frame misalignment

[Megunticook]

I am not ready to address this issue yet (just finishing overhauling the entire brake system now--installing new booster and m.c. hopefully this week), but it appears my driver's side frame rail may have dropped about an inch sometime in the past year. The driver side door is hitting the edge of the fender panel at the bottom (no big deal--will be replacing the fender and repairing the rusty door down the line here), and when viewed from the front the grill is slightly cocked with respect to the cab. Also when I close the hood it's clear that the driver side fender is lower in front.

I gather this means the frame rails aren't parallel in front (no accidents, but I may have gotten a little rough with snow plowing in the past--have tried to be gentler this past year).

According to the FSM, minor misalignments can be corrected. Has anyone ever done this? How would you go about correcting this problem? Did the front crossmember get bent somehow? If so, would it be a matter of removing it and bending it back?

I also have totally worn springs and shocks. Could that cause it? I'm thinking not.

I'm planning to paint the frame and restore the suspension this summer, just wondering what would be involved in straightening things.

[bherder]

You might wanna get under and look for any cracks in the frame... Hanging a plow in front puts a LOT of stress on it (Especially and old truck)....

I cracked the frame right next to the front-right shock mount. It's been repaired/welded ... But that why I've 'retired' the ol' girl from plowing duties.
We've got a Furd Bronco for pushing snow around now... Who cares if that gets broke..... :D :D :D (BTW, 'Grandma' bought the Furd, so don't laugh at me! ;) )

[Speed Dragon]

Sounds more like some junk body mounts.

[Megunticook]

You might wanna get under and look for any cracks in the frame... Hanging a plow in front puts a LOT of stress on it (Especially and old truck)....

Yeah, I know I shouldn't be plowing with her, but damn, she's a WORK truck, not a showpiece!

I really need to clean up and paint my frame, though, before I lose any more material to the rust (that liquid salt the highway depts. started using about 5 years ago absolutely eats steel alive). I will do a thorough inspection and if I see any cracks I gather they can be welded (there's a section of the FSM that talks about that).

[Megunticook]

Sounds more like some junk body mounts.

Hmmmm...you mean the radiator support bracket might just be sitting cocked on the frame because of a rotten mount? I thought about that, took a quick look, lots of serious rust issues there for sure. But it also looks like my snowplow pushplates, which of course are bolted to the frame rails, are slightly cocked just like the grill appears to be.

Or do you mean that the cab might have sunk a little on the passenger side, and that's what's lopsided?

[acton mike]

Frame rails do not normally bend or sag from normal use, nor, to a great extent, from abnormal use/abuse

snow plowing may knock things out of shape depending on how the plow is mounted and how rough the operator is when plowing

a frame rail might crack or corrode which might lead to a sag but the area of cracking/corrosion will be quite evident

the most common cause of frame damage is collision and you would probably remember is you hit something hard enough to cause a sag, sway, or diamond condition the frame rails.

sag is where a frame rail is pushed down or up from its normal horizontal plane

sway is where the frame is bent from side to side; you may have well seen a pickup with a sway in the frame; you know - when you are right behind it going straight down the road and you can see all four wheels - some folks call that dog-tracking or crab-tracking

if the vehicle was the subject of a hit and run, and, if the hit was hard enough to cause frame deformation then you would probably see signs of body damage

Another common bit of frame damage as a result of a collision is where the frame goes diamond; usually by a collision where the impact from the front or rear but on a corner. This is exactly what it sounds like; instead the the frame being rectangular, because one rail is pushed back, the rectangle becomes a diamond.

You can, of course, as a result of a hard hit, have combinations of sag, sway and diamond

but I digress

I believe that you should probably look for soggy body mounts and then look for signs of cracking or corrosion and then look for collision damage

[Megunticook]

I took a closer look at the radiator support and it appears possibly that the base of the support is sagging where it cantilevers out beyond the driver side frame rail. Pretty badly rusted down there.

Anybody know where I can get a replacement (speed, you got any down there in the yard?)? I'm pretty sure there's no aftermarket on these.

Unfortunately the yards around here don't Dodges that old.

Possibly I could pull mine and patch it back together, would have to see. That base looks pretty rough...