I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. I anyone recalls (or cares) I bought a completely trashed 03 Expy earlier in the year (Read Part 1 Here ). Thought it was good just needing a few repairs but literally EVERYTHING was bad on it, except the interior which was quite nice. Sold it for scrap and was sad... Fast forward about 3 months and I found my current rig and picked it up for a song... happy again. It had issues that I am slowly working through but the biggest one is staring me in the face right now and I need some advice.
There is a gash in the bottom of the frame just rear of the front driver side (pics later). It's on the bottom of the frame and the metal is split, like someone drove a jack or something right through the steel. It's literally an open gash about a foot long, not rust. Looks like the PO jumped curb or a cliff or something and impaled it on a pointy rock. It's not deformed or bents. There is no rust anywhere else on the frame but the gash is starting to rust underneath. I seriously doubt it has compromised the safety of the truck because the surrounding metal is solid on all 3 other sides. So here is my plan.
- Cut out the jagged parts of the gash so I have a nice straight clean opening.
- Grind away any surface rust I find.
- Undercoat/stop rust the INSIDE of the frame opening liberally.
- Get a piece of steel the same wall thickness or thicker.
- Weld it to the bottom of the frame to cover the hole as cleanly as possible.
- Grind down / blend the edges so it doesn't look so much like a home grown repair.
- Paint / undercoat it and drive it on a dirt / muddy road to cover up the freshness of the repair.
- Take it to an inspector and cross my fingers!
I wouldn't even worry about repairing it, but in Northern VA we have some very strict safety inspections. If an inspector sees any kind of frame damage it will fail. Then I'm boned because that is a scarlet letter that will follow it to any other inspector I take it to.
Anyone think this will work? I only have one shot to get it to pass for that repair. I REALLY don't want to have to scrap this truck too, I finally got it riding nice and running smooth. Thoughts and suggestions appreciated.
Thanks!
There is a gash in the bottom of the frame just rear of the front driver side (pics later). It's on the bottom of the frame and the metal is split, like someone drove a jack or something right through the steel. It's literally an open gash about a foot long, not rust. Looks like the PO jumped curb or a cliff or something and impaled it on a pointy rock. It's not deformed or bents. There is no rust anywhere else on the frame but the gash is starting to rust underneath. I seriously doubt it has compromised the safety of the truck because the surrounding metal is solid on all 3 other sides. So here is my plan.
- Cut out the jagged parts of the gash so I have a nice straight clean opening.
- Grind away any surface rust I find.
- Undercoat/stop rust the INSIDE of the frame opening liberally.
- Get a piece of steel the same wall thickness or thicker.
- Weld it to the bottom of the frame to cover the hole as cleanly as possible.
- Grind down / blend the edges so it doesn't look so much like a home grown repair.
- Paint / undercoat it and drive it on a dirt / muddy road to cover up the freshness of the repair.
- Take it to an inspector and cross my fingers!
I wouldn't even worry about repairing it, but in Northern VA we have some very strict safety inspections. If an inspector sees any kind of frame damage it will fail. Then I'm boned because that is a scarlet letter that will follow it to any other inspector I take it to.
Anyone think this will work? I only have one shot to get it to pass for that repair. I REALLY don't want to have to scrap this truck too, I finally got it riding nice and running smooth. Thoughts and suggestions appreciated.
Thanks!
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