Rusty's HD Crossmember?

[ORCA]

Anyone know if this thing is worth a damn? Or if it even fits on a 'manche? I might be able to score one cheap... :cheers:

 

http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchant.m ... de=xj_skid

[comancheman]

looks very similar to the stocker. i don't know of its worth the risk of snapping off the bolts when removing the original

[DirtyComanche]

It fits. Maybe. It won't be drilled for the BA10-5 and maybe not the AX-15 (I don't know how a AX-15 mounts).

 

 

Worth anything? The non-drop one maybe. But then again not really.

 

 

The drop one is pretty useless. Unless you like a boat anchor. And that's your tcase I'm talking about.

 

 

Oh it is pretty solid, it's .188~.

[ORCA]

Weak. We'll thanks for the input.

 

My stocker is completley thrashed and I'm looking for a stronger alternative..

[mjeff87]

Guy over on NAXJA (I think it was....) reinforced a stock one pretty nicely with some plating. Run a search over there for it, it's a good writeup with alot of good pics. Wasn't too long ago, IIRC.

 

Jeff

 

edit: here's the post....

 

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=77601

[Pete M]

My crossmembers (one for the suspension, one for the tranny, and one for the t-case skid) are all made from 1/4" thick sheet that I had a local shop bend up the edges into a shallow C-channel. I see it as a personal challenge to see if I can hurt it. :D

 

Here's a scrap piece:

 

 

No wait. I take that back. The t-case and suspension ones were custom, the trans/t-case one was a scrap piece of shelving. Still 1/4" thick and a shallow C-channel, just a bit narrower and I used that extra brace that MJ have (the one that mounts on the inside of the frame and the stock crossmember bolts on) to hold it up.

 

[ORCA]

Thanks guys for the input and pictures. It'd be nice to have as beefy of a set as the one you got Pete! :cheers:

 

I have a small set back - the fact that I can't weld. I don't know how nor have the tools :cry: :roll:

 

For this reason i've been looking for an aftermarket production substitute. I do know people around town who can weld, but mainly rock rails and bumpers. I wouldn't expect to get a deal from them either..

 

Maybe I'm going about it the wrong way?

[Pete M]

My trans/t-case crossmember is bolted up. :D I'll snap a pic next chance I get. I used a TJ AX-15 mount, but I imagine there's a way to get the same result with other mounts. :dunno: For the custom crossmembers, I just looked up steel shops in the phone book and found one that both sold steel and would do some simple fab work. They cut the steel to my specs and then folded up the sides at a 90*. Nice and simple and reasonably cheap. :D

As to welding, I own a $65 stick welder that's running through a 15 amp circuit. It'll blow the breaker if I go longer than 5 seconds at a time. :( And it's not powerful enough to truly weld either. But these limitations didn't stop me from getting the job done. I use what I call the "bubble gum method". I stick the weld material to one piece, then the other, and I make a small bridge between them. Make enough of these bridges and the part is strong enough to be removed and taken to a pro.:D I would never trust my welding skills with my life, even if I had a 220v welder. I found a local welding shop in the phone book and he did the welding on my bumpers and suspension crossmember. The majority of the rest of the welding on my truck was done by a semi-local semi-pro that does fab work on the side for fun. Since he's not insured, I did a thorough job of talking with previous customers and checking out his handywork for myself. He did the rollbar and rocker guards.

Ask around and don't hesitate to use the ol' phone book (or yellowpages.com). :cheers: