Lets talk about Cross members...

[G60michael]

hi Guys sorry to dig up older threads, just wondering whats the best way to sort out my Cross member, its not rusted out to the outside that I can find as of yet. Lots of shit in there though

[RiverPatrol]

Is the underside bashed at all? If not, clean the inside up, rustproof it and the top piece and weld the top back on.

[G60michael]

Hi Leslie, its actually quiet straight, just where I've cut the holes looks crappy, I was thinking just cut an new top and bottom bit and weld them in, plus clean all the inside out, rust Converter and proof and paint the insides with Fish Oil

[G60michael]

Cut the sides out to get right in and scrape everything out, some minor scale rust not to deep, might just rust convert and Rust Proof then Weld it back together ?

[RMP&O]

Put a reinforcement plate on the inside, welded in, before you seal it up. I use 1/4" if the crossmember is fairly good still, just a plate along the bottom, see my threads for detailed pics. Cut out the small "H" shaped reinforcement on either side of the crossmember. That looks pretty bad in your crossmember like they all are and will only get worse as well as catch funk as it comes down into the crossmember and hold it there. This is why they all rot on either outside edge (on the bottom) of the crossmember, the little "H" shaped reinforcement in there just traps debris. Use weld through primer or rust will come back. Make sure it has good drainage, ie good drain holes in the bottom. The crossmember is designed to be "flow through" meaning you can wash out the inside of the crossmember from the body outriggers. Up inside the body outriggers is a passage (under the frame rail) that allows debris/water/mud to flow down into the crossmember. Best if you can keep this all working like Nissan designed it. If you try and seal it up with a rust converter and then weld on top of that any rust converter you put in there will burn and be worthless. So that is why you use weld through primer, put the rust converter in there after it is all sealed up and finished, along with the fish oil or whatever you guys use. KSB makes a great cavity coater that comes with a long nozzle, you can even get a 360* spray tip for it.

Cheers

[Ascinder]

Has anyone thought about/looked into using one of these axle trusses flipped upside down as a crossmember? A lot of these shops are smaller and may be willing to kick out something custom for a similar price due to the added simplicity. http://www.artecindustries.com/44-Wagon ... p_227.html