In my efforts to restore the underside, i have been working on DS front wheel well area and came across something that caught my eye.

It almost seems as though the frame from about just after the rear front spring shackle mount forward, is a separate piece from the rest of the frame towards the back? There seems to be a weld in this area, along with multiple bolts on either side?

I recently bought a parts list for the X off ebay and i was going through it just now because of this find and came across the frame (As one solid piece) as well as, lo and behold, a separate piece aptly called "Frame, front repair"? Right away, i am starting to think that my X that i bought in Dec. was in an accident.....

The thing is, there is absolutely no sign whatsoever that this is the case. There are no overspray of paint, everything has the same "aging" level, the bolts, the mounts, components, nothing shows sign that this X was in an accident. When i bought it, i ran the VIN through OASIS as well as CARFAX and no accidents came up. One would think that if there was an accident that needed a new partial frame, the accident would have been significant and costly = claim through insurance / police report = would show up on OASIS or CARFAX..

Is it possible that Xcursions in 2000 came with frames as two pieces?

Cheers,

 

Gecko5, I'm here to assure you that your Excursion has never been in a wreck. Ford made the frames like this so that if it were to ever be wrecked it could be easily repaired. Heres a quote from Ford regarding the 2 piece frame rail. "A two-piece frame rail accepts a complete front-end replacement module for easier repair."

Hope this helps.

 

actually thats a good point. The only part of the frame that the X shares with the SD is that front part.

 

Fantastic

Thanks for the info!


Cheers,

 

it's real easy to tell if the front frame section has ever been replaced,behind the front suspension there is a seam seperating the front and rear halves of the frame if there are rivets holding the two halves together it was never replaced if it's bolted it has been replaced.I have replaced several of these frame sections on superdutys and everyone was riveted from the factory.