Pete, I had a welder come over and do this for me a few years back. Mine was
a hairline crack on the lower plate that went around the bolt. You need to
get as much as you can out of there, mostly the exhaust system and the half
shafts. You may also want to remove the trailing arms - I'm not sure this is
necessary, but I had them off as part of the repairs I was doing, and doesant
take that long to do. You should be able to protect the brake lines with some
alum foil. Also, you can make your own reinforcing gussets using inexpensive
1/8" (I think) steel stock from Hope Depot, Lowes, etc to box in the front
mounts. I used an index card to create a template, then transfer the pattern
to the steel. My welder was able to cut the four plates in just a few
minutes, and I also made a few drain holes to avoid trapping water. Or you
can just buy the reinforcing kit from TRF.
In any case, you will want to get a wire brush or a die grinder to clean the
area as much as possible for any good welding job. Get the car up as high as
possible in the rear to allow the welder to get underneath. The whole job
will probably take about 2-3 hrs if everything is ready to go. Prep, prime
and paint and you are good to go.
I'm not a welder, but the guy I hired didnt do anything "special" and it came
out fine. If he is concerned, ask him what it is he is concerned about and
what if anything can be done by you beforehand to save money.
John - 1976 TR6
Pete wrote:>
I found a cracked diff mount - RH front side. The classic incarnation of
this widely seen problem. Anyways, I was referred to a frame expert who
has made repairs of this type before on LBCs. He proceeded to tell me
that there are critical points on the frame that are subject to heat
distortion and must therefore be treated with special care to avoid
this. He is of the opinion that diff mounts are in this category. Is
that the general consensus?
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