Was under the Bronco today looking around, and noticed that the rear crossmember, the one closest to the rear bumper has rusted out in a couple of areas, leaving some ugly holes. Has anyone ever replaced a crossmember before, can they be purchased, or must they be fabricated?

-Matt

 

if it were me i would probably fabricate my own as it wouldn,t be to hard don,t think you can buy them new could get one from a yad cut the rivets and all that good stuff while tight on space back there easiest to build your own.

 

Do you know what gauge metal would have to be used? Im thinking that it would have to be cut out entirely...I didnt see any rivets. Would a metal fabrication shop be able to make one for a decent amount of money if I supplied an accurate diagram with all the correct dimensions, or would it be possible to buy a sheet of metal, and bang it out myself then weld it to the floor....either way the gas tank has to come out to do it. What a pain.

-Matt

 

let me be sure here when u say crossmember u talking about thin strip acrosss the back rail to rail right if so just run it by a welding shop they will give u a quote then check out a yard and determine what would suit you better or just weld a piece in from rail to rail yourself

 

Yes, it is the u shaped strip that runs across the back of the truck inbetween the floor and frame. The there are 2 holes cut into them for the rear body mount bolts to run through. Would anyone know what gauge sheetmetal it is made of?

-Matt

 

A good guess would be around 18 gauge sheetmetal. I've been working on my 82 F100, and alot the sheetmetal i've replaced so far has been 18 gauge. Plus if you plan on fabricating up a replacement 18 would be plenty strong once you bend it up. Anything more than 18 gauge would be harder to bend with normal hand tools. I have the same U shaped cross members under the bed of my truck and the are the same as a bronco would have. Good luck