Bent Frame?

[enaberif]

What do you guys think? If you look at the left and right spring hanger you can see the right one is lower than the left one.

Do you think this is signs of a bent frame?

[J Knight]

I can barely see anything with those "rays of sunshine" in your pic.

[enaberif]

Yeah I apologize.. Here is something better. I took measurements to the bottom holes on the frame horns..

Right frame horn:



Left frame horn:

[tommy217xxx]

Somethings bent. Look at pic 2 and 4 where the Fram horns come out under the bumper. Pic 2 has a bigger gap then pic 4

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by tommy217xxx

Somethings bent. Look at pic 2 and 4 where the Fram horns come out under the bumper. Pic 2 has a bigger gap then pic 4

Thought so :\ You can also see the brackets where the sway bar mounts bolt to the on right side the bracket is all bent as well. I had to take a hammer to it to get the bolt out.

You can see in these two pictures there are different body mounts in place. If I was to make them the same the one on the left would skew the body up by the amount the frame is twisted.

Right side:


Left side:

[bmchevy1979]

It looks like the body bushings are bad notice how the core support bushing on driver side is crushed more than passenger side these trucks do tend to lean as well

[bmchevy1979]

just read previous post it could also be the other cab mounts making cab lean to one side measure all the mounts

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by bmchevy1979

It looks like the body bushings are bad notice how the core support bushing on driver side is crushed more than passenger side these trucks do tend to lean as well

Body bushings won't affect the frame horns. If the body bushings were awry the body would appear all twisted which its not.

[bmchevy1979]

Not if body was bolted together before mounts went bad my 74 the doors lined up and so did the fenders until I pulled it apart then it settled and doors shut like crap and the front clip wouldn't bolt up right and it because the mounts had collapsed and when I unbolted it it allowed everything to move when I put the new body mounts in the problems went away I'm not saying your frame isn't bent but there is a chance it isn't

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by bmchevy1979

Not if body was bolted together before mounts went bad my 74 the doors lined up and so did the fenders until I pulled it apart then it settled and doors shut like crap and the front clip wouldn't bolt up right and it because the mounts had collapsed and when I unbolted it it allowed everything to move when I put the new body mounts in the problems went away I'm not saying your frame isn't bent but there is a chance it isn't

so undo all the body mounts to see if it will settle back?

[bmchevy1979]

No you will regret that I would buy some new mounts though but if frame is bent it likely won't be square either so I would do a lot of measuring and make sure I wouldn't go off of the ground for measurements lots of other variables come into play then and also have it on perfectly flat ground as these frames flex alot so if it's not on the flat some things won't be right

[Baradium]

I agree that you can't go by the gap, as the body mounts could be the culprit. A slightly sagging spring on the opposite side would give you that illusion of a bent frame as well.

It's really hard to verify a frame's condition without a jig IMO. If you could find a perfectly level spot (again hard to do) and put the truck on jack stands on the frame, aft of the suspension, you could get some decent measurements that way. Do you happen o have access to a lift somewhere? First thing you need to do is get the suspension out the equation.

[enaberif]

I am going to take some raw measurements from axle to frame and ground to fender openings and see what that is like.

Then I will find a lift and see if that changes anything.

[walkerb]

They look like completely different types/style front core support bushings

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by walkerb

They look like completely different types/style front core support bushings

Yup! I'm thinking its to make up for the issues with the frame.

[mercman1951]

Wow. BUT...these frames weren't that great from the factory. You have to remember, these trucks were built on a production line, in a time when fixtures were horrid, quality control was loose at best, and drugs and alcohol were rampant in factories and a more accepted fact of life. To expect a frame for one of these trucks to be spot-on level is foolish. An inch off doesn't surprise me. I repaired wrecked GM cars that had 2 shims on the right front core support, and 8 on the left to get the front sheetmetal to line up. GM made the bodies look good with shims and bushings. I have a fairly unmolested '85, and from what I've seen, quality control was severely lacking then-- nowhere near what it is today. The fellow I bought it from worked at the Flint plant; he told me I didn't want to know what they did to cabs to make the doors open and close, because they didn't weld them together right. My driver's door to me still does not close at all within an acceptable tolerance. You literally have to slam it to get it to close. Bottom line - that might just be a stock frame that's never been wrecked. If the truck has been jumped...well...there you go.

[enaberif]

I have found a warp in the frame just near the power steering box that confirms the frame WAS tweaked at some point.

The rest of the frame seems ok but I also had to remove the rear bump because they decided to weld 2" pipes from both sides of the frame to the bumper causing some twisting as well.

I will be taking a few cutting wheels and the welder and fixing the horn so I can put the bumper back on straight. Then I will rip out the front cross member and fix that as that is all bent up as well and fix the sway bar mounts as those are all twisted up as well.

[enaberif]

Well found MORE issues still It appears the right frame horn is pushed back or the left frame is pushed forward.

Straight on shot:


Left bumper side:


Right bumper side:

[kalbert]

It could still be a sheet metal problem. There are a couple inches of room for adjustments in the core support, fenders, and cab alignment. I would not use the sheet metal as the true square for measuring the frame. It's more likely that the sheet metal is crooked and/or body mounts are shot. Without a jig it is very hard to figure out what part, if any, of the frame is out of alignment. You can make educated guesses by measuring triagulated known points on the frame but even then the rails are not mirror images so finding reference points that match on both sides is tricky.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by kalbert

It could still be a sheet metal problem. There are a couple inches of room for adjustments in the core support, fenders, and cab alignment. I would not use the sheet metal as the true square for measuring the frame. It's more likely that the sheet metal is crooked and/or body mounts are shot. Without a jig it is very hard to figure out what part, if any, of the frame is out of alignment. You can make educated guesses by measuring triagulated known points on the frame but even then the rails are not mirror images so finding reference points that match on both sides is tricky.

I'd agree but there is a 1" difference that I will be needing to make a spacer for the bumper to make it line up properly due to different lengths in frame horns.

[mrolds88]

To check the "square" of the frame. Find 4 holes, two in the front and two in the back in the frame. Make sure they are mates. Same on drivers side and passenger side. Take some fishing line and sinkers. drop lines from those 4 holes. Making sure that the line leaves the holes at the same point side to side. Then measure Right front to left back, and left front to right back. That will tell you if the frame is square.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by mrolds88

To check the "square" of the frame. Find 4 holes, two in the front and two in the back in the frame. Make sure they are mates. Same on drivers side and passenger side. Take some fishing line and sinkers. drop lines from those 4 holes. Making sure that the line leaves the holes at the same point side to side. Then measure Right front to left back, and left front to right back. That will tell you if the frame is square.

This is great advice! I will definitely do this. I don't have a flat spot I can do a lot of stuff around but I do have a spot I can do this.

Thank you very much!

[esbstuff]

Check for a bow down under the cab... if the bottom of the frame is not flat with the ground, its bent.

My personal opinion is its bent. As a beater truck, drive it. If you are going to do a ground up show truck thing, buy another frame to start with.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by esbstuff

Check for a bow down under the cab... if the bottom of the frame is not flat with the ground, its bent.

My personal opinion is its bent. As a beater truck, drive it. If you are going to do a ground up show truck thing, buy another frame to start with.

I was hoping it wasn't going to be beater truck. But I can't even get the front bumper to sit properly so... plans will be chaning.

[Super_Dave]

No chance for a front frame graft? I have a nice 1979 front frame for a C10 all the way back past the transmission. Sand blasted and epoxy primed, complete with cross member. If you are willing to drive south to get it, I would let you have it.