frame cracked around steering box

[blue bronco66]

before i took it off the road (for motor rebuild), i noticed the steering was getting sloppy.uppon further investigating my frame is cracked in 3 places right around the steering box.you can see the whole box moving when turning wheel.lol i havent heard of this happening on ebs',though i am running 40s.
any thaughts on this?

 

[Steve]

You're running 40s and haven't heard of this?

Hell, it's a common failure on EBs with much smaller tires than 40s. Time to plate the frame before you tear it completely off.

 

[blue bronco66]

thanks steve.plate all the way around?and use longer bolts?do they sell something for this?or i gotta make it

 

[Viperwolf1]

Mine cracked with 31's and a front locker. I've seen the plate kits on one of the vendor sites. I just made my own out of 3/16" plate.

 

[jsnouffer]

This might be just what you are looking for.

http://www.bcbroncos.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=140&products_id=331

 

[barnsbronco]

I just installed the B.C. kit a couple of months ago. comes with everything you need to plate the frame and it also comes with heavy duty spacers for the inside of the frame.

 

[Pedestrian]

X2 on the BC kit, I just installed it and it is beefy.

 

[Salgood]

X3 on BC's kit - on mine - looks beefy - have not tested it yet!

 

[ransil]

I made my own plate, if you make your own make sure you install spacers in the bolt holes.

 

[Socal Tom]

Use the spacers.... the frame and box will come apart if you don't
Tom

 

[Steve]

Use the spacers.... the frame and box will come apart if you don't
Tom

Not if you plate the top, bottom, inside and outside of the front of the frame rail all the way to the coil spring tower with 1/4" plate.

Now that I'm going full hydro I won't have this to worry about any more.

 

[Socal Tom]

Not if you plate the top, bottom, inside and outside of the front of the frame rail all the way to the coil spring tower with 1/4" plate.

Now that I'm going full hydro I won't have this to worry about any more.

It will still be stonger if you put the spacers in the frame. ;D With the spacers in the frame, your clamping a 2 inch? peice of solid steel. That beats two 1/4 inch plates.
Tom

 

[rsharpnm]

Been here, done this - twice! I tried a home-made plate; cracked again (35" meats, open front). Second time took it to a friend who actually WELDS as opposed to sticking metal together (my specialty).

Beefy plates and spacers inside the frame rail made everything better again.

 

[blue bronco66]

thanks fellas,guess ill get the bc kit

 

[Nightmare Bronc]

Check out the link on 73stallions steering box brace. This looks like it would help.

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153081

 

[iamfastrr]

Does the factory frame have spacers in it already?

 

[gddyap]

My '73 appears to have factory spacers. They're not tube but formed sheet. I reinforced mine with 1/2" plate on both sides after it cracked.

 

[chuck]

There is a thin U shaped spacer the steel that is poorly welded in. With the stress of big tires the U's collapse and the bolt heads are pulled through the frame by the steering box. I knock the U's out with a 3/4" water pipe and replace them with 1" OD 1/4" wall DOM to replace them and plate only the outside of the frame. Never had a box come loose after the frame kit. The hard fixes is when you let the problem go too far and the bolts pull through as mine did years ago on the Rubicon. I had to chain the box to the frame to get to the trail head. That was the easy part, the inside of the frame looked like an inverted volcano, I had to heat the whole thing up had hammer it back out from the inside then weld up all the cracks. I came up with the frame reinforcement kit from that repair because it was easy to see what was going on.

 

[blue bronco66]

well...finally got this thing installed today!i know my welds aint the prettiest,but who cares its
gonna be covered in mud anyway..the hardest part about this was getting the spacers in the
frame just right...thanks bcb for great product and service

 

[BurntOrange74]

Chuck,
should a reinforcement plate be welded to the inside of the frame? the box will hold the bolts from coming thru on the outside but nothing on the inside? on these types of failures do the bolts get pulled thru from the inside? just wondering what you think. i am about to install your kit. thanks for the advise.