Hey all I'm wondering if you guys can help me out.. I have an 87 Bronco, but should be the same from the front seats forward as an F150. Well the front cross member where the passanger side I-beam bolts to is broken. Got a nasty crack almost 1/2 way through the cross member..

Is it part of the frame, i.e. welded, or can it be unbolted? I crawled under there and I think it's not removeable.. Trying to get other input on it.

If you're wondering how it broke, a TTB suspension with 40" boggers works wonders.

I don't want to weld it because it might just break it again.. Though I could reinforce it with some think plate and bolts, but I doubt I could ever get it to allign correctly.

I'm thinking of just buying a 87-96 F150 and moving all my lift, tires, motor,tranny over to it.. I've got to much into it to just give up..

Thanx for the input all..

Oh in case anyone is interested here is the specs on our BKO
87 frame and tub
90 doors, hood, fenders.
96 351w motor
79 C6 tranny w/ shift kit
8" Skyjacker SL with extended radius arms
3" BL
40" Super Swamper Boggers.
Stock gears.. (yea yea it sucks) but I have a 9" in the back and some 5:13's waiting to go into it. Then I just need to put the 5:13's in the front

 

The easiest fix is going to be to put a solid Dana 44 or Dana 60 in there. 40" is just too much for a TTB suspension. If you move all your stuff over to a different truck with the same TTB axle, you'll be back here in six months asking how to do a SAS.

 

you can change it. get one frome a wrecking yard. I think they are riveted in you need to cut or grind off the rivets and replace with grade 8 bolts.

 

Why replace it? So he can break it again?

 

why put a lift kit in in the first place you can only expect this kind of problams. but he likes the way it looks and made that trade off and there is a big deferance in the money he is going to need to spend for one thing.

 

You don't have to expect these kinds of problems if you do it right. Hence the solid axle swap - which is the only way to get rid of the possibility of this happening again.

 

Mine is welded with a reinforced scab over crack. Get a good welder and be done with it. 40s are a little big for TTB. Is Your center drop bracket a Skyjacker peice? They dont get any better than that, you may be just pushing the envolope too hard.

 

Yea I know a solid axle is the way to go.. Alas I'm about at the height limit that California allows.. We've already been pulled over and ticketed a couple times for it but have fought them both and won.. I'm not sure if I want it higher..

It was cracked when we bought it.. The PO dumped it into a ditch.. Hard enough where it broke the radius arm.. I had it welded up, but it re-broke again...

We mainly have it for mud bogs.. So actually the ttb will handle the 40's. It's not a big rock crawler...

 

I'm also going to do a sas this summer, and i was just wondering if there are motor mounts for the 302 to get rid of the crossmember in front. If i got rid of it, i was thinking it would be easier to remove the oil pan and more room for axle parts. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

You could run a solid plate mount, bolts to the front of block eliminating motor mounts.