Scary ride .....: I found the problem

Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in HUDSON
I got the car up on jack stands yesterday, got some good lighting and found that there had been some movement of the driver side spring pad on the rearend housing. After unbolting the U-bolts, I jacked up the rearend a little bit and sure enough the spring pad welds had broken, allowing the rearend to twist a bit. But that wasn't the problem, just the result of the other problem I found.



With out any weight on the springs there was a tremendous amount of slop where the the spring hanger U-bolt ( I don't know what esle to call it) goes through the frame rail. After I removed the nut(?) on the spring portion of the spring hanger (U-bolt) I was able to basically just slide the U-bolt through the frame rail. I'm not sure, but I don't think that I should be able to do that.

The hole on the outside of the framerail is fine, but the the hole on the inside of the framerail is oblong and jagged.



i105.photobucket.com/albums/m215/52kahuna/springhanger.jpg

i105.photobucket.com/albums/m215/52kahuna/framerail.jpg

Now that I know what the problem is, I need to see a picture of the frame rail and the hole in it, so I can see how screwed I really am.



I am thankful for everyone's suggestions, and they have gotten me this far, now I need to know where to go from here.



I hope the pictures give you a better idea of what I am talking about.



Thanks for your help in advance,

Terry

Comments

  • rambos_ride
    rambos_ride Senior Contributor
    No pictures at the end of your links...
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    rambos_ride wrote:
    No pictures at the end of your links...



    Thanks Dan, I've corrected it. You can see the ugly pictures now.

    Terry
  • Walt-LA
    Walt-LA Senior Contributor
    Terry,



    Looks like the shackle and its bushing tore out of the frame. The Ubolt is threaded into a bushing, and has the threaded cap with the grease fitting on it. The center (brown part) of the shackle in your photo looks like the bushing and part of the frame, which allowed it to come loose, leaving the jagged hole. Walt-LA.
  • Uncle Josh
    Uncle Josh Senior Contributor
    Looks like you'll have to re-create the tube and weld it in place with a plate big enough to reach solid frame. The good news is, that you can locate it accurately with the outside hole. Take the other side apart and see if it's OK or if you need to do that side as well. Note that the lower left bushing has a groove in all the flats denoting that it's a left-hand thread. Just welded one up for the truck. Will send pics if you need them.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Uncle Josh wrote:
    Looks like you'll have to re-create the tube and weld it in place with a plate big enough to reach solid frame. The good news is, that you can locate it accurately with the outside hole. Take the other side apart and see if it's OK or if you need to do that side as well. Note that the lower left bushing has a groove in all the flats denoting that it's a left-hand thread. Just welded one up for the truck. Will send pics if you need them.



    Uncle Josh,

    I could sure use an Uncle right about now! I would really appreciate it if you could send me some pictures of you repair.



    Suprisingly, the frame rail is pretty solid all around the hole on both sides. I haven't taken the other side apart yet, so I don't know what to expect there.



    Any pictures or advice would be a great help.



    Ken U - The car has been in So Cal for at least the last 25 years. However, it has been in the Newport / Huntington Beach areas most of that time. I've seen quite a bit of rust from the ocean salts.



    Thanks Guy's,

    Terry
  • SuperDave
    SuperDave Senior Contributor
    No problem, Just give me that old rusty junk! I'll fix it.

    Dave w
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    52 kahuna wrote:
    Uncle Josh,

    I could sure use an Uncle right about now! I would really appreciate it if you could send me some pictures of you repair.



    Suprisingly, the frame rail is pretty solid all around the hole on both sides. I haven't taken the other side apart yet, so I don't know what to expect there.



    Any pictures or advice would be a great help.



    Ken U - The car has been in So Cal for at least the last 25 years. However, it has been in the Newport / Huntington Beach areas most of that time. I've seen quite a bit of rust from the ocean salts.



    Thanks Guy's,

    Terry



    Terry



    There are many folks who come to this forum who have welding experience. The following URL will show a picture of the area of the frame you are going to have to repair. The techniques described in this PDF file represent repair actions taken to fix Hudson Stepdown frames.



    http://members.aol.com/rcsacimt/Re



    Paul Schuster of Pennslvania repaired his Hudson convertible and may have encountered the problem you have his email address can be found as part of the HUDSON Club website... Check S listings.



    The Convertible being done in the pdf file is being restored by a HET member in the Pacific NW who used to frequent the BBS. Maybe he wil see this post and share his experiences with welding Hudson frames.



    Good Luck
  • rambos_ride
    rambos_ride Senior Contributor
    I've seen this content on your website before. Great pictures - I was a little concerned about not seeing any x-bracing of the rear body tub when the outer frame rail was cut out and replaced...I'd be curious to know how the repairs ulitmately came out and if the lack of x-bracing when making the repairs came back to bite them...

    Shouldn't be an issue for the shackle mount repair - but something to always keep in mind when working on a unibody car and making structural repairs.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Ken,



    Thanks for the link to that web site. I had seen those pictures several times, but when I went to look for them last night, I couldn't remember which site they were on.



    In the six months or so that I have been visiting / participating in this forum I have been blown away with how much knowledge is shared amongst those who have it, to those who need it(ME).



    Thanks again to all, and keep those suggestions comming!

    Terry
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