2 frame rail questions

65Rob · Feb 12, 2010

I have a couple areas on the frame rail that need to be patched, one is under the rear spring mount, the other is beside whatever that brace is?

The 1st question is just out of curiousity, what is that brace for, there was a bolt through it holding an exhaust hanger, seems like overkill for just that?

The 2nd question is on removing the spring mount, is there anything holding it in there other than some spot welds on the top flange?

2+2GT · Feb 12, 2010

That cross brace is additional reinforcement of the rear cross on convertibles.

There should be more than just a couple of welds on the spring eye. The factory dual exhaust hanger attached to holes in the rail that you don't have. You can see the outline in the surface rust around the mounting holes.

65Rob · Feb 12, 2010

It looks like it may be more hassle to remove than it's worth. What seems to have happened is the bracket and mount have rusted and expanded causing the frame to split, like a pipe when the water freezes in it. I'm thinking maybe I can just cut out the split part of the frame, grind out the mountain of rust and then weld a patch back on. The frame is actually very solid other than those two areas and I'm a little nervous about causing more damage while trying to remove the mount. I had a heck of a time getting the bumper brace out, I could see this being as difficult. Hard to drill out spot welds when you can't see them.

2+2GT · Feb 12, 2010

You may have noticed the one I showed had already been cut out of a car. If you can't repair the damaged sections in place you'll have to cut and replace.

65Rob · Feb 12, 2010

Yes I noticed that, I'm now hoping to repair the damaged pieces in place. My fear is my frame will look like the one you are showing by the time I hack out the mount turning a small problem into a big one.

As always thanks for your help

ETEL64 · Feb 12, 2010

What are those Reinforced holes for

I believe those (2) holes with tubes are for the shipping/transportation brackets. Some dealers never removed them and later others used them to suppport the dual exhaust.

2+2GT · Feb 12, 2010

ETEL64 said:
I believe those (2) holes with tubes are for the shipping/transportation brackets. Some dealers never removed them and later others used them to suppport the dual exhaust.

The two horizontally-aligned holes are for the tie-down plates, the two vertically aligned holes are for dual exhaust, non-dual cars didn't have these.

The frame I showed you was cut out from under this floor. Notice you can see the new rail under the floor. They do this one piece at a time to preserve accurate dimensions:

65Rob · Feb 12, 2010

For tie-down plates, well that's interesting, I've certainly learned an awful lot about all these odd little things since coming on this forum, thanks for that!

They removed the frame from under the floor before removing the floor? I can't imagine how much grief that would be, well actually I can

2+2GT · Feb 12, 2010

For tie-down plates, well that's interesting, I've certainly learned an awful lot about all these odd little things since coming on this forum, thanks for that!
Yeah, the dealers were supposed to remove them as part of "dealer prep", but Ford was so stingy with pricing for this many dealers just left them on. Funny thing is, people are now buying repro plates, or paying large money for hard to find unusual originals. I can't see the point of installing something that wasn't supposed to stay on the car.

They removed the frame from under the floor before removing the floor? I can't imagine how much grief that would be, well actually I can [/QUOTE]
No harder than taking the floor out first. You see all those holes? I mean the round ones. That's where the welds were drilled. They had to replace the entire rail on both sides. Funny thing is, the front ones were OK.

65Rob · Feb 12, 2010

2+2GT said:
For tie-down plates, well that's interesting, I've certainly learned an awful lot about all these odd little things since coming on this forum, thanks for that!
Yeah, the dealers were supposed to remove them as part of "dealer prep", but Ford was so stingy with pricing for this many dealers just left them on. Funny thing is, people are now buying repro plates, or paying large money for hard to find unusual originals. I can't see the point of installing something that wasn't supposed to stay on the car.

They removed the frame from under the floor before removing the floor? I can't imagine how much grief that would be, well actually I can

No harder than taking the floor out first. You see all those holes? I mean the round ones. That's where the welds were drilled. They had to replace the entire rail on both sides. Funny thing is, the front ones were OK.[/QUOTE]

How could they remove the bracket given that it's buried in the frame under the floor? I must be missing something

I understand the way they drilled it out for the most part, it's the rear part under the bumper brace that I can't imagine removing from below. I had absolute fits just getting that bumper brace off, heavy gauge steel welded in places I couldn't really find particularly the part down onto the frame. Odd that the front rails were good, perhaps more road dirt sticks to the back rails since the floor kind of traps it?

2+2GT · Feb 12, 2010

65Rob said:
How could they remove the bracket given that it's buried in the frame under the floor? I must be missing something

Easy:

65Rob · Feb 13, 2010

We must not be talking about the same thing, this bracket with the two holes horizontally aligned are for a tie down plate and the dealer was supposed to remove it? Unless you're a magician I can't see how you can get that out of there without cutting up the floor?

65Rob · Feb 15, 2010

Quick question about this bracket. Is it spot welded to the frame or just held with the one bolt? I've removed the bolt so I'm not sure if it's welds holding it in place or just rusted in place?

2+2GT · Feb 15, 2010

We have a terminology disconnect. Your "bracket" is the reinforcing plate intended for attaching these. They are where Ford anchored the rear end of the car during shipping:

65Rob · Feb 15, 2010

Well that makes much more sense, so the dealer didn't always remove the bracket. Mine was removed so it was the reinforcing plate I was thinking of, bad terminology on my part.

Do you know if it's welded in place? There was a bolt through the bottom center of it which seems redundant if it's welded?

It may be easier for me to patch the frame if it's removed but I don't want to go all nuts on it trying to remove it either.

2+2GT · Feb 15, 2010

Shouldn't be a bolt there, that must have been added by someone. They were welded in place, so they wouldn't shift prior to the plate being bolted on, and of course since they were captive in the rail, they'd rattle if loose.

65Rob · Feb 15, 2010

Thanks, I guess I'll just leave it there and weld around it. Unfortunately stacking metal on metal is just asking for a rust problem. I fixed the part under the spring mount, still have to finish the weld, ran out of shielding gas as always on a weekend when they're closed

Thanks for always taking time to answer my silly qustions

Looked like this before and so does the side by the reinforcing plate

2 frame rail questions

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