The ratchet strap made a huge difference. LOL. Without the strap, the vehicle was essentially underivable and needed a tow to my friend's shop. The strap pulled the rear axle back into alignment, and I was able to drive it 15 miles back to my house. I went very slow but not because I had to. The vehicle drove and stopped pretty much like normal. With the rear axle out of alignment and moving, it didn't feels as though the jeep could be driven safely at any speed.

Jim

 

Jim, that has to be one of the most red neck fixes I ever heard of.

 

That is some bad damage! My 55 looks great a little rust but I’ve cleaned it and used some pour rust. They started using a additive on Texas roads our county uses it. It’s a liquid applies four lines on a single lane. Not suppose to cause corrosion. AJ

 

Sounds like the stuff they started spraying around here in SE Wisconsin about ten years ago. First time I saw the lines I didn't know what made them then one day I was going down the road and got behind a county truck with a big tank and huge warning sign about staying back while the truck was applying the crap on the road.

We went to an open house many years ago at the new country garage. It was a huge building filled with new dump trucks with stainless steel boxes. I asked one the guy standing around why all of the trucks had stainless steel boxes. He told me that they were going to start spreading ice thaw chemical on the roads that would eat through a mild steel box in a short time. He said if I thought the current salt and chemicals ate up our cars wait and see how this new stuff is going to eat our vehicles up.

 

Yeah, that liquid stuff can be nasty. It may be sodium chloride, calcium chloride, or magnesium chloride. None of them are metal friendly and should be washed off as soon as practical. It's super slippery, just like the ice they're trying to prevent, too. If you ever tried to get into traffic from a side street or parking lot with just a smidge too much vigor, you could find yourself wrapped around a pole.

 

when i was looking for a ford 7.3 donor truck for my Coe i saw alot of bad frames . All of them had one thing in common is they were used for snowplowing
I could not believe the rot on these frame and they were not broken in two. Look at our frames for the age the are remarkable.

 

Used to be a law on the books that made it illegal to sell a vehicle with a welded frame or engine block. in Iowa. I'm sure that is long gone now though. Krown is a big rust proofing service. I think it is the oily type and needs done every year. If I was investing $60 to 80k in a winter driven vehicle I would investigate it. My closest facility is St. Louis. They need the vehicle for 3 days is what they told me at the time, 1 day to wash, day to dry and 3rd to apply. Not possible for me to do that anymore.

 

Hey thanks for the post about the line liquid. They just started that last year brand new Ford trucks. And your right I think it was stainless. Tank was as big as a dump truck. State and county trucks. Haven’t had a hard freeze yet
. But they say stand by it’s in the future!AJ

 

Not sure they should have shown that last photo, pretty crappy on the vertical. If you want to see some lively discussion, go to welding web forum and search "frame welding". I have three farm trucks with stretched frames, all done by certified welders. Stood up to incredible abuse, (dairy farm) and never failed. Even on one that got rolled off a silage stack, twisted it big time, but the welds held.
I don't think the guys in the ad the op posted are certified welders. I would not trust that repair job.

 

How many cows do you milk Oldb? Holsteins I presume.

 

Hi Abe,
My grandfather started with around 20 cows back in the 30's, when we sold the cows in the early 90's we were milking around 275. With replacements and all we had around 1200 head. All Holsteins. Not really big enough to have the economy of scale back in the 90's and way to small in todays economy. When we sold we were just brakeing even with milk @ 13.00 per hundred weight. Today it is 20.00. Given the cost increase in every input (fuel, fertilizer, machinery, parts, labor, taxes etc. etc. ) It was probalbly a good decision to sell the cows and move on. But, except for having to be there everyday it was a great lifestyle that I look back fondly at.
B

 

B, I'm sure you do look back fondly to your dairy days. My maternal grandfather, the one I bought my 54 from, milked Ayrshires all his working life.

My brother in-law milks 2000+ cows 3 times a day. It is like a factory. 25 years ago my BIL and sister were giving a tour of the farm to my parents and my uncle and aunt. My uncle and aunt were retired dairy farmers. My aunt looked at the huge cows lying on cushioned mats eating and drinking in the cow barn. The cows never go out to pasture. She says, That's no way to treat a cow!

 

My son milks I think 180+ a day. He never pastures his cows either. My in-laws milked for 35 year, retiring about 25 year ago, my son started about 10 years ago. I personally don't see the allurer of farming. A lot of work, a little money.

 

i will be patching the frame of my brothers 00 tacoma just like the first post as we are looking for a frame but cant find one.
If you do it right it works, emphasis on IF YOU DO IT RIGHT!

 

If you can’t tell from my signature, I work at an open pit coal mine. I operate a dragline. The last one I was on had a 300’ boom, weighing around 600,000lbs. It attaches to the lower structure with two boom foot pins and is supported by overhead suspension lines. The four main cords were I beams. Not uncommon for them to crack. I found a crack 3/4 through one of the cords. That crack, as all the others was vee-d out, then wire welded, no fish plate or any re-enforcing. Those booms have compression, extension, and incredible torsional stresses, not too mention suspending a 50 ton empty bucket, 2 tons of rigging, close to 6 tons of hoist rope, and about 4 ton of drag rope. Then add 70-75 yards of dirt. The large I beams in the super structure get the same treatment. Point is, welding, if done right, is a good fix. Granted, these beams are not rusted like the frame Bob pictured