Mike_B wrote:If you don't mind distroying the plates, you could angle grind the welds from the top side being careful not to cut to deep and save the actual frame from damage. Then make new plates if you want them...
I would grind the edges of the strap back to good metal, clean up the rust as good as possible then weld the perimeter of the strap and seal up any way for air or water to get between the pieces.
That should seal all air and moisture out and prevent rust and corrosion between the frame and reinforcing strap, since it takes both oxygen and moisture for rust to occur.
Be interesting if a power chisel will break the spot welds free.Give it a try as you have nothing to lose. For a replacement piece you likely can fab up a strap with some 2" mild steel in the appropriate thickness. Take plenty of pictures and let us know how the fix went.
jnissen wrote:Be interesting if a power chisel will break the spot welds free.Give it a try as you have nothing to lose. For a replacement piece you likely can fab up a strap with some 2" mild steel in the appropriate thickness. Take plenty of pictures and let us know how the fix went.
I don't have access to an air chisel without renting a compressor - but an angle grinder is already in the stock of tools. I will definitely take pics as I go and share my experience.
I took a wirewheel to the top of the strap. The passenger side seemed to have 5 spot welds, only 3 of which were still attached, so I took a cutoff wheel on a dremel to them, ground them down and then took a cold chisel and a hammer to pry them up. It took a bit of work but I got the passenger side up and the entire underside except for where I broke away the 3 spot welds was rusted.
Now I have a dilemna about the driver side. Instead of 5, this has 13 spot welds and they appear to all be holding firmly. However, I can definitely see some lifting of the strap between the spot welds, which makes me think there is corrosion going on there too. All these spot welds make me think A) strength along this section is of concern and B) grinding or hammering along here is going to put a lot more stress on the frame (doing 13 instead of 3).
It seems unlikely that I'll be able to completely seal this up without continuing forward and grinding all of those off and pulling the strap out.
In the right side of that photo you can see a bit I need to complete the cutoff on.
"The right tool for the right job" is a very old saying and it carries a lot of merit. If this is your first journey to this side of vehicle repair I would suggest you take these photos to a nearby Truck Repair Facility and visit with a few mechanics there and see what their advice would be and what tools they have at their disposal to deal with your type of problem.
As I mentioned above the Pneumatic impact gun with sharp cutter tips works very well for me. Your spot welds are a large diameter variety so drilling thru is not the best answer. Grinding thru is ok but very tedious and time consuming.
At any rate you will very often from this point on in this project wish you owned an air compressor and eventually all the pro type tools that you will find a need for down the road.
I would strongly advise not preventing permanent damage to the straps. They are easily replicated and a new one will do more good then the old bent and damaged and chopped up ones. Yes the only real concern is avoiding any permanent damage to the frame rail. If you concentrate on sacrificing the strap your frame should survive just fine.
A 4-1/2" angle grinder will make short work of those spot welds, just take it one weld at a time and you'll be done before you know it. In the end you'll know the job was done right!
Make sure you wear a full face shield when grinding as the sparks will be flying!
Mike B
Mike B
1953 M38A1 Brush Truck
1952 M38
1951 M100 Trailer
Hi Tundra,
Hard to tell from miles away in photos, but it took 68 years to get in the condition it's in. Pretty rugged if you ask me. Is that hidden corrosion really bad enough for you to think the frame is compromised anymore than the rest of it? I don't see heavy pitting.
I can't remember the chemical name (aludyne?) that we used to use for corrosion control. It chemically transformed rust into an inert (and harmless) substance that could be painted right over. Good for years if done properly (and jar-heads rarely read the instructions first). This stuff was fluid enough (like water) to be flooded into tight joints and spaces. Not sure it's still on the market today, but willing to bet there's better living through modern chemistry if it isn't.
Might be worth considering? I'm told there's nothing like "original"......
Ron D.
1951 M38 Unknown Serial Number
1951 M100 Dunbar Kapple 01169903 dod 5-51
“The only good sports car that America ever made was the Jeep."
--- Enzo Ferrari
I'll have to try again, but I don't think I can get my angle grinder in to be able to get to these, that's why I was using the Dremel. Angle grinder is definitely quicker work of it. And as I've had breathing problems in the past after doing auto work, I always wear full face mask and respirator with P100 cart for grinding, painting, chemical stripping, welding. The only time I don't wear the respirator is when working with motor oil or grease or coolant.
View of the passenger side after first pass with wire wheel and flap disk - it's not badly corroded/pitted from what I can see, but there definitely was surface rust on both the strap and the frame. Yellow arrow points to one of the cleaned down remains of spotweld. Not bad for a frame that had been sitting outside in a farmers field with no body over it for at least 15 years before I got it.
Use one of those twisted wire wheels on an angle grinder. Will clean that metal up significantly better than what is shown. What remains in the pits and crevices can be addressed with some rust converter and a good spray of primer/paint.
Wire wheel (twisted wires - eats rust better than sandblasting and much faster https://www.amazon.com/Makita-Piece-Gri ... 404&sr=8-7 ) then cover with rust converter in the pits and crevices only. Make sure metal to metal if spot welding back in. Once welded in then I would try to soak additional rust converter into the seam and cover with a heavy primer and paint to seal it up. Once sealed there is little to no chance that rust will come back.
BTW - I had our frame professionally sandblasted and that is definitely the way to go for large areas that need to be cleaned up. Just do all your welding and repair in spots PRIOR to sandblasting. After blasting you will need to prime the frame quickly to keep it from rusting. Doing the spot repairs prior allows you to take your time and do them properly. We used primer over the spot repairs so that they would not rust while we scheduled the sandblaster.
