I am finally able to get to work replacing my rear fuel tank crossmember (see my intro thread). The big holdup was finding one, either all the ones in the northeast had rusted out or the yard only wanted to sell you a whole frame. My luck finally turned when a salvage yard from North Dakota returned my emails and was nice enough to cut one off and ship it to me via UPS. This is my first repair attempt at anything frame related.
First you need to remove the rivets. A angle grinder works great for removing the metal, then you need to punch the rivet through with a air hammer. This works great for the rivets you can access outside the frame, but the the two inside-frame rivets on the old crossmember were a PITA! Had to switch to a die grinder chewed up several grinding stones. Once you get the first one (do the inside rivets last) you can hinge the crossmember out and get the last one with the angle grinder.
Walla! One popped rivet! Repeat 7 more times!
That's all I have for now. The rest of the afternoon was spent removing loose rust with a angle grinder/wire brush combo. Presently the rear quarter of the frame is soaking in a spray on "Rust Kutter" that I picked up at Tractor Supply. Tomorrow I plan to sandblast the replacement crossmember and install later in the week after the Rust Kutter has cured and been painted over. Hopefully by then the replacement fuel tank and straps will have arrived.
You must be registered for see images
First you need to remove the rivets. A angle grinder works great for removing the metal, then you need to punch the rivet through with a air hammer. This works great for the rivets you can access outside the frame, but the the two inside-frame rivets on the old crossmember were a PITA! Had to switch to a die grinder chewed up several grinding stones. Once you get the first one (do the inside rivets last) you can hinge the crossmember out and get the last one with the angle grinder.
You must be registered for see images
Walla! One popped rivet! Repeat 7 more times!
You must be registered for see images
That's all I have for now. The rest of the afternoon was spent removing loose rust with a angle grinder/wire brush combo. Presently the rear quarter of the frame is soaking in a spray on "Rust Kutter" that I picked up at Tractor Supply. Tomorrow I plan to sandblast the replacement crossmember and install later in the week after the Rust Kutter has cured and been painted over. Hopefully by then the replacement fuel tank and straps will have arrived.