Hey everyone I was wondering if yall have had this happen and wut was done to fix it. I thought of welding in a piece of 1/8" steel on both sides of the frame rail and bolt back up.its a 78 f150 4x4 300L6 4sp quad shock front suspension. Any pics or suggestions are welcomed.

 

So what else is new? This is a common problem that has affected all 1973/79 F100/350 steering gearboxes since day one.

The original bolts were too short, nuts weren't the locking type, worked loose. Gearbox began to wobble, wasn't too long before the frame cracked.

Circa 1978: Ford came out with longer grade 8 bolts and special self locking nuts. Dealer "fixum" = weld frame crack, weld pieces of steel over crack, install longer bolts and self locking nuts.

 

1/8-inch steel is too flimsy given the stresses of the steering system. Go with at least 3/16-inch plate or better yet a 3/16" or 1/4" C-channel for that entire section or box and then sleeve the frame with 1/2-inch pipe to spread the load even more.