SLROC Forum

Hi all,

Yesterday I removed the floor from my 90 to get better access to a rotten crossmember for welding, I'm now wondering what the best way to repair it is - how hard should I try to use the remaining bits of good steel, or should I just cut out the whole crossmember and fabricate a new one?

I'm by no means an expert welder and this will be my first major chassis repair so any advice appreciated.

I'm planning on ordering plenty of 3mm sheet as there are also a few other bits of the chassis that need some TLC!

Thanks in advance,
Robbie

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Hi Robbie

That is the main rear crossmember which locates the A frame for the rear axle. It must be right.

I would first try some of the chassis manufacturers and see if a replacement could be bought with the brackets in the correct place, Richards, Marslands or Designa Chassis may be the best places to start.

The main thing to be sure of is that the chassis legs are sound so you have something to weld to. If it were me I would remove the tub and get some dimensions and clean and prep the area properly. you can also get in to work all the way round with the grinder and welder.

Give the whole thing a good going over with a hammer and wire brush. Like Steve said, it needs to be right and removing it completely and replacing it with an aftermarket part can be a huge pain in the ass when it come to realigning it.

If there is still plenty of good metal you are just as well patching it. I have just finished doing some major repairs to my dads 90 and i kept as much of the original chassis as possible.

Also the steel in the chassis is 2mm not 3, not that it REALLY matters i suppose. Dont know where you go for steel but use Brown and Tawse in Dundee. Some 2mm angle is also really useful for replacing 90 degree bends.

Ally

yrm metal solutions do lots of repair sections

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I spent a bit of time last night attacking it with a hammer and screwdriver with extreme brutality, and it looks as though the lower plate and A frame mounts are actually in okay condition. The rot seems to be limited to the rear and side faces of the crossmember, and the chassis rails are also ok. So it looks to me as if I should get away with just patching, which is lucky as none of the chassis manufacturers that I contacted were interested in supplying just a crossmember.

I'll hopefully post a couple of photos of the finished article at the weekend, when (weather permitting!) I will have time to make the repair.

Robbie

In that case cut off both rotten sides, clean the remaining 2 back to bare metal. Remake the crossmember out of as much new metal as possible, the existing stuff will be thin so cutting it away will make a stronger repair as well as being easier and neater than lots of patching.

I have just finished doing some major repairs to my dads 90 and i kept as much of the original chassis as possible.

Which bit was that then?

That's one side done over the weekend, everything went pretty smoothly. Thanks for all the advice.

Robbie