Reamer - No problem. You scared me, but not for nothing. By you mentioning it I was prepared. Sorta.

Jim - You think that moving the sector box 1/8" or 3/16" in will change the geometry enough to cause a problem? It seems so simple to put a 1 1/2" wide strap between the bottom two ears and have it go beyond the holes a ways. Then make a washer for the top hole and all would line up. But, I am seeking advice for how to do it well, not my way or the easy way.

As for the sleeves, there are already some there. Are you suggesting I drill them out and install larger ones?

 

How well are they attached to each side?
Maybe you could just do a full penetration weld around each one.

If one side is flexing, the other is too.
It just hasn't failed yet.

 

Jim - Turns out they aren't tubes, but bent pieces of plate/sheet that space the sides of the frame. I guess I could drill and put tubes in, but see below....

Here's the lower crack ground out:




Here's the upper crack ground out:




And here's the "finished" product:




I put "finished" in quotes as after I saw the picture on the big screen I realized I may not be finished. But I just went back and used the flap wheel on it and the two marks I see in the picture came out.

So, am I done with that? And, if so, why not plate the inside?

 

Your welding's getting better Gary!

Plate what you want.
There a number of threads about cracked frames and how they've been repaired.

 

I did surprise myself on the welding. The welder was set perfectly and it just laid down nicely. But, flap wheels can pretty anything up.

I'll do some searching on how others have fixed cracked frames.

 

The old 'bead eraser' can make almost anything look professional.

I'm glad I was able to stock up last fall.

 

Yep. I call them mistake eradicators and when I'm welding I use a lot of them. But today it was hard to get into the curves so I also used the die grinder.

 

Ohhh I like the idea of a load spreading bush or sleeve through there, nice one Jim

Gary, once you strip the paint back and find the actual end of that progressing crack, make sure you stop drill it with at least a 5/32 hole. Then grind out the crack and weld it up, leaving the hole open. That will dissipate the residual stress in that area.

 

Too late Brad. See above.

As for the sleeve, one issue is getting the size of the hole needed for the sleeve all the way through both sides. There's no access from the inside on the bottom hole, so it would have to come all the way through from the outside. Let's assume I find some heavy-walled tubing of 1" OD and a nice ID fit for the 7/16" bolts. I will have to drill a 1" hole through both sides - and I don't think I have a 1" bit.

So, how about a piece of angle used instead of the strap? I will have to look tomorrow, but if the flange were just below the ear it might fit. And, I could taper it on the back end so that it would have some flex and not create a hard spot. Thoughts?

And, by the way, I'm searching the forum for other fixes, so may be back with other ideas.

 

Use a hole saw with a piloting pin instead of a centering bit.
1" seems awfully thick.
You only need 1/8 - 3/16 wall.

Go through everything, weld all around.

I would stay away from any lips or flanges.

 

Ok folks, please tell me what you think of this plan. PLEASE! ASAP as I am going to start shaping the piece to fit.

Jim - I know you said no lips or flanges, but....

Jim/Brad - This looks both easier AND stronger than the sleeve as a sleeve keeps the force in the same plane.

In the picture below you can see a piece of light angle that I've drilled to sorta fit. As you can see in the last picture the steering box fits it nicely. The plan is to grind/cut it so it fits flush and weld it all around - including where the yellow and red arrows are. That will not only bridge the spot I welded so it won't crack there again but, more importantly, it will transfer the force to the lip that is at right angles to it via the weld at the red arrow.

If you agree with that approach then there's the question of thickness of the metal. The piece of the frame the box bolts to is 10 ga, meaning .140" thick. The light piece I'm playing with is 13 ga, or .090". Is that thick enough? I have heavier stuff, but this would be easy.

Again, thought PLEASE.

 

(Hmmm, no replies. Does that mean everyone is busy? Or tired of my questions as they don't think I'm listening?)

Well, continuing on, here's the "finished" piece, meaning this piece fits. It is soft enough that I was able to shape it to fit the frame and I can weld it all the way around. So the question now, assuming there aren't serious complications with what I'm doing, is how thick the piece should be. Is this one good enough since the force is now going to go down the horizontal part of the angle and into the lip of the frame?

 

That looks pretty good, Gary.

There's a couple of things I would do.

If the new bracket has good contact back against the original plate (i.e. no gaps between) I would drill a few 3/8" holes in it, then clamp it in place & plug weld through to the rear plate. This will stop any flexing & also spread stress away from the edge welds.

I would also just stitch weld around the outside rather than fully weld, to reduce the possibility of cracks starting/travelling.

And as Jim said, I would be sure to stay 1/4" away from the plate edge on the bottom flange, with that weld, or another crack is likely to begin.

 

Ken - Thanks. I can get a couple of plug welds between the two mounting holes as that area is flat. And, by using the bolts with some nut it should be held against the other piece, although I can put a C-clamp on it.

But, when you say stay 1/4" away from the plate edge, are you talking about the edge to the left of the red arrow above?

And, would you go with the soft .090" stuff shown or go with something heavier? I have regular angle in 1/8", which would be essentially the same as the existing plate.

 

Yes, the edge of the original plate, left of that arrow.

If you can work with the 1/8" angle, I'd use it Gary.

Good luck - gotta run