Frame damaged?

[Osteoblast]

Hi,

I'm trying to restore a '98 2dr Tahoe 4WD.
Besides a lot of issues I have concerns regarding the frame.
I'm wondering if the previous owner(s) hit something with the frame?

It's part #3. What's it called?

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I hope you can see it.
It's slightly bent and it's "open" (screwdriver).


The distance between the framerails in the front measure roughly 68cm or 26.77"

 

[Osteoblast]

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Osteoblast]

As far as I can tell, the car drives ok. No shifting to the sides or squeaking noises.

What is the reference distance between the framerails in the front?

Can I replace that part of the frame #3 (name?)

Thank you!

 

[mtl111]

Not sure what the GM name for it is but I've seen them damaged from time to time. If it were mine, I'd do what I could to straighten it out, clean it up and weld the seam up.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[CKVortec]

Here's what I see as your options (they are all good options)
#1 leave it alone and watch for tire wear
#2 beat it back into shape, weld it, align it and call it good.
#3 take it in for alignment and call it good
#4 cut it out and weld in another one or a new one, align it and call it good
#5 take it to a frame/body shop and see what they say.

personally, if it drives fine I would go with #1 or #3

 

[RichLo]

or #5 to get a professional opinion from people who see this kind of thing on a daily basis

 

[Osteoblast]

I found a thread where 83GMCK2500 (https://www.gmt400.com/threads/gmt400-frame-styles.23904/page-3) posted frame specs for a '99. Guess it's the same for '98?
I can't find the width of my mentioned part #3...
Can someone read the plans in the .pdf and find that width?



1999 Upfitter Guide (.pdf)

 

[Hipster]

Normally most measuring systems and the accompanying data sheets reference bolt hole or other mounting point/hole locations so the distance between the rails is not something usually referenced. Looking at that diagram you can see the width measurements are referenced from a centerline and the height measurements are referenced from a datum line so for a width measurement you would be looking for 2 measurements that equal the whole width. The sheet was posted is definitely old school and sometimes the data sheets didn't make a whole lot sense until you got underneath and had an "ah-ha, that's where they took the measurement from moment" Usually there was also quite a bit of text to accompany the diagram.

It looks like it took a bit of a shot and looks like somebody's been hammering on it already. Good on you to look for secondary damage but you also have to look at the area between the control arm mounts and the first cab mount. It's common to get tweaked there and a difficult fix even with all the right equipment. You can have damage is this area and still have good measurements at the front rails if that is all you measured. Most times we would replace frames if they had damage in that area.

1st step is to measure the frame under the cab and make it's square with x measurements , if not stop right there the frame is what we call diamond. If square then you can reference points to the front and rear from them. If you take length measurements from the lower control arm mount, the lower tow