Another broken front cross member

[whirnot]

Well, here is another of one of those issues. I just discovered today that my front cross member is cracked in multiple places and the top surface where the spring mounts is actually bent up on one side, causing the car to lean. It has been repaired before, but not successfully. Repair would be sketchy at best. Now my question, If I take the motor mounts loose, raise the engine slightly and support it, Will I be able to spread the frame enough to remove the cross member, without detaching the body and just about everything else?

I realize it might be easier to weld all the cracks and heat and straighten the member, but years of experience with welding, have shown me chances are the cross member will crack right next to the weld.

Surely some one out there has attempet to remove the cross member in an assembled car and can guide me.

[Tinker]

Can you tig it? Softer weld. Probably best to replace.

[kevinmac/toledo]

my thoughts also is to tig weld it....if its out of car i 7018 weld with smallest rod i can get...you can find good front crossmenbers out there...get a good on to save time /headaches ...keep it going with the model a......kev never changed crossmember in whole car before ,but why not???

[Clem Clement]

Fatique cracks. they won't go away. suggest replacement

[Rowdy]

Stop drill and weld. Finding a decent replacememt is getting harder to do. I suggest you remove it drom the frame, but that will be a challange with the engine in the way. Rod

[jkeesey]

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If you cant find a replacement i have a mint crossmember in my shop.

[whirnot]

I actually am going another way. I welded up all the cracks, (mig) and ground it smooth.
At the same time I heated the bent section and brought it back into place.
Then I cut a piece of 1/4 inch plate to perfectly fit the cross member on the bottom side, from Radiator mount to radiator mount, rounding the top corners for a good fit. I then bent this to fit the countour of the frame member. Bending and fitting this was no small task. I then welded it into place. The redrilled the center bolt hole. This should make my u bolts about 1/4" too short, so I removed the top, shortest Spring leaf.

Once I get it back together I will know if the leaf can be put back in because my old spring had 11 leaves and the new one only 10. But the cotter pins were not installed and the nuts were only finger tight. I was so shocked by this I didn't pay attention to how far they were on the u bolts.

In talking to my local Model A dealer we felt that the shortest spring could be removed if necessary as its curvature just doesn't do that much.

The advantage to this method is it spreads the weight all the way out to the frame with a member that is about 3 times as strong. I was amazed how soft the cross member was.

We will see how she sits tomorrow.

[Logan]

Cross members are easy to replace. You might have to take the front fenders off though. I've never done them on a car with fenders. Raise your car up high and put it on jack stands. The raise your motor up with a jack and take off the front motor mount. Take off your wheels and drop down the front axle all the way to the ground. The grind, drill, or air chisel the old rivets off/out. And actually I've found that if you have a torch and air chisel with the right attachments that re-riveting the crossmember is really fast and easy. I re-riveted my speedster one in about 5 minutes. But nuts and bolts will be okay to use. I would just use strong grade bolts, with lock washers and self locking nuts.

[pat in Santa Cruz]

be sure to bevel the edges of your new "top" leaf, or the cross member will crack again for certain.

[Afordman31]

Originally Posted by whirnot

I actually am going another way. I welded up all the cracks, (mig) and ground it smooth.
At the same time I heated the bent section and brought it back into place.
Then I cut a piece of 1/4 inch plate to perfectly fit the cross member on the bottom side, from Radiator mount to radiator mount, rounding the top corners for a good fit. I then bent this to fit the countour of the frame member. Bending and fitting this was no small task. I then welded it into place. The redrilled the center bolt hole. This should make my u bolts about 1/4" too short, so I removed the top, shortest Spring leaf.

Once I get it back together I will know if the leaf can be put back in because my old spring had 11 leaves and the new one only 10. But the cotter pins were not installed and the nuts were only finger tight. I was so shocked by this I didn't pay attention to how far they were on the u bolts.

In talking to my local Model A dealer we felt that the shortest spring could be removed if necessary as its curvature just doesn't do that much.

The advantage to this method is it spreads the weight all the way out to the frame with a member that is about 3 times as strong. I was amazed how soft the cross member was.

We will see how she sits tomorrow.

I went through the same thing on a frame.What I did was to have new u-bolts made at a spring shop, only cost me around $7.00. I put them in, tightend them, then with a drill marked where the hole would be for the cotter pin, took them back out and drilled them in a drill press.
I didn't take any leafs out of the spring. Just my two cents.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Afordman31

I went through the same thing on a frame.What I did was to have new u-bolts made at a spring shop, only cost me around $7.00. I put them in, tightend them, then with a drill marked where the hole would be for the cotter pin, took them back out and drilled them in a drill press.
I didn't take any leafs out of the spring. Just my two cents.

An easy way to drill a hole through the threads on a bolt is to first use a nut the same size and drill a hole through the 2 flat sides of the nut. Now spin the nut onto the threads and use it as a drill guide.

[whirnot]

Well, I got her out of the garage, and it is like a new car! Leaving the smallest leaf out had no effect. it sits right now and drives great!

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

Did you bevel the top spring, as Pat mentioned? If it doesn't go all the way up, there will be a problem down the road!

[whirnot]

Absolutely! I actually had to bevel the reinforcing plate, as you would springs. Then because it was stitch welded to the cross member at the sides, I beveled the top leaf as well. Between that and a set of new tires, it drives beautifully.