SER1 AW: Extra Hole in Chassis member

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Hi Diana,

actually you are only the second person to answer (I was starting to doubt
the major again), so your advice is very welcome.

I am still pondering whether to replace the whole rear cross member. The
work to be done on this one is:

- Closing the central hole 
- Driving back the two spacer tubes (heating them on both sides, than hammer
until flush with the rest)
- Bend the right hand corner back into its position
- At the right of the spacer tubes is a pretty deep dent. As I have no
equipment of pulling it out that would be strong enough it needs cutting out
and replacing with a new panel.

Welding wise I am up to mastering this challenge. Replacing the cross member
means fabricating some sort of jig with angle iron to position the new part
after cutting out the existing one. The new parts from Craddocks come
without the brackets to fit the rear tub to. So they need to be fabricated
and welded in position.
Putting in a new one would ease the work to get all the dried mud out of the
chassis as it can be easily accessed with a water hose. Alternatively, two
large holes have to be drilled at the end of each girder to allow water and
mud to flow out.

The ambition to save the existing cross member is still fighting with the
cowardice of just putting in a new one.

As a compromise, tonight I will try to place a hydraulic cylinder in
position and bend the corner back. Then I'll take it from there.

Tomorrow I will post some pictures of tonight's efforts.

Cheers, Ulrico

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Diana Alan [mailto:AlanD@xxxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx] 
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 28. April 2005 06:54
An: ulrico.becker@xxxxxx.xx
Cc: Diana @ Home (E-mail)
Betreff: Extra Hole in Chassis member


Ulrico

I have been away for a week and just noticed your pics on the SOG.  You most
probably have been told this already however, that hole in the middle of
your Landy's rear chassis cross member is not standard.  It appears to be an
adaptation for a truck type NATO Standard tow jaw which had a large shaft
protruding through the back of the mount that allowed the jaw to rotate.
The Land Rover NATO Standard tow jaw still rotated but had a flush back and
a lower load rating.

From memory, this was the vehicle that belonged to a construction company
before purchased by you.  It appears that they put on the higher rated jaw
and then towed very full loads, probably around construction sites.  That
would account for the cracking of the spacer tubes from the cross-member. 


Are you going to fill in the hole or leave it as is?  You could hide it
behind a Series 2 tow jaw plate, the vertical one that is "U" shaped and
allows you to lower the location of the tow hitch.

There will be a lot of work to weld all 8 of the spacer tubes and re-plate
the hole, so it may be easier to replace the entire rear member.

Just my opinion from someone who can't weld!

Cheers
Diana

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