I'm buying a 1989 F-150 stepside reg cab. Has 302, 5 speed, 6" lift with 35" tires.

The current owner did a front end conversion to the 1993 fenders/hood/headlights. Looks pretty sharp for 20 yrs old.



Right infront of the Power steering on the drivers side, there is a 4" crack in the frame. Only on one side, not all the way through.



Just wondering how hard this would be to fix?Normally I'd be scared off from this purchase. But...
any ideas? is my plan stupid?


Thanks.

 

not the best, but this is what I'm working with. Sorry, no pictures of the crack

 

I believe that some others have had this problem. The gearbox stress causes the frame to crack near the steering box, usually caused from offroading.

Make dang sure there isnt anymore cracks along the frame, but I dont see a problem in welding plates on the frame.

 

Personally I'd run a bead on both sides of the crack and grind off the excess.

I wanna know where that front bumper came from! I WANT IT!!

 

I would say it should be good if you weld it up and bolt the 1/4" plate up on each side. The price of the truck is right, so I would probably buy it, make your repair and see what happens. This truck will probably have some problems, as it has obviously been driven hard, but if its not going to be your only ride it will most likely be alright.

 

thanks. this will be my weekend warriar. I have a 06 FX4 for my Daily Driver. I've been looking for something cheap to wheel and just got lucky today...except for the crack anyways.

it only needs to make it about 20 miles to the wheeling spot, go wheeling and then 20 miles back home...and my 06 can get anywhere the 89 can go, so retrieval wouldn't be a problem


I think the bumper is one of those that you find on the 96 F-150's...you know, the ones that were used on the F-250/350 diesel and somehow ended up on the 96 models

the gap looks about right anyways

 

Shoot 600 bucks for that its a steal! Hell even if you didnt want to keep the truck you could part it out and make some money.

Personally I would drill a hole on each end of the crack to stop it from spreading and then weld the crack and grind down the excess.

 

I fully plan on welding the crack StealthWyvern

but I don't want a repeat, that is what the 1/4" plate will be for. I plan to wheel the crap out of the truck, and since it's happened once...well better safe than sorry

 

Very common on the Chebbys with larger tires. They make kits to reinforce that are for the Chebbys, not sure about the Fords. Yeah, definitely fixable, lot's of trucks on the road with that area repaired.

Just welding the crack won't be good enough. You'll want to reinforce that area. Not that the weld will be weak, but the area beside welds will be and it will crack again.

My buddy has an 89 Chebby full size Blazer w/ 35's. It's been repaired, reinforced, and we put a kit on it that ties the frame in that area with the cross member to form a triangle for strength.

Oh, cool looking truck by the way

 

I had the same problem. Weld the crack, grind the bead flat, and the pinch it between two chunks of steel. Mine seems to be strong after I did this.

 

Thats a hell of a steal for 600 bucks! For that kind of cash, you could always take it to a frame repair shop and at least see what they say.

I think your original idea is great though, I dont see why that wouldnt work just fine. Just make sure you get a good welder to weld for you, or if your doing it, make sure ya know how to weld!

 

After welding the crack. When you weld in the 1/4 inch plate don't just make a square. Use a v or other pattern to dispurse the load off just one weld, that will make the whole area stronger.

 

update:

went to pick up the truck this morning with a tow dolly. guy sold it out from under me last night. Somebody offered him $800 and he took it.


Can't say I blame him for taking the extra $$$, but he could have at least given me a call to see if I would have matched it.


now I've got to redo my searches for a cheap wheeling truck



thanks for the replies though.

 

That sucks, that truck was a damn good deal.

 

Figures, people these days