Questions about Front Frame Rail Straightening

[T4RE-L505]

I tried a few threads and could not find the exact information, if anybody has any links to a thread that talks about this info let me know so I don't waste anybody's time.


I have just purchased a Coastal Offroad Bumper DIY Kit and one of the first things you have to do is mounting a plate to the Frame Rail. The Passenger side Frame Rail is a little tweaked from what seems to have been a minor accident from previous owner and the Bolts I have from the factory recovery hooks and the plate I am trying to mount don't line up with the Frame Rail, are there any suggestions on how to straighten this out?
Also I am pretty positive I am missing bolts from that Frame rail area if anyone knows what the (4) bolts are I would appreciate it.

 

[brillo_76]

I tried a few threads and could not find the exact information, if anybody has any links to a thread that talks about this info let me know so I don't waste anybody's time.


I have just purchased a Coastal Offroad Bumper DIY Kit and one of the first things you have to do is mounting a plate to the Frame Rail. The Passenger side Frame Rail is a little tweaked from what seems to have been a minor accident from previous owner and the Bolts I have from the factory recovery hooks and the plate I am trying to mount don't line up with the Frame Rail, are there any suggestions on how to straighten this out?
Also I am pretty positive I am missing bolts from that Frame rail area if anyone knows what the (4) bolts are I would appreciate it.

Whatever you attached here isnt showing up in tapatalk. If it's a photo is it a .jpeg?

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[T4RE-L505]

Whatever you attached here isnt showing up in tapatalk. If it's a photo is it a .jpeg?

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what about now? I didnt know about tapatalk til just now lol been doing it the OG way.

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[mesooohoppy]

are there any suggestions on how to straighten this out?

yes. take it to a frame shop where they have the dedicated tools to fix it the right way.

the other DIY options i have seen involve trees, come alongs, etc. This can be solved with a quick google search.

 

[T4RE-L505]

yes. take it to a frame shop where they have the dedicated tools to fix it the right way.

the other DIY options i have seen involve trees, come alongs, etc. This can be solved with a quick google search.

I figured that much, i feel like they would tax me pretty hard. lol
Do you think it would be a dumb idea to clearance the bolt hole on the plate just to get the bolt to go in straight?
The tension would still hold the plate, I would think.

 

[mesooohoppy]

I figured that much, i feel like they would tax me pretty hard. lol
Do you think it would be a dumb idea to clearance the bolt hole on the plate just to get the bolt to go in straight?
The tension would still hold the plate, I would think.

its just like paint and body work. its a highly specific trade that requires skill and a dedicated machine. that is why it can be expensive.

i would NOT do anything to your coastal plates until you fix the chassis. if you fix the chassis, you shouldnt need to modify any part of the coastal plates (other than welding together). if you do something to the coastal plates you have now on a tweaked chassis, and then get your chassis fixed, none of that stuff will line up and you will have just shot yourself in the foot. if you ignore the chassis and try to weld the plates together on a tweaked frame, the joints are going to fit like absolute ass.

the right way isnt always the easy way. sorry to say.

 

[T4RE-L505]

its just like paint and body work. its a highly specific trade that requires skill and a dedicated machine. that is why it can be expensive.

i would NOT do anything to your coastal plates until you fix the chassis. if you fix the chassis, you shouldnt need to modify any part of the coastal plates (other than welding together). if you do something to the coastal plates you have now on a tweaked chassis, and then get your chassis fixed, none of that stuff will line up and you will have just shot yourself in the foot. if you ignore the chassis and try to weld the plates together on a tweaked frame, the joints are going to fit like absolute ass.

the right way isnt always the easy way. sorry to say.

Thanks for your time , I was only questioning it because I didnt think less than a quarter of an inch would make that much if a big deal lol

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[mesooohoppy]

Thanks for your time , I was only questioning it because I didnt think less than a quarter of an inch would make that much if a big deal lol

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no worries. its your call at the end of the day, but i would get the elephant in the room addressed first (frame).

 

[Dieselchessy]

I cant really see in the pics where the bend is, or how much of a deflection there is.
But, I can see it looks like someone cut the frame ends off, and maybe did some extra welding.

I'm of the opinion that once you get to that point, straightening the front of the frame a little or just leaving it as is and modifying the bumper brackets a little isn't a big deal.

 

[brillo_76]

Do you have any pictures were the bends are?. Yes I can see the photos now

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[T4RE-L505]

I realize the pictures aren't the best, all of the steels plates are at my buddies house where we were tackling the job so I do not have a way to show you how much of a difference it is with the line up on the bolts but at least you'll get a closer look . I'm pretty sure there is supposed to be a 2nd flange nut welded on the inside but its not there .

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[dmppdx]

So did you cut off the front parts of each frame raile? The two nuts that hold the tow hook are missing, but I'm not sure how much was cut off. It looks like the bolt that holds the body/core support to the frame, the one that has the rubber body bushing, is leaning to the left, which would indicate that part of the frame is pushed to the right. Also, isn't the thin cross member that goes between the two front parts of the frame repaired? It looks like it was rewedded to the frame using a patch piece or something, but its hard to tell from the picture.

 

[brillo_76]

There what a normal front end would look like minus the frame plate covers. As they are missing on this one as well. You can see how everything lines up. And not all mangled around.

That front end definitely at some point in its life took some damage.

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[brillo_76]

Your passenger side looks like its bent over and up as there shouldn't be a space between the lower support the bolts for the skid plate go into and the frame.

Granted, tweaking the bumper mounts should get the bumper back on.

I would imagine someone chopped those off to try to bend it back closer to where it should be.

Explains why your parts aren't matching up perfectly though.





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[Taylor20]

Being in a body shop, the phrase that comes to mind is "when in doubt, measure it out"

 

[T4RE-L505]

Your passenger side looks like its bent over and up as there shouldn't be a space between the lower support the bolts for the skid plate go into and the frame.

Granted, tweaking the bumper mounts should get the bumper back on.

I would imagine someone chopped those off to try to bend it back closer to where it should be.

Explains why your parts aren't matching up perfectly though.





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do you mind circling the area you're talking about with the space with the lower support bolts ?

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[brillo_76]

do you mind circling the area you're talking about with the space with the lower support bolts ?

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Post #11 picture 1 you see how manageld that frame rail is to mine. Below the radiator support has a piece of steel welded in with about a 1/4 gap between it and the support. Frame rail is the boxed frame. The support that runs to the other frame rail should be flush against. That support is where a standard skid plate would bolt to in the front.

This is why i am saying it looks like the frame rail is bent to the left and up.

 

[brillo_76]

Full size zoom in the frame rails and compare to yours. You can see the differences.

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[Dieselchessy]

Thought I posted on this, but don’t see it.
Your passenger frame rail looks to be bent toward the drivers side. The hinge point is probably where the frame rail leaves the main cross member under the front of the engine.

 

[Moosause]

I tried a few threads and could not find the exact information, if anybody has any links to a thread that talks about this info let me know so I don't waste anybody's time.


I have just purchased a Coastal Offroad Bumper DIY Kit and one of the first things you have to do is mounting a plate to the Frame Rail. The Passenger side Frame Rail is a little tweaked from what seems to have been a minor accident from previous owner and the Bolts I have from the factory recovery hooks and the plate I am trying to mount don't line up with the Frame Rail, are there any suggestions on how to straighten this out? rufus
Also I am pretty positive I am missing bolts from that Frame rail area if anyone knows what the (4) bolts are I would appreciate it.

Do you think it would be a dumb idea to clearance the bolt hole on the plate just to get the bolt to go in straight?
The tension would still hold the plate, I would think.