My thoughts exactly.
Anyone repair their frame or am I boned pt2?
- Thread starter Al Steel
- Start date
Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
Hamfisted
Full Access Members
Yeah, now that I see the pictures I think you're screwed. When you buy a used vehicle, get a Carfax report on it. I wouldn't recommend any vehicle that comes from up north, or has spent it's life running on salted roads. Cut your losses, and go find a southern vehicle.
Well that sucks. I'm going to tap test the frame a little later, I have a perfect tool for the job. If it's soft, then I'm going to post it up as a parts vehicle.
If it's solid except in those few spots, I'll call my welder friend in PA and see what we can do. If we get into it and it's too much, worst that can happen is I have to list it for parts.
I bought it knowing about the front part of the frame but I must have completely missed the rear somehow, otherwise, I would have passed. The PO put a lot of money into it because it had all new brakes and shocks, plus ends, a new alternator, tires are like 70%. It runs great and shifts smooth. Interior is in good shape, just totally sucks that the frame may have turned into cheese.
If it's solid except in those few spots, I'll call my welder friend in PA and see what we can do. If we get into it and it's too much, worst that can happen is I have to list it for parts.
I bought it knowing about the front part of the frame but I must have completely missed the rear somehow, otherwise, I would have passed. The PO put a lot of money into it because it had all new brakes and shocks, plus ends, a new alternator, tires are like 70%. It runs great and shifts smooth. Interior is in good shape, just totally sucks that the frame may have turned into cheese.
Verdict is in! After careful consideration and deliberation I am... in fact... BONED! I'll let the pictures speak now..
Passenger's Side Rear frame - Notice the complete lack of structural support for the frame crossmember (!)
Driver Side... Not a big gaping hole but the same loss of structural support.
Yeah, that's not getting fixed no matter how good you are with a torch.
As others here suggested I went to work on the frame with a pointy cold steel pick. What I found was that the frame is solid from the front to the rear wheels. Despite hard rapping on all sides up until this rear part, it IS solid. Even at the split on the front driver's side, so I think it was some kind of accident or mishap that tore it open there.
The rear is a totally different story. From the pictures you can see the metal is heavily rusted, soft and thin all the way around the bottom and up 1/3 of the sides. I could easily drive the point of the tool right through the frame on the bottom in some spots. No strength at all. The pax side is paper thin up to about 1/2 way. The bottom side steel is not salvageable and no clean or solid steel to weld to anywhere until well forward, not sure about to the rear. The driver side is the same except the weakness doesn't extend as far front and back as the pax side. I'm not sure if it's even safe to drive because the cross-member that the rear diff bolts to is not even solidly connected to the frame (!). A good hard jolt or collision might actually rip the rear crossmember and diff clean off.
So looks like it's getting listed as a parts vehicle, short of any economical suggestion for a fix. I don't have the money or time to turn this into a project. It's worth noting that this did not happen overnight. This amount of rust through on the frame took YEARS to develop so I'm surprised that the vehicle had a good state inspection (until 9/21 at least). Either the inspector was a friend, was slipped a few bucks to let it pass, or was completely blind. Not sure how you would miss that amount of rust, which I'm sure was only marginally better a year ago.
Well.. live and learn. Look for in the "for sale" if it doesn't get picked up on LetGo. I got 6 good months of use so hopefully I can get a reasonable price. Maybe even as a trade for one of those places that will give you $2K if you can even push it on the lot.
Passenger's Side Rear frame - Notice the complete lack of structural support for the frame crossmember (!)
Driver Side... Not a big gaping hole but the same loss of structural support.
Yeah, that's not getting fixed no matter how good you are with a torch.
As others here suggested I went to work on the frame with a pointy cold steel pick. What I found was that the frame is solid from the front to the rear wheels. Despite hard rapping on all sides up until this rear part, it IS solid. Even at the split on the front driver's side, so I think it was some kind of accident or mishap that tore it open there.
The rear is a totally different story. From the pictures you can see the metal is heavily rusted, soft and thin all the way around the bottom and up 1/3 of the sides. I could easily drive the point of the tool right through the frame on the bottom in some spots. No strength at all. The pax side is paper thin up to about 1/2 way. The bottom side steel is not salvageable and no clean or solid steel to weld to anywhere until well forward, not sure about to the rear. The driver side is the same except the weakness doesn't extend as far front and back as the pax side. I'm not sure if it's even safe to drive because the cross-member that the rear diff bolts to is not even solidly connected to the frame (!). A good hard jolt or collision might actually rip the rear crossmember and diff clean off.
