<DRS>GPF
11-24-2007, 08:31 AM
Originally Posted by some toolshed
The previous section of frame was so rusted through it was dangerous to drive on. It contained huge holes and both the shock mounts and rear leaf spring hangers had either rusted free or would do so on the next large bump. I was advised to find another toyota frame and weld on a new rear section, but between not feeling confident in my welding and not wanting an additional ty truck in my driveway, I took a less conventional approach. Up at my local public works shop I found an abundance of scrap sign post (galvanized!) from when they cut posts to length (instead of purchasing 8 foot posts they purchase 10 foot posts and lob off 2 feet -thats government work for you). They came in two different widths, and one width was the EXACT interior dimension of the truck frame. From there I hammered post down the tube, shimmed it in place with wedges I made from taking a wall off of a sign post, and bolted it onto the frame. From this I was able to stagger sign post into the same curvature of the previous frame. I bolted the sign posts metal to metal on the insides of the tubes on interval, and when finished, through bolted top to bottom on interval. No nut went on w/out a lock washer. I also plated the inside w/ scrap aluminum to keep the pieces from shifting. For the cross bracing I used pressure treated wood. I felt this was alright since it would primarily be subjected to horizontal stress and not have to support any weight, it also allowed for ease of lag screwing on a gas tank hanger. The front leaf spring hanger bolted easily onto the sign post. My old rear leaf spring hangers were rusted useless so I made new ones out of a shot of sign post, a bolt, and some self lubricating board. The brake lines I never actually disconnected throughout the whole project and worked around them, and screwed the box back to the frame when I was finished. I had to do some work with the fuel sending unit, but I won't go into detail on that w/out supporting pictures. Once I took it off blocks I was working on, I could not believe how strong it felt. Ten times better than the old frame, and just as good as any ordinary frame.
I have many more pictures showing the details of the operation but am limited to three. Can I reply w/ more?
Oh yeah, and I am posting this after I have successfully driven 5,000 miles on my truck since the "operation" w/out mishap. Except for a blown fuel line, but that was completely my fault and independent of the frame repair.
http://www.yotatech.com/f116/sign-post-truck-frame-repair-130271/
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2812/truck11truck1uu1.jpg
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/496/truck16truck2lf8.jpg
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/9409/truck18truck3nj3.jpg
truly exceptional afro-engineering.. a real work of ingenuity..
The previous section of frame was so rusted through it was dangerous to drive on. It contained huge holes and both the shock mounts and rear leaf spring hangers had either rusted free or would do so on the next large bump. I was advised to find another toyota frame and weld on a new rear section, but between not feeling confident in my welding and not wanting an additional ty truck in my driveway, I took a less conventional approach. Up at my local public works shop I found an abundance of scrap sign post (galvanized!) from when they cut posts to length (instead of purchasing 8 foot posts they purchase 10 foot posts and lob off 2 feet -thats government work for you). They came in two different widths, and one width was the EXACT interior dimension of the truck frame. From there I hammered post down the tube, shimmed it in place with wedges I made from taking a wall off of a sign post, and bolted it onto the frame. From this I was able to stagger sign post into the same curvature of the previous frame. I bolted the sign posts metal to metal on the insides of the tubes on interval, and when finished, through bolted top to bottom on interval. No nut went on w/out a lock washer. I also plated the inside w/ scrap aluminum to keep the pieces from shifting. For the cross bracing I used pressure treated wood. I felt this was alright since it would primarily be subjected to horizontal stress and not have to support any weight, it also allowed for ease of lag screwing on a gas tank hanger. The front leaf spring hanger bolted easily onto the sign post. My old rear leaf spring hangers were rusted useless so I made new ones out of a shot of sign post, a bolt, and some self lubricating board. The brake lines I never actually disconnected throughout the whole project and worked around them, and screwed the box back to the frame when I was finished. I had to do some work with the fuel sending unit, but I won't go into detail on that w/out supporting pictures. Once I took it off blocks I was working on, I could not believe how strong it felt. Ten times better than the old frame, and just as good as any ordinary frame.
I have many more pictures showing the details of the operation but am limited to three. Can I reply w/ more?
Oh yeah, and I am posting this after I have successfully driven 5,000 miles on my truck since the "operation" w/out mishap. Except for a blown fuel line, but that was completely my fault and independent of the frame repair.
http://www.yotatech.com/f116/sign-post-truck-frame-repair-130271/
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2812/truck11truck1uu1.jpg
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/496/truck16truck2lf8.jpg
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/9409/truck18truck3nj3.jpg
truly exceptional afro-engineering.. a real work of ingenuity..