Hello all - this is my first time posting on this forum, but I've been here plenty of times in the past when doing repairs on my truck (so thanks!).


Right now I have a 95 F150 XLT 351 ci 4WD Auto, and recently discovered that the frame is cracked in 2 places near the steering box (see photo). Having read up on this, I found that it is a common problem on F150's from this era.


The frame rail on the driver's side twists/flexes severely if you turn the steering wheel while the truck is parked. Is it advisable to simply weld the frame in this location, add some plates for reinforcement, and perhaps a gusset plate for additional support? Or would replacing the cross member be a better option? (And how much work is involved with that?) I have not removed the steering box, but I assume that at least one of the mounting bolts will also need to be replaced.


Right now I'm just weighing my options on whether I should attempt a repair, or just cut my losses and sell the truck/part it out. It has relatively low mileage (120k), but a lot of rust in the undercarriage. I replaced the shocks, springs, and upper spring mounts in the front a few months ago, and front brakes and rotors a few months before that. After the suspension replacement, I noticed that the camber on the front wheels was more positive than it was previously, so I'm not sure if that contributed to the issue. Even before I did the work on the front end suspension, I noticed that the bumper was slightly lower on the driver's side, but hadn't thought much of it.


Thanks for any help or advice.

 

I've fixed many of the f1fiddys, some not as bad as yours....some where the engine crossmember was hanging on by a thread.

From the pics, it looks like your x member is separated substantially. The right thing to do is pull the engine and steering box, then weld all the cracks that you can access, then plate the entire area connecting the bottom part of the x member to the frame as well as any other obvious stress areas. It is likely that you have cracks on top of the x member as well, I've never seen one as bad as yours that didn't. Those are the cracks you'll need to pull the engine for.

You may need to beast the frame back into place with beefy ratchet straps and maybe a jack on the crossmember.