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2nd Gen Ram Tech1994-2001 Rams: This section is for TECHNICAL discussions only, that involve the 1994 through 2001 Rams. For any non-tech discussions, please direct your attention to the "General discussion/NON-tech" sub sections.
Hey guys been a while. 1996 1500 sport, 2wd, reg cab, short bed, 5.9 swap with a few goodies inside.
Couple updates... My 93 Dak is gone. Unfinished. All that work wasted. Don't want to talk about it. But the ram is all good. 5.9 swap done, blew the first tranny. Put in a nice Mopar performance rebuilt 46re, k&n Cai, and finished the exhaust. Had to go to jail for 5 months so the truck sat for a bit. Gf drove it a mile to and from work every now and then to keep the battery charged.
Now I'm back to work and just ordered in all the new front steering and susp parts. Tie rods and sleeves, upper and lower ball joints, pitman and idler all from Detroit axle. Moog hd control arm bushings(upper and lower) and a pair of Bilstein shocks. I also picked up energy suspension sway bar bushings and end links along with a 32mm sway bar.
So here's the problem. The frame horns where the sway bar bushings mount is rusted to crap. It's bad. The bar is still up there fairly solid for normal driving. But any hard cornering is gonna cause some problems. Any advice? I'm a good welder and can fab something up easy. I also have a donor 2wd at the yard I work at that I can chop the front section off of no problem. Just trying to get some ideas before I start chopping and welding.
How far back does the bad part go? I am not really a fan of cutting/splicing frames, but, I know folks do it on a regular basis anyway. Complete frame swap would be an exercise......
Think I would just weld in some patches then. Dropping the sway bar down a quarter inch or so won't affect its function.
The problem is you can't. You have to replace the whole frame (front only). Because the bolts will just spin. Ask me how I know my frame is doing the same, because dirt and water sit in there. There actually is a procedure for replacing a box frame, you add square tubing inside of it, which actually makes it stronger than factory.
Well if I fabbed the pieces the nuts would obviously be welded to the back of the plate. So yes, it can be done. I'm not going to replace a whole frame over two tiny 6inch by 2inch spots of rust that can be fixed
Last edited by Azboyinmi; Apr 9, 2020 at 02:48 PM.
Reason: Spelling
Well if I fabbed the pieces the nuts would obviously be welded to the back of the plate. So yes, it can be done. I'm not going to replace a whole frame over two tiny 6inch by 2inch spots of rust that can be fixed
By replacing the frame I mean cut it off and weld a new front piece. Welding nuts on the back is to much of a risk. I just cutoff a front section from my parts truck
Properly done it isn't a risk. I could cut off new section and weld it in. Then I have to worry about alignment issues with core support mounts fenders etc. Or I could simply weld on 1/4 inch channel and add a rail to rail cross brace for added frame stiffness and call it good. Not sure yet. Gonna do some cutting this weekend to see how far back I gotta go til I hit solid steel. If it's too much then I'll go with replacement frame horns
I-CAR certified auto body frame tech. i don't know Dodge specifics, but i am sure there is a repair process for the front end of the frame rail section repair like most other makes.
the repair technique is called sleeve butt weld. you cut the rail straight and the replacement one in the exact same place. you plug weld tabs on one end of the frame rail and then butt weld the 2 rails together. you also plug weld the tab to the other end of the rail.
here is a GM factory authorized repair. description
Yeah if I replace the frame rails that's how I would already be doing it. Trying to avoid that if possible. This isn't the frame that'll be u see the truck for the rest of it's life. Once this truck gets dubbed the project truck it'll be getting a new frame. For now I'm pulling the sway bar off, I'm going to plate both sides of each rail with 3/16 plate then a piece of 1/4 channel will get welded in with nuts welded to the back for the sway bar bracket bolts. Then I'm going to add a piece of 2x2 or 2x4 3/16 wall tubing from one rail to the other for a little extra frame stiffness. Should hold up nicely
Rusty frame horns
my frame is doing the same, because dirt and water sit in there. There actually is a procedure for replacing a box frame, you add square tubing inside of it, which actually makes it stronger than factory.
