myself have never seen that on our trucks happen before. Must be all those round-a-bouts you have to do in your country! [/QUOTE]

Ain't that the truth...

[cleszkie]

My 72 Blazer 4x4 has a factory installed steering gear reinforcing plate similar to what you fabbed up. I guess the GM engineers recognized the problem on the 4x4s, but didn't follow through on the 2 wheel drive units.

[68 TT]

Good catch on that one. I had an SS 454 Chevelle do something similar and also between the lower A-arm mount points. I ended up putting another frame in it out of a six cylinder car for fear of all the stress cracks I didn't find.

I am considering boxing the frame in that area and welding a thick wall tube sleeve into each mount bolt location to transfer the force through both surfaces on my 67 4x4 project.

Some diagonal braces back to the engine crossmember might not be a bad idea either. The third gen F-body guys do this all the time to limit the steering flex in their front ends.

[longhorn70gmc]

Great job on your find and repair. I commend you on the drill stopping the cracks; it is a great tool for preventing further damage until the actual repair starts. I am happy for you and it looks great. It looks like the repairs we do on the F/A-18 Hornets out here when damage occurs. Happy driving and enjoy the ride.

[68gmsee]

I went and checked mine just in case. I can just picture going 70 miles an hour and losing the steering. That would catastrophic.

Great job and the only thing I would do different is to but a few beads of weld on that metal brace for added protection.

[eightbanger]

Thanks for your comments guys, I do appreciate it.

I'll be keeping a close eye on it though from now on.

[eightbanger]

Here's a great kit that's been recommended to me, it's been specifically designed to strengthen this problem area in our Trucks.....Putting it on my Christmas list.

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringkit.htm