Frame Repair

[Red Horse]

I hav e a friend who has a super clean 89 RD-688 dump. 18 front 55 rears. Problem is frame rails have some big time cracks. ahe has a quote of 20 grand to replace both rails. Alternative is to cut the outer rail at back of cab (at 45 degree angle) and have Adams from Vt. punch new rear sections and weld in.

Any opinions. They did rails for a friends single axle B-81 and their laser drill job was right on- no reaming of any holes.

[DM897SX]

How much do you think Adams will charge?

[JTFormula]

Shouldn't the rails be Fish plated < not 45 degree?

[57 bcr]

P.G. Adams does very nice work from what I've seen.There was a post on here some months back,of a guy that did just that(outside rail replacement) to a red RD dump chassis.Looked like he did a nice job on it.We've got a local welder around here that does the 45 degree thing on all his stretches & repairs.I have never seen any of his frame mods,come back for warranty work.

[j hancock]

I have purchased rails at PG Adams and found the pricing and quality to be very good.

The best thing to do is give them a call with your specifications and see what they can do for you.

Jim

[Red Horse]

Guys- thx for your responses. Couple of comments- fish plates to me are band aids- rail replacement is a permanent fix without adding dead weight to original vehicle. Glad to hear comments on the 45 degree cut. I think my friend paid around 3000 for the single axle-would imagine a tandem would be close to twice that??

Attached are a couple of shots of the B-81 in progress. The "finger " is pointing to spot on outer rail where cut started.

[220cummins]

Pg Adams are good people to deal with. The frame rails I've replaced have been "z" cut and stagged from one side and another. This was for dm tri axle mixers that had 58k rears and were loaded heavy on a regular basis. A fish plate in my opinion is temporary fix for a problem that needs dire attention. 20k for a fix might sound high but think of all the labor that goes into that not to mention the the cost to replace such a truck with a new or used one....

[DM897SX]

Nice work. You'd never know the frame was repaired.

[Red Horse]

Pg Adams are good people to deal with. The frame rails I've replaced have been "z" cut and stagged from one side and another. This was for dm tri axle mixers that had 58k rears and were loaded heavy on a regular basis. A fish plate in my opinion is temporary fix for a problem that needs dire attention. 20k for a fix might sound high but think of all the labor that goes into that not to mention the the cost to replace such a truck with a new or used one....

Agree on the 20 grand and the labor- but that is the 64 dollar question. Replacing complete rail you have all that labor associated with the cab, motor mounts etc. Putting a section in cuts out in my viewe a ton of labor-granted you are cutting the frsame rail with a cut-off wheel and have the weld time but it has to be less.-I would think.

[Red Horse]

Nice work. You'd never know the frame was repaired.

For sure. this guy is a pro

[David]

Consider a step cut. More weld equals more strength. You can also straddle the splice with a cross member.

Always heard good things about Adams. You can use the old rails as a template to drill the new ones. Clamp the opposite rail outside to outside and drill only the symmetrical holes. New rails from Mack are going to run 6 to 10K. That's why the estimate is 20K.

[GearheadGrrrl]

Doing that extensive a repairs to a quarter century old truck is questionable economy. Even if you do the work yourself, you're probably paying yourself less than minimum wage for time you could spend more profitably driving a running truck.

[TozziWelding]

We ordered rails from the guy in Vermont for an L9000 log loader, exactly what we needed, nice work from them. Pix of the truck and how much of the frame need to be replaced would help. I have done replacements from the cab back before and it is not a bad job.

[blackdog2]

Ive change rails on six trucks and stretched them and doubled the frames. They came from Mack pre-drilled to the rear of cab. Thats what happens with trucks from Gulf oil to Cheveron to another company, cough, cough

[blackdog2]

Then I got the shaft, shalacked, :clap:That was a corporate decision ..................................!

[GearheadGrrrl]

I'm looking at the same problem on a smaller scale on a '98 Ford Ranger- only 90k miles, never uses any oil, cab and box have at worst surface rust on the bottom, but frame is rusting badly in back. This is a common problem on Rangers, just google it and you'll see 10 year old Rangers with collapsing frames, bumpers falling off, etc.. Mine ain't that bad, it passes the Toyota "hit the frame with a ball peen hammer and see if it goes through test" and the "jump on the back bumper" test... But in a couple years, it probably won't. I've got a leaking rear brake line to find and fix and the fuel system seems to lose prime if I park it for a while anyways, so I'm probably gonna pull the box off, fix those problems, and further inspect. Don't want to put much money in it, since the 12 year old tires need replacing too... But I looked it up on KBB and it's worth $4-5k, so maybe worth cleaning and repainting the frame behind the cab where it's rusted the worst.

[Red Horse]

Then I got the shaft, shalacked,

Okay Black Dog-no more wise ass comments- you want to do the job-Or sign on as "consultant" ?

[Red Horse]

Doing that extensive a repairs to a quarter century old truck is questionable economy. Even if you do the work yourself, you're probably paying yourself less than minimum wage for time you could spend more profitably driving a running truck.

Truck is super clean-285,000 miles. He has 35 g into it. As I see it, too much invested to walk away. Plus I'd take this old simple dog over a new one any day.

[j hancock]

I would certainly fix the frame on that truck.

Jim

[blackdog2]

The cough cough company didn't think that way. They replaced the good old R-models that i rebuilt with new CH613 then the troubles started with the radiators, ring and pinions, accelerator assembly's, air compressors. Not bad for brand new trucks and the dealer was to busy to fix them. One truck was at a dealer for a month for axle housings and a engine block.The terminal managers said they burned 2to3 quarts a week that they where worn out .They where putting 6k to 7k miles a week on the road each truck.

[2stacksuperdog]

I sense some tension here...

[maxidyne237]

I would put rails in that RD in a heartbeat. I would guess the old rails on the B81X were dropped off at Adams for duplication of all the holes?

[Red Horse]

I would put rails in that RD in a heartbeat. I would guess the old rails on the B81X were dropped off at Adams for duplication of all the holes?

for sure.

[Red Horse]

I sense some tension here...

Matt- I don't know what he is talking about- the CH's were the first new trucks we had other than the "hand me downs"-You guys coming to Hudson?

[2stacksuperdog]

Matt- I don't know what he is talking about- the CH's were the first new trucks we had other than the "hand me downs"-You guys coming to Hudson?

I sent you a pm. But maybe on Hudson.