[dsmag68sb]

Hi everyone,

Please see the attached jpeg, it's the rear passenger side frame rail on my 68, there's a small crack under the leaf spring bushing. Is this cause for concern and if so, is it possible to fix w/o replacing the whole rail ? There will (should) be a pretty good engine (Mexican block 347 - 420 hp maybe) twisting on the frame once it's all done so I wasn't sure.

Thanks much,

David

 

[Bad69cat]

Your best bet is to plan on replacing the bushings - and while you at it....see how much things hold together - it looks pretty crusty, I think your going to find much work will be required. Take a large pair of pliers and start squeezing the frame and associated area. You can gauge how soft it is

 

[67.5xr7]

From the photo,..I don't see a "crack". What it looks to me like is a spot of corrosion, in a very common spot for rust. Looks fairly solid,...seen worst and rail was still holding in there. Is the shackle bushing loose in the frame rail? If so, yeah the frame rail will need to be replaced. If not, and the corrosion spot is bugging you,.....well I quess you could cut out that area and weld in a patch plate. Inside that section of the rail is a reinforcement (a double layer) to carry the stress of the leaf spring at the shackle/bushing attachment. .......As long as there is some solid metal to take a weld, a patch would be a good repair.

 

[dsmag68sb]

Hi 67.5xr7 and Bad69cat,

Thanks for the input and the help, the leaf spring bushing is solid as are the sides of the frame rails, I poked at the trouble spot with a screwdriver (whoops) and didn't get too far with that, seems to be surficial for the most part, hopefully some Por15 and truck bed liner over that will suffice - thanks again. Now I need to fix some rust holes in my tail panel !

David

 

[67.5xr7]

The reason that spot always rusts is because there is a gap, between the inner reinforcement with the pilot bushing and the outer main frame rail. There is dirt and corrosion in there,....in your case, it's just starting to push through. When you're applying the bed liner product,..spread a lot of it around the pilot bushing to fill the gap,.....if you can keep the road water out of the rail, it will greatly retard the progression of the rust. I would have to look in my trunk to verify, but I believe there is a rubber plug/cap in the trunk floor, that is designed to be removed so that the frame rail can be flushed of debris with a garden hose.