Twisted pete Frame

No idea? I just noticed it one day. We checked and measured everything we can on the rear suspension and replaced a lot of it.la. When I measure the frame on a flat floor it starts out dead square at the front springs and the right frame rail goes up 1/8" for every 36" it goes back. By the time it gets to the rear it's an inch higher than the left. This summer we put a 5/8" block between the leaf and the axle to level it out. If I ever gat scaled where they measure every wheel for weight I'll be in trouble la

 

Did you check to see if the frames are straight front to rear? If they are and that's your only issue with the truck, and you don't mind putting some time in, maybe you coulld straighten it out yourself.

You would have to take the rears out and fifth wheel off, and leave the crossmembers in. You would have to chain down the right (high) side, and get the biggest jack that you have under the left. Have an assistant checking across the frames with a level.

After it is straight and level again sandblast whatevever you need to and give it all a good shot of paint and you'll have a nice truck.

 

The rails don't have any sag to them. It's that one has gotten out of alignment to the other. The Truck has a double frame and is starting to spread at the rear. You are right on the way to fix it. It's one of the repairs you almost don't want to start because of what you might find.

 

I agree. I had one with a double frame that was
opening. The rust really pushed it out of whack. We had a hard time getting the frames apart, but once we got it off the inner frame, it went right back to being square and straight. I couldn't believe it.

I know what you are saying about the kind of job that it is. It's ashame, though. It's probably a nice truck.

 

I had a frame straightened at MCcoy brothers in Edmonton. It just had a twist in it from being pulled back on it's wheels (it had been flopped on it's side). Cost $1000

 

Did they have to take anything off of it? They put it on a machine, right?

 

In my case, I don't think they removed anything, just put it on the frame rack and straightened it out. The $1000 bill also included a three axle alignment which, I believe is standard as part of the straightening.

 

The price I quoted was in 2007 so it may be higher now, it takes a lot longer to set the rig up on the rack than it does to, actually straighten it. I personally never did it, I just saw then. in the body shop doing it, while passing thru. Most every truck that is in a major wreck goes on the rig to be checked. In our area all trucks that are in a wrech must be recertified. You look for bent 5th wheels, frames, broken cross member ends, torque arms mountings cracked. The shop I worked in had a large body shop, we inspected units for a lot of other shops, we also has a shacker rig, for the truck looking for loose or worn parts. You have to call around, you want it done right, not the cheapest, ask the smaller body shops that do trucks who they use and the price they pay.
Just a thought!

 

That is the high stress area of the frame. I wonder how much of that is purely due to accidents. I would imagine that on a high torque truck with heavy loads to the front, a driver could cause this type of damage over time.

As the driver lets the clutch out, the frame flexes, and it's supposed to. But if the driver was rough pulling out on very steep hills with heavy loads, I could believe, especially over time, that problem could result.

I know that I have a background in dump trucks, but road trucks always seemed to be geared high when you pull out or back in. I would prefer to be able to completely let my clutch out and crawl into the dock. Or on the big, steep hills let the clutch out easily to get going. I guess I better put some money away for that 18 speed...