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I have a 2020 F250 lariat 6.7 long bed. Just curious as to what this is under the driver side of my bed. It looks to be a mounting bracket or something and previous owner may have used it. It looks like it can be easily removed, but it’s not bothering me and I’m just curious as to what it is. Anyone know?
IIRC every truck gets one of those brackets. What it is actually for I don't know, but it certainly does look like the previous owner had something bolted to it on yours.
Actually, it’s there to protect the fuel tank from side impact. Has nothing to do with assembly. Some folks will notice rust around the holes while others (like mine) are clean. This question comes up every now and then.
IIRC every truck gets one of those brackets. What it is actually for I don't know, but it certainly does look like the previous owner had something bolted to it on yours.
Mine looks just like that, as if something was mounted to the empty holes, but I am the original owner and the holes have never been used.
Do you really think that Ford would put those 2 extra holes in there just to do it..............they have to be there for a reason.
The two holes are used during the manufacture of the plate, called tooling holes, in this case they would align/locate the part in the part’s inspection gage (check fixture) to confirm part quality after stamping. The round hole is the B-datum (4-way locator) and the oval hole is a 2-way locator, C-datum. A-Datum would be the surface contacting the truck’s frame. You are right, Ford would not spend 1 penny more in tooling $ than they need to.
Example of typical sheet metal small part inspection gage.
The two holes are used during the manufacture of the plate, called tooling holes, in this case they would align/locate the part in the part’s inspection gage (check fixture) to confirm part quality after stamping. The round hole is the B-datum (4-way locator) and the oval hole is a 2-way locator, C-datum. A-Datum would be the surface contacting the truck’s frame. You are right, Ford would not spend 1 penny more in tooling $ than they need to.
Example of typical sheet metal small part inspection gage.
Oooooo somebody went all engineering/quality inspection on us. Love it.
I troubleshoot and program the stamping presses, automated controls, and robots that build FORD frames. Most of what we build goes to Kansas City for F-150, though the Expedition frames go to KTP.
I was the controls engineering support for the Lightning frames. Now I cover three buildings on night shift. I would say this bracket serves a dual purpose for transport/manufacturing and fuel tank protection. Just my two cents.
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