removing trailing arm crossmember

[vegaschevy]

Is it possible without removing the cab on a SWB 2wd? seems you may be able to get the rivets out without to much work. Anyone done it? any tips?

[lolife99]

I plan on cutting the "center" of the old crossmember out (cutting at about 4"-6" from each end) with a sawzall.
Then just grind the rivets and remove what's left, without having to fight the whole thing.

[dznucks]

i just removed mine. i used a plasma cutter. sawzall will work, i guess. i made two cuts, to remove the center, leaving the four tabs still riveted on. I then used the plasma to blast off the rivet heads. then i used the tabs as leverage to yank the remaining portion of the rivets out.

[dznucks]

Watch your fuel line!!!

[panhandler62]

I must have the "rivets from hell" because there has been nothing "easy" about knocking the vrivets out of any part of my frane. :P

[lolife99]

You guys with plasma cutters have it made.
I still have to grind the rivet
head and air chisel mine out.

[dznucks]

I borrowed a plasma. it is worth it for the rivets alone.
You may look around in your area, you would be suprised at the number of places you can rent them for a resonable price. you'll need an air compressor for most of them though.

another thing that i found that helped are carbide drill bits. Fastenal has resonable prices on them. they are brittle and break easily. but if you use it nice and slow, making sure not to let it grab the metal, it will drill right through the rivets and frame.
another thing that helped was a 7/16's carbide reamer for opening up the holes that didnt line up or that got messed up with the plasma.

good luck, go ahead and put money in the cuss jar, its not going to be fun, but it will be worth it.

[stealthy '69]

Originally Posted by lolife99

You guys with plasma cutters have it made.
I still have to grind the rivet
head and air chisel mine out.

Yea well my little 13 gallon craftsman compressor won't run my air chisel worth a poo. Hell it won't even power my impact enough to take the wheels off. I guess it's the old school way for me.
I've also found that if you grind the head off, then drill a hole a little smaller then the rivet, use as BFH and a punch it comes out easier.

[vegaschevy]

Originally Posted by lolife99

You guys with plasma cutters have it made.
I still have to grind the rivet
head and air chisel mine out.

every factory rivot i have ever taken off it seemed to work easier then a plasma to just air chisel the head off.....

[dwcsr]

If you can get a drill in there drill the rivet and bust off the head, then drive it out with a punch.

Center punch the rivet head. Use a 1/8" bit to drill a pilot hole past the jointed metal pieces. Then use a drill bit thats atleast 3/4 the size of the rivet past the 2 joint pieces of metal then bust off the head with a chisel, the rivet will collapse on itself when you drive it out. If you don't drill past the jointed pieces of metal it will take far more hammer force to drive it out.

[SCOTI]

Good pro quality air chisel & tip = easy job. Older 'hand me down' air hammer & Home Depot tip = bring a sack lunch 'cause you'll be there a while (bring a cut-off wheel too 'cause you'll need it as well ).

[n2billet]

This is what I used and it took me less than 20 minutes to knock it out (had to stop and get a drink) This is one of my favorite tools in the shop......ask Scoti, I use it for everything! Make sure and get good bits.....they cost almost as much as the hammer but make life easier.

[cst350]

I rented a 35lb electric jack hammer from the local rental yard. Sharpened the 3" wide clay spade into a chisel. Nothing like a little leverage! A couple of the upper rivets still needed to be drilled out from the frame after the crossmember was removed. I got a long drill bit and went through the lower holes so as not to ovalize the frame holes.

[Hart_Rod]

Originally Posted by n2billet

This is what I used and it took me less than 20 minutes to knock it out (had to stop and get a drink) This is one of my favorite tools in the shop......ask Scoti, I use it for everything! Make sure and get good bits.....they cost almost as much as the hammer but make life easier.

I got a air chisel and bits at Lowes for $20. I'm sure it's not as nice as yours, but for the average guy it's not a bad way to go.

[capev86]

i used an air chisel to remove two rivets on the front crossmember to install the drop down brackets for the CPP sway bar on my 72 burb 3/4 ton. the frequent breaks to let the pump catch up allowed me to rest my arms.....tough lying on your back under the truck holding up a heavy impact gun. a portable tank is great if you don't do it every day....but i soo want a huge tank and a 5+ hp pump in the future when i have my (dream) garage/shop all set up. this winter my burb will have to sit out in the snow. i need to get a custom fit cover and a good tarp to go over it.

[Naterman35]

It helps if your bit has a V in the center to...


When i was taking things off my frame i just got an air chisel and the bit had a V... Went extremely fast... I first tried a torch and it sucked for doing that.

[Damien]

I used my matco air chisel and a cheap bit to get sway bar mounts off. It took maybe 10 min. to get the four rivets out and a good hammer to knock the brackets off. Much much better the gringing the heads off and pounding rivets out.