When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Is that bracket HSS? (High strength steel) You weld on it and it's no longer HSS - it's weaker. Still it's what I would do in this situation and keep a close eye on it here after.
I understand why many shops would walk away from this. Ask a Ford dealership, and would they say "new frame?"
You can weld on almost all passenger truck frames, there's nothing special about the steel. When you get into the bigger commercial/ cab and chassis trucks the frames are usually heat treated and generally shouldn't be welded on EXCEPT where the manufacturer says it's ok and you follow any specific procedures they have. If any shop told you that you need a new frame to fix this you better just leave and never deal with them again.
I'm not sure I understand the issue you're stating.
Is it a B&W hitch issue or is it the factory under bed mounting bracket for the hitch. If it's the factory under bed mounting what does B&W have to do with it, don't their hitches just drop into the mounting cups.
I ask because I'm planning on buying the B&W 5th wheel hitch and ordered the truck with the 5th /goose prep.
The factory 5th wheel / gooseneck mount hitch plate does not interfere with the shock mounting bolts. The B&W unit interferes, as you can see in the OP photos. This is what the shock mounts look like on a truck with the factory 5th / goose prep. As you can see there is plenty of clearance because the plate is on the other side of the bed support rail.
I'm not sure I understand the issue you're stating.
Is it a B&W hitch issue or is it the factory under bed mounting bracket for the hitch. If it's the factory under bed mounting what does B&W have to do with it, don't their hitches just drop into the mounting cups.
I ask because I'm planning on buying the B&W 5th wheel hitch and ordered the truck with the 5th /goose prep.
The B&W hitch when installed blocks the passenger rear shock from being removed unless you disassemble the B&W hitch on the under side of the truck. B&W is aware of the problem and offers a sheet to explain how to disassemble the hitch. My issue is, I cant imagine what that may be like if you live in an area that uses salt or if the bolts over time somewhat seize. This is assuming that you do not have the factory hitch prep and are installing the B&W turn over ball hitch. In the original picture you can see how the bracket interferes with the removal of the shock.
that picture looks like you have a gooseneck/fifth wheel hitch installed and it looks like someone tried to remove the shock and couldn’t because of the hitch so they cut the stud with a sawzall thinking it was a replaceable bolt.
if so you may need to remove the hitch portion and weld in a new bolt or maybe the stud cut off a junkyard donor truck
or google shock mounting stud, there are lots to choose from
welding there should not weaken the frame at all, but drilling it and thru bolting would also work, just make sure to use washers and lock nuts and don’t crush the shock bushing too tight.
I think I’ll go this route and thank you for the link it’s greatly appreciated. I’m no welder so I’ll try and steer away from that.
also thanks to everyone for voicing there opinion here it’s greatly appreciated.
That is a B&W fifth wheel hitch. Terrible design, who would build a product that requires the hitch to be disassembled to install or remove a shock. The dealer installed the same hitch on my truck then a week later I went to install my fox shocks and discovered the same issue you have. I opted to drill the stud out and replace it with a grade 8 shock bolt. Fox sent me a steel bushing for the shock and it bolted up perfectly. I will never have an issue and I won’t need to disassemble a hitch that may or may not come apart after a few years. In hind sight I would buy the Ford hitch not the B&W.
do you by chance remember where you bought your bolt? And did I’ve got bilstein shocks with the rubber bushing, would the fox steel bushing be able to be placed into that or it only built for fox shocks? Thank you very much
Google search "Shock Mounting Stud" and you'll find tons of them that look just like the stud sticking out from that frame bracket.
Cut and drill the old one out, install one of the new ones you find. I would have it welded in by a competent welder, not just bolted in. https://www.google.com/search?q=shoc...client=gws-wiz
2017 f350 drw fx4.
top stud for the rear shock broke. I thought it would be a simple bolt to replace found out from ford it’s part of the frame. Really at a lost here. Spoke to a shop and he said if he put a regular bolt through it that eventually it would wallo out the bracket. And said he’s too scared to weld something new to it cause it might weaken the frame. Anyone else ever had this occur any suggestions is greatly appreciated.
Picture I found online of what it looks like without the shock on it.
Surprised no one has mentioned the what appears to be 12 gauge romex holding the shock on the post.
It is hard to anticipate or discover every possible short cut that a previous owner has taken, or that was taken by a previous installer unbeknownst to the previous owner.
@Jorgem2 nailed the root cause of the short cut taken in this instance.
Surprised no one has mentioned the what appears to be 12 gauge romex holding the shock on the post.
Well, we at least know the hack hitch job was done in early 2022 per the 12-2 Romex.
I agree with the other poster, I think whoever put the hitch in cut the bolt off. I don't see any shock shearing off that bolt. That guy would need a good hiding place if this was my truck.
Rather, it was whoever put the aftermarket shock on.
The B&W hitch was in the way of the OEM shock removal.
Clearly the shock bolt was cut off with a reciprocating saw AFTER the B&W hitch was already installed, because we see the witness marks of the cutting action on the B&W cross rail (creating a stress riser / weak point on that cross rail that supports the hitch).
The shock mount is not in the way of the B&W hitch installation. Instead, the B&W hitch installation is in the way of the removal and replacement of that rear shock. The shock shown by the OP is an aftermarket shock, which suggests that the shock mount stud was cut to remove the OEM shock, as the B&W hitch interfered with pulling the OEM shock off of the stud.
I have read, but have not confirmed, that B&W has since changed the design of their cross rails for this application, to avoid this all too commonly reported problem.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalytic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
