Freightliner stepping away from cracked frame rail.

If the truck is otherwise sound, I would have had the frame rail replaced, no question about it.

 

This right here is exactly why they say to replace the rail. If they say it can be welded, which it can, and some schmoe gets his little rinky dink welder out, lays a bead over the crack, runs the truck and frame breaks causing an accident. He will of course point the blame in the manufacturer's direction to cover his own butt and stupidity!

In this day and age you have to cover your own rear from the stupidity of others. This is why you will never pin them down to saying...."It can be welded if done properly and by a professional".

Trust me all the schmoe on the other end of the phone will hear is "it can be welded blah blah blah......." The rest of that statement will never register in their minds.

 

As meticulous and thorough as MN was when he was planning his entry into the O/O world, I would be very, very surprised if he doesn't have a reserve set aside that would cover the cost of replacing the frame rail. I was very surprised to see him post a picture of what appeared to be a pre-existing crack that wasn't detected pre-purchase, and I was also very surprised that he didn't have the rail replaced once the crack was discovered. It's a significant departure from his meticulous and thorough ways.

 

@ Autocar, this is not a subpar or incorrect repair. The reason Freightliner may or may not have a policy of frame replacement is because they may or may not have techs capable of repairing frames correctly, it's easily botched. Usually by overkilling the patch and not allowing for flex which moves the weak point to the edge of the patch.

@ windsmith, liability is always a concern. However, I would think if there were any issues with this repair the liability would fall on the shop that performed the repair, not MNdriver.

frankly, MNdriver likely could have continued to drive the truck with the crack and never had a problem, or welded and placed a diamond shaped patch over the weld to pull strength from both sides and alleviate stress on the cracked area while allowing flex. The fact that he placed a bolted glove (although not the style of glove approved by Autocar) is about as foolproof of a repair as you can get. Probably much better than a new frame.

Any more questions kiddo's ? lol

 

wow this turned into a pissing match.

i guess we all went away from the obvious...he posted freightliner stepping away from cracked frame rail, and then posted it shouldve been in warranty dont you think lol?

you got bashed for the majority of your post just for this one statement. Now you should have started thread.... "WELL I BOUGHT A TRUCK WITH A CRAKCED FRAME RAIL WHATS THE BEST WAY TO REPAIR IT LOL...."

im outta this one now its for sure just wasting bandwith...

 

What was/is the dealer estimate to replace the frame rail?? Maybe 5k or more I know it ain't going to be cheap . As a business decision who could justify putting that kind if money into that truck. You have to fix the frame.

If you run over a family in a mini van your life is over anyway. So that argument is pointless.

 

The only question I have is why do people feel the need to add insult to injury? I can tell you right now why Autocar is leased to a carrier who sets the rates for him/her, and that's because of an inability to negotiate. Autocar is very inflexible in his thinking, draws hard lines in the sand, is confrontational and unyeilding, and allows himself to get trapped in ways that give him no "out"..... Just in this exchange with MNdriver he has done this, a simple conversation, I can only imagine what he/she is like in a business negotiation....

 

Still trying to get the hang of this format. Somehow my comments were included in the original quote. Anyway....

from above, I also said......

"It's a liability issue, it has nothing to do with the welding competency of Freightliner mech's. It's why Freightliner says to replace the entire rail, if they say you can repair the cracked frame, and then something happens, guess who's in legal trouble?? Big corps always play cya."

 

I'd have done the same thing you did. I'd have the frame rail repaired and then I'd keep an eye on it. No DOT inspection is going to put you oos unless, unless, they can demonstrate that the repair is insufficient and unsafe. It's a relatively simple matter to determine if the crack is repaired, or if it is continuing to spread....