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treeguy
Well-Known Member
Engine Crossmember question . . . RESOLVED !
I am in the middle of my 2wd to 4wd conversion (stock) and I am to the point where I am grinding off rivets and attempting to loosen the crossmembers on 1988 (4wd donor) & the 1990 ranger. I looked last night and found 2 schools of thought on this . . . after cutting, torching, and pressing everything free, one is to spread the frame rails to ease the removal and the other is to cut and beat it out with a huge hammer . . . I am trying to remove this as quickly as I can so spreading frame seems like a much bigger pain. If one has switched with out spreading frame rails I would love some detail as to how you accomplished it ! Thanks . . . Shane
UPDATE: After looking everything over carefully I developed a game plan. If you remove everything forward of the coveted crossmember that lives in or on the frame rails and remove the frame mounts from the radiator all the way back to the cab (leave the bed alone) after carefully grinding out the welds using an angle grinder & Dremel tool . . . spreading the frame definitely eases the removal of the needed crossmember. To install it on the donor truck frame make sure that everything in inside the frame rails is free and clear in front of frame rail (DO NOT NEED TO SPREAD THE FRAME RAILS). After grinding smooth the old welds from where the 2wd crossmember sat . . . and removing the spring mounts . . . it easily was coaxed into place with out too much hammering and more importantly the frame rails don't have to be spread to install it.
I am in the middle of my 2wd to 4wd conversion (stock) and I am to the point where I am grinding off rivets and attempting to loosen the crossmembers on 1988 (4wd donor) & the 1990 ranger. I looked last night and found 2 schools of thought on this . . . after cutting, torching, and pressing everything free, one is to spread the frame rails to ease the removal and the other is to cut and beat it out with a huge hammer . . . I am trying to remove this as quickly as I can so spreading frame seems like a much bigger pain. If one has switched with out spreading frame rails I would love some detail as to how you accomplished it ! Thanks . . . Shane
UPDATE: After looking everything over carefully I developed a game plan. If you remove everything forward of the coveted crossmember that lives in or on the frame rails and remove the frame mounts from the radiator all the way back to the cab (leave the bed alone) after carefully grinding out the welds using an angle grinder & Dremel tool . . . spreading the frame definitely eases the removal of the needed crossmember. To install it on the donor truck frame make sure that everything in inside the frame rails is free and clear in front of frame rail (DO NOT NEED TO SPREAD THE FRAME RAILS). After grinding smooth the old welds from where the 2wd crossmember sat . . . and removing the spring mounts . . . it easily was coaxed into place with out too much hammering and more importantly the frame rails don't have to be spread to install it.
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