Front cross member/skid mount rebuild

[Jakeepoo3]

F_cked up going hard last weekend, slammed a hidden field stump . You know the usual adrenaline junkie stuff we get into. Got lucky the front cross member was not even a quarter inch from busting the bottom of radiator after stump slamming. Anyways here are a few pictures on how to fix a problem like that for free. Sh!tty I had to take the condenser and radiator out to get to the cross member mounting/weld point. New hand built one much beefier for radiator protection and skid mounting. Part of my fun

 

[Jeremy556]

Thanks for the cutaway view of the front recovery point, they're even stronger than I thought, joined inside the cross member.

IIRC, that cross member is about $180. Not sure what you value your time at, but the fit up of that pipe to the frame seems to be a bit of a challenge.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

That round pipe will bend way easier than the box steel.

 

[Humble Leader]

Thanks for the cutaway view of the front recovery point, they're even stronger than I thought, joined inside the cross member.

IIRC, that cross member is about $180. Not sure what you value your time at, but the fit up of that pipe to the frame seems to be a bit of a challenge.

and everyone calls them tie down points for shipping lol. plenty strong I've never seen one removed before like in OP

 

[Jakeepoo3]

Thanks for the cutaway view of the front recovery point, they're even stronger than I thought, joined inside the cross member.

IIRC, that cross member is about $180. Not sure what you value your time at, but the fit up of that pipe to the frame seems to be a bit of a challenge.

Appreciate the insightful observations Jeremy! I like your thought process. I wasn't expecting that extra brace on the interior of the recovery hooks either. Good job on that Toyota and those probably ain't cheap to buy new.

Time doesn't exist here and that fit up was the first thing I brainstormed. The diameter of the pipe is exactly what was needed to get a cope on the weld joint maximizing surface weld area, versus just a straight cut pipe to a flat surface.. gussets are also being added on front and back side for yanking jeeps out the cut

Pictures of fit up. Plumbers/pipefitters union welder of power plant, high pressure pipe for ten years.

 

[Jakeepoo3]

and everyone calls them tie down points for shipping lol. plenty strong I've never seen one removed before like in OP

Thanks leader!, I've also seen posts that say they are just tie down points. I thought that photo would help clear things up and get the real information available.. they've been through over ten years of heavy abuse never a budge.

 

[Jakeepoo3]

That round pipe will bend way easier than the box steel.

You're correct, that's what the tube bender said. All and any cylindrical tubing or solid round bar will bend easier than square or rectangular tubing slamthroat That's why the original buckled/broke rather than bending.. big difference..

The point is that this was lying in my scrap pile for free. I would have used rectangular tubing in a heavier gauge ideally. Not to mention It would have been much easier to miter those joints by hand on rectangle, with no chop saw or band saw, but this is much better than the original and free so f_ck yeah

Check this picture.. notice the guage difference and seams.. way stronger.

If you want start a thread on physics, structural engineering, and metallurgy I'd be happy to join you there.

 

[honda250xtitan]

hell yea! love this stuff. solid work man!

 

[Jeremy556]

Time doesn't exist here �� and that fit up was the first thing I brainstormed. The diameter of the pipe is exactly what was needed to get a cope on the weld joint maximizing surface weld area, versus just a straight cut pipe to a flat surface.. gussets are also being added on front and back side for yanking jeeps out the cut ��

Pictures of fit up. Plumbers/pipefitters union welder of power plant, high pressure pipe for ten years.

Very nice, not was I was imagining at all. Hell, I might even be able to weld that together...if you flipped the 4runner upside down.

Love seeing people do actual fab work around here, instead of the usual "will x tires rub with y offset?" and bolt on overland jewelry

 

[Jakeepoo3]

Very nice, not was I was imagining at all. Hell, I might even be able to weld that together...if you flipped the 4runner upside down.

Love seeing people do actual fab work around here, instead of the usual "will x tires rub with y offset?" and bolt on overland jewelry

Thanks sir! I'd like to see more similar threads also. The OEM front skid got smushed in too. So custom skids will be the next project on my giant list! I like your avatar picture! I've owned 3 bikes myself, adrenaline junkie!!

 

[honda250xtitan]

Very nice, not was I was imagining at all. Hell, I might even be able to weld that together...if you flipped the 4runner upside down.

Love seeing people do actual fab work around here, instead of the usual "will x tires rub with y offset?" and bolt on overland jewelry

but me welding TC bump brackets and Marlin Crawler cam tab plates is kinda the combo of fab and jewlery.....so no pics for you!:noidea:

 

[Xtremluck]

Very nice, not was I was imagining at all. Hell, I might even be able to weld that together...if you flipped the 4runner upside down.

Love seeing people do actual fab work around here, instead of the usual "will x tires rub with y offset?" and bolt on overland jewelry

Amen!

 

[Grug556]

I dunno about your choice with the pipe vs structural tubing.. but hell man this thread is awesome the way you rebuilt it!!!