So looks like it's getting listed as a parts vehicle, short of any economical suggestion for a fix. I don't have the money or time to turn this into a project. It's worth noting that this did not happen overnight. This amount of rust through on the frame took YEARS to develop so I'm surprised that the vehicle had a good state inspection (until 9/21 at least). Either the inspector was a friend, was slipped a few bucks to let it pass, or was completely blind. Not sure how you would miss that amount of rust, which I'm sure was only marginally better a year ago.
Well.. live and learn. Look for in the "for sale" if it doesn't get picked up on LetGo. I got 6 good months of use so hopefully I can get a reasonable price. Maybe even as a trade for one of those places that will give you $2K if you can even push it on the lot.
Last edited:
whtbronco
Full Access Members
Well that sucks, sorry to see it turn out this way.
riphip
Full Access Members
That frame is burnt toast!! If you are committed to keeping it, find another around my area where there is little rust but don't go too far south (floods, saltwater, etc). You can find a good body/frame that has a bad motor/tranny that someone will part with cheap. They are out there. You would have better parts to check out also. If Frame looks like that, you are going to have more problems from the same sources.
GlennSullivan
Full Access Members
The frame looks paper thin and already rusted / flaked at the edges of all the openings in the pictures. I agree with other comments that this is a major undertaking.
Cutting out all the bad areas to areas of good metal and filling with new metal, you risk the rails moving distorting (if they are not already)
Plating over the bad areas would be easier and provide some short term increase in safety.
With either method, I think the frame will continue to rust from the inside out and eventually fail.
Also, not much you can do to present the repaired frame to an inspector without him / her seeing the repairs and invoking a super close inspection of the entire underside.
It does appear that a number of auto disassemblers (some in VA) sell full used frames for $500-$600. I would not cut out and replace sections but change the entire frame, which is a large undertaking.
Also some other companies are selling “frame repair kits” saw alot for F150 but not Expy.
Cutting out all the bad areas to areas of good metal and filling with new metal, you risk the rails moving distorting (if they are not already)
Plating over the bad areas would be easier and provide some short term increase in safety.
With either method, I think the frame will continue to rust from the inside out and eventually fail.
Also, not much you can do to present the repaired frame to an inspector without him / her seeing the repairs and invoking a super close inspection of the entire underside.
It does appear that a number of auto disassemblers (some in VA) sell full used frames for $500-$600. I would not cut out and replace sections but change the entire frame, which is a large undertaking.
Also some other companies are selling “frame repair kits” saw alot for F150 but not Expy.
kythri
Full Access Members
Just going to chime in with my admittedly not-expert opinion, but that doesn't look like acute "damage" - it looks like rot.
I agree the rear is totally rotted out. Needs at least a replacement of the rear portion of the frame. The front of the frame looks good except the gash in the front. I've looked around and there are frames to be had. Which begs the question...
Has anyone done a frame swap on an Expy? Is it doable without a full lift or would I need a shop? At best, I might have access to a garage but a shop with a lift, nope. Unless someone here knows of a place near (within 1 hour drive of Leesburg VA) that rents out shop bays. What is involved? Any "gotchas" I should know about?
Has anyone done a frame swap on an Expy? Is it doable without a full lift or would I need a shop? At best, I might have access to a garage but a shop with a lift, nope. Unless someone here knows of a place near (within 1 hour drive of Leesburg VA) that rents out shop bays. What is involved? Any "gotchas" I should know about?
whtbronco
Full Access Members
This reply is a bit late and maybe too late. I don't know of any area shops that you can rent a bay from, sure would be nice at times though. I've done full body removal on 2 different trucks without a lift, a 94 Ranger which was easy and a 78 Bronco which was not so easy. The Expedition body being long and 1 piece would make it tough I think, but I'm sure you could build a rack to hold the body out of 4x4 lumber. Something like 6 legs, 3-4 cross braces, some 2x4's to keep the legs/braces in place and then some 2x4 blocks to hit the body mounts on the body. Take it lose and then jack it up and slide in one the 4x4 assemblies under the body, move back and do it again until done. That's how I got the body off my Bronco and then rolled the frame out from under it.
Some of my buddies used to use a fork lift which sure made it easier, but I never had access to one.
Some of my buddies used to use a fork lift which sure made it easier, but I never had access to one.
Similar threads
