trans crossmember

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Jan 28, 2008 | 07:26 PM

reg1952

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Senior User

Joined: Nov 2007

Posts: 494

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From: Guelph

trans crossmember

Hi everyone. Getting closer to having my MII IFS installed. Was looking at trans crossmember and was wondering about being able to get trans out the bottom after its all back together. I never looked very close when taking apart. (Took engine and trans out top with cab off frame) I am running a 302 with a c4 trans. I was maybe thinking of splitting crossmember and bolting it back together so it could be seperated later if trans needed to come back out. Anyone else have same setup? Thanks

Jan 28, 2008 | 07:58 PM

jniolon

old and in the way

Joined: Jul 1997

Posts: 5,918

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From: Lovely Hueytown Alabama

Reg.

all you need do is fab up a bolt in crossmember that bolts in under the frame. I did that with my 460/c6. Here's a article on what I did.

crossmember article

later
john

Jan 28, 2008 | 08:23 PM

winfordr

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Joined: Jan 2001

Posts: 1,124

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From: Rural Florida Panhandle

My 54 has a 5.0 with c4. I bought a crossmember ready-made and I think is was less than $100, but I'll have to dig up my paperwork to know for sure. That was about 8 years ago. I too installed engine and trans from the top with the cab off.
Now I want to upgrade to an AOD so I guess I have to finally cut out the original crossmember which is under the middle of the trans. I like having it in there because of the added support. Also it is attached at both the top and bottom of the frame. I don't know how hard it would be to fabricate a new one which has that type of connections.

Jan 28, 2008 | 08:39 PM

ALBUQ F-1

Fleet Owner

Joined: Jul 2004

Posts: 27,288

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From: NM

Quote:

Originally Posted by winfordr

... I like having it in there because of the added support. Also it is attached at both the top and bottom of the frame. I don't know how hard it would be to fabricate a new one which has that type of connections.

Not so sure how the mid-50's are, but Bonus Built trucks are completely designed around that part of the frame being very rigid. The front cab mounts are right there and virtually rigid. The further away from the c'member you go, the more flex is designed into the body and frame.

A good alternative on Bonus Builts is to use the F-2 crossmember, which is cut away for the larger stock trannies. In other respects it is as strong as the F-1 crossmember, and you could retain the stock M/C with minor mods. There was a thread about this a month or so ago. I think Havi posted a pic of the F-2 c'member.

Jan 29, 2008 | 06:16 PM

rhopper

Fleet Mechanic

Joined: Mar 2005

Posts: 1,511

Likes: 1

From: peyton, colorado

My F1 is a bare frame right now, and I just built two crossmembers. The standard tranny crossmember was hacked out about six inches from the frame when I got it, and the frame was noticably flexy. If you stepped on a running board bracket, you could watch the frame twist. Fabbing and installing a tranny crossmember, similar to the one John has, made a minor improvement. But that crossmember was at the rear of the trans, and only bolted to the bottom of the frame. I fabbed another bolt in crossmember, and attached it to the bottom of the hacked off remains of the original. That made all the difference! So I now have two crossmembers, one for the tranny mount, and one to support the frame. Both are made from 1 1/2 square tubing, and bolt in to make tranny removal easy.

Jan 29, 2008 | 08:34 PM

49willard

Cargo Master

Joined: Apr 2005

Posts: 3,337

Likes: 165

From: Harpswell Maine

I have a similar situation to Rusty and will second his comment that the frame is too flexible without crossmember (s) that create a cross frame box structure such as the original crossmember. In my case I moved the original trans crossmember back just behind the AOD and added a new trans support crossmember bolted on the bottom rail only of the frame. This maintained accdeptable conditions. As a side benefit it serves as a "safety loop" in the unlikely event of total failure of the forward U joint. As an added note I had also boxed the frame from just behind the front cab mounts forward to the front crossmember to enhance conditions for the Jag IFS.

Last edited by 49willard; Jan 29, 2008 at 08:38 PM.

Jan 30, 2008 | 12:07 PM

gdub

Senior User

Joined: Feb 2001

Posts: 364

Likes: 1

From: Texas Panhandle

There's a 3D rendering of the crossmember I built for my 51 in my supercab process gallery. It ties everything together nicely and pretty well eliminates the frame flex.

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Jan 30, 2008 | 10:19 PM

havi

I'll have the Roast Duck

Joined: Jul 2002

Posts: 9,622

Likes: 109

From: Northshore, MN

IMO, locate the MII setup first. This will eliminate any guesswork about how the engine will mount. Then set the engine in, mount the C4 tranny, locate the CL mounting location to the frame. This will give a spot to build your crossmember. My guess is the C4 mount will be aft of the stock location. In my '48 F1, I'm using the stock front suspension, so the engine will mount to the frame itself. By locating the T18 man. tran. on top of the stock crossmember, I was able to see where the engine lined up. I was satisfied with where it was. I have thought about making my own engine perches, or go with the CPP tubular, but that would look out of place with the rest of the frame's layout. They also sell a tubular crossmember for the tranny, too.

Of course, now that I bought a second truck, I may either go with a custom frame altogether, or graft in an IFS, not sure which, yet.