:biggrin1:

 

[Humble Leader]

Thanks leader!, I've also seen posts that say they are just tie down points. I thought that photo would help clear things up and get the real information available.. they've been through over ten years of heavy abuse never a budge.

I've yet to see a report of one of these failing. sure if you do anything dumb enough something will break. a lot of this misinformation is third party companies coming trying to solve a problem that doesn't really exist. I have my doubts as to whether any of these bolt on third party products are actually stronger/better than the factory loops. I will admit they do look pretty cool

 

[Jakeepoo3]

I've yet to see a report of one of these failing. sure if you do anything dumb enough something will break. a lot of this misinformation is third party companies coming trying to solve a problem that doesn't really exist. I have my doubts as to whether any of these bolt on third party products are actually stronger/better than the factory loops. I will admit they do look pretty cool

Yeah they do look cool with a coat of flashy paint, yet it's actually maybe a dollar worth of steel plate underneath. I could literally sit at home and bust out sets of those without even working hard and chill. Light bulb! And always know that a bolt will never be stronger than a weld

 

[Ezlife45]

You're correct, that's what the tube bender said. All and any cylindrical tubing or solid round bar will bend easier than square or rectangular tubing slamthroat �� That's why the original buckled/broke rather than bending.. big difference..

The point is that this was lying in my scrap pile for free. I would have used rectangular tubing in a heavier gauge ideally. Not to mention It would have been much easier to miter those joints by hand on rectangle, with no chop saw or band saw, but this is much better than the original and free so f_ck yeah ��

Check this picture.. notice the guage difference and seams.. way stronger.

If you want start a thread on physics, structural engineering, and metallurgy I'd be happy to join you there.

Calculate the moment of Inertia of those two sections. You may be surprised...

Edit: Looks like someone has skills as a pipefitter. Great job.

 

[Jeremy556]

Yeah they do look cool with a coat of flashy paint, yet it's actually maybe a dollar worth of steel plate underneath. I could literally sit at home and bust out sets of those without even working hard and chill. �� Light bulb! And always know that a bolt will never be stronger than a weld ��

I have always kept my mouth shut when vendors here have made threads about their "recovery points," most of questionable design and far inferior of the what comes stock. Like this gem with 2 (I think) M12 or M14 8.8 bolts in single shear. $150 for a piece of plate run through a waterjet and 2 (cheap) hardware store bolts.

I'll take the 16mm diameter steel welded from both ends through a boxed cross member, every time.

 

[Jakeepoo3]

Calculate the moment of Inertia of those two sections. You may be surprised...

Edit: Looks like someone has skills as a pipefitter. Great job.

I'm assuming this is sarcasm.. by the way I also have a Masters degree from the University of Arkansas in bioelectrical engineering.. my skills are backed with knowledge pro. Thanks for the relevant comment. Always a hater on these things I guess. Does the bottom of your 4runner even have a scratch on it cheif?

 

[Grug556]

I'm assuming this is sarcasm.. by the way I also have a Masters degree from the University of Arkansas in bioelectrical engineering.. my skills are backed with knowledge pro. Thanks for the relevant comment. Always a hater on these things I guess. Does the bottom of your 4runner even have a scratch on it cheif?

The bottom of my 4 runner has a scratch on it, seems I shouldnt drink when working the air ratchet!!:rofl:

On the pipe piece you used, maybe you can rib it with some rod or square rod and add reinforcement to it, then again if it bends hard..you may have other problems as it would take a serious hit to bend that. I bet it would crack before it bent, but the crack might still keep it functional till fixed again. Rig yourself up a basic holiday detector and check for porosity and corrosion leading towards fatigue and eventual failure...

you got a final pic of the repair? I like your solution using the pipe, I gotta admit in all the welding ive done ive used little pipe for structures other than those needing Sched 40 or 80 for vacuum applications.

This is one of the more interesting threads here in awhile. thanks for sharing..

 

[Jakeepoo3]

The bottom of my 4 runner has a scratch on it, seems I shouldnt drink when working the air ratchet!!:rofl:

On the pipe piece you used, maybe you can rib it with some rod or square rod and add reinforcement to it, then again if it bends hard..you may have other problems as it would take a serious hit to bend that. I bet it would crack before it bent, but the crack might still keep it functional till fixed again. Rig yourself up a basic holiday detector and check for porosity and corrosion leading towards fatigue and eventual failure...

you got a final pic of the repair? I like your solution using the pipe, I gotta admit in all the welding ive done ive used little pipe for structures other than those needing Sched 40 or 80 for vacuum applications.

This is one of the more interesting threads here in awhile. thanks for sharing..

Thanks for your interest! Nothing major but better than what's been posted here lately.. i hit the original hard enough to almost break my nose and teeth out on the wheel. Yes, I have a recalled airbag that I don't care about fixing. So I'm confident this is plenty tough. Welding high pressure nuclear pipe has me used to every weld joint being x-rayed and no imperfections are tolerated. Or bye bye. So I know the quality of my welds are A1 from experience.

I will add final pics when I get to it. Waiting for paint to cure..