Soo i'm veryy close to putting on my frame stiffeners.
but i need to figure out the remounting of my crossmember before i move forward.

now thought the frame stiffeners (being made for a cherokee) would have holes for the cross member.. but unfortunately not.. still the best frame stiffeners for the price tho ( ruffstuff stiffeners )
soo ive thought about drilling out the stiffeners prior to welding it on but due to where there holes are for plug welding ( intersecting where i need to drill ) i would need to dremel alot to avoid a hopping drill bit.. and well id rather not..

sooo my options as i see it arree

weld the stiffeners on and mock up the cross member and then drill holes and tap ( ill be able to drill at this point because the holes will be plugged with welds so the bit wont hop )
to me seems like a lot of work

or the easy route of welding the stiffeners on and then mocking up the cross member and welding it on. ( figure a few short welds will hold it on and ill weld on the additional plate as well )

oh BTW using roughcountrys cross member for there long arm kit
and i do plan on swapping axles going full width and going 4 link rear 3 link front long term. ( which would involve needing to remove the cross member. )

what are your opinions.

 

Since rough country's crossmember is all one piece then welding it on isn't such a good idea. Lots of customers have welded the outside brackets of our 3 piece crossmember on but our center section is still removeable with 6 bolts to acces the trans.

Really, a diamond bit on the dremel would be the easiest. If you plan to weld it then drill and tap through the weld, make sure you have really nice drill bits and taps.

 

Why not cut a section out where cross member bolts to unibody it being pretty much the strongest crossember there now dont think itwould be any weaker.

 

like make the frame stiffener two pieces??
wouldnt that take a lot away from its integrity.

i wish my cross member had a removable center section lol.

 

Weld up the stiffeners then drill and tap the holes for the cross member. You want to be able to drop the cross member when needed.

 

x2

 

when is it necesary to drop cross member unless replacing it or rebuilding trans? am i being oblivious to a necessity of accessibility?

im just tryin to weigh pros and cons.
cuz garunteed welding it on will be easier now. itll take a lot less time and headache
but will it be worth the extra hour of work to take it off when i rebuild my suspension and my tranny this summer.

to be honest im leaning towards welding it.
saves me money in buying a tap set for 250-300$ ( dont like buying individuals when you can get the set for such a better deal )
and saves me an extra headache for now.
and when i replace the cross member for a three link set up i can go through with taping holes. or make it to where the center is removable.

please try to talk me out of it though if you think im making a bad decision.

 

Just my $0.02, but I would not weld the cross member to the frame. My reasons would be to avoid a stress cracks in the weld and easy accessibility to the tranny if needed. If you weld the cross member, and that's all that holding it, if for some reason under the stresses induced by off-roading and the frame twisting you acquire a stress fracture in the weld, that could lead to your cross member dragging or coming completely off on one side while on the trail. If it was bolted the plate in theory can move a slight bit under the same stresses. I personally got grade five bolts last time I dropped the cross member to ensure a strong hold. Secondly something I've learned in my off-roading experiences is you never know when something will give out. That being said, I think it is beneficial to have the bolts instead of a full weld so if something unexpected does happen then you have easy access to the cross member then having to grind down all the welds. One solution to the dilemma you are having would be to take a torch (or something that can cut whatever gauge of plate this is) and cut slots out in the stiffener where the bolts coming from the cross member would have to go through. Then all you need to do is mark it, cut a slightly larger hole, grind the cut for anything protruding and weld the sucker on.

Do as you want, its your rig. Id just go with bolting it vs welding it. Or if you want to go way over kill, like what I do, weld and bolt it.

Good luck to which ever way you go!

 

When i did mine I figured out where the crossmember would mount, drilled holes in the stiffeners, and welded grade 8 1/2" nuts to the inside of the stiffeners. To make room for them I just cut a little square around the factory threaded holes and popped them out.

 

Another thing to do is build your crossmember to go around the outside of the framerails and run bolts through the sides, you SHOULD use crush sleeves. Bug I have just drilled and tapped holes in the stiffeners and it has worked just fine. Through bolts with big washers on the inside work too, but use locking nuts and don't torque them down to much as you will crush the rail.

 

If you are already planning on removing the transmission later this year then it's absolutely worth the time to make the cross member easily removable.

 

just cut the bottom part of the stiffener about the same width of the cross member, you won't loose that much stiffness with the side part plug welded down the frame. you're only loosing a small section where the cross member fits.

i'm running long arms with no frame stiffener, wheel the **** out of it and haven't damaged anything yet.
i do however plan to plate the frame up to my cross member, then just weld the cross member to the plate and continue on the other side. i have a removable center section.

don't weld your cross member to your stiffener unless your center section is separate.

 

hmm thats an option i hadnt considered
still requires a good bit of work but sounds a bit easier then tapping threads

when you did this how did you make sure that the stiffener was being welded up in the same place that you mocked it up the first time. (when you were finding out where to put the nuts.)
did you butt it up against the leaf spring front mounting box


my rough country cross member does that already.
they have a sleeve that goes thru the frame rail and one bolt goes all the way thru the frame rail and then another bolts uses a nut attached to a flat piece of metal that you stick in through a hole in the frame..

those are a couple other reasons im wanting to take the easy route of welding.

but you guys are starting to convince me that i should just take another weekend to do this..


this weekend i will drop my cross member
borrow some more jackstands and mock up the stiffeners
and then bolt the cross member back up and get some center punch marks made. and then drill it out and weld on some nuts.

 

Simply chopping part of the stiffener concentrates the stress in one part of the rail. I wouldnt do it. "Wheel the **** out of it" is also relative. Many people who even run stiffeners start having issues within say a year. There is no replacement for a completely plated frame and a well ties in cage.

I honestly don't remember how I have done it. I believe the stiffeners I ran had slots or holes in them already and I just welded the nuts in there.

 

i wish the slots were already lined up.. lol ohwell got the day off tmrw so ima get to work and maybe have em on by the end of the weekend.

any more tips are apprieciated.
and thanks everyone who convinced me not to weld it on im sure ill be pleased in the end.