Need advice, on my "Surprise!"

[cfan10]

Lately, I’ve been feeling like I should be calling this truck Gomer Pile, “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise” lol

Yesterday, I was trying to follow the orange wire from the fuel pump relay, and found the frame is cracked around the rear passenger side shock mount. I was only trying to find stray wires around the tank. The damn thing quit on me the other night, right across from the part store. Bought a new fuel pump relay, installed and still nothing so I called someone and they told me to run a wire from the orange wire on the relay connector to the battery and it started right up, but I have to turn the ignition switch hard. And not to mention it is killing my new battery, I’ve had to charge it twice already.
Any idea what this could be or where I could chase this wire down to see what’s going on? Because it is not getting power on its own.

1990 suburban 1500
350 tbi/700 r4
As always thanks in advance for all advice.

[68Timber]

That looks like somebody Bo Duke'd it.

[Blessed66]

I'm no guru, but I imagine a hammer and a welder are in your future. Maybe adding additional bracing, for good measure?

[hatzie]

That's been airborne more than once.

[cadillac_al]

Unless the shocks are just too long or the bump stops are gone.

[Matt Man]

I would get that fixed asap.... I hope you can weld, or know someone that can.

[Jake Wade]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

That looks like somebody Bo Duke'd it.

That's funny right there

[cheap]

That's one serious crack, straighten, weld, and reinforce that asap!

[homemade87]

I have never seen that type of damage on a square . That is unusual . You may have a shock that is seizing up or frozen and putting undo stress on the frame . I would not drive it any until you get that repaired and some new shocks .

[cfan10]

Scared the ish out of me when I saw that. Trying to get a welder out to look at it is an uphill battle. Roughly how much could this end up costing? Thanks guys.

[68Timber]

I'm no welder but I see a lot more prep there than actual welding. Those are gas lines under the split, aren't they?

[hatzie]

Fuel, Vapor, Fuel-Return, and Brake lines probably. Those will need to be removed along with the shock and the frame bent back to some approximation of its' original shape.

[homemade87]

I think there is enough distance between the lines and the crack you could get by with wrapping them with a heat shield to protect them . Just loosen the straps and pull them away from the frame some and wrap it . I think at the very least you will have to remove the bed to have proper access .

It looks like the part the shock is attached to is bent up and will need to be bent back down and welded . Best I can tell it looks like the lower part of the frame is not bent , just the shock mount pushed up . If the bed still looks like it lines up than this is most likely the case .

To get a proper weld all the crack areas all the way around will have to be ground down to create a fill weld to penetrate enough to make a permanent fix . Do not let anyone do a surface weld . It will not hold and you will be doing it again at some point .

Hope things work out .

[hatzie]

Fiberglass covering Kaowool ceramic fiber refractory blanket wrapped around the lines would keep em safe. I'd go at least a foot in both directions from the weld area.

It's a Suburban. That's going to be nasty if the body tub has to be lifted off to bend it back...

[homemade87]

I forgot about it being a Burb . Yea , that would be a task . It is possible to fix from the bottom if on a lift with the proper tools . Will not be able to weld the top so care would have to be taken care of for the weld to penetrate all the way to the other side . A good welder knows how to do it .

Not an impossible task , just a tedious one with the right equipment .

[Axle]

If you can't find somebody to weld it local, get outside the city and look for a regular repair shop (aka service garage) in the middle of farming country. Many are accustomed to doing fixes like this and it won't make them blink twice.

Frozen shock possibility aside, this is also an extreme example of why not to run heavy duty shocks. I used to get my shock mounts pounded out all the time until I went back to regular shocks.

Alex.

[cfan10]

Don't know how to post photo from one thread to another...I started a new post in search of a welder

[68Timber]

I'm all for learning to do it yourself. Do you know somebody that can weld that will help you and make sure it's done right if you buy a welder and all the gear? If the answer is no, I believe you could get it fixed by a pro for cheaper than you could buy all that stuff. Then buy the welder and gear later, and learn on something less important than your frame.

[cfan10]

Finally found a frame and bodyshop, emailed photos and he said I'm looking at $500-$600 is that a fair price and what gage metal should I request to reinforce that area? Thanks.

[cadillac_al]

I would have guessed around $500. Since it is a 'burb rather than a truck with the box removed, everything will take twice as long. I could see a job like that taking me all day. A good shop with all the right tools would probably be half a day. Most places charge more than $50 nowadays so I could see shops charging $100/hr x 5 = $500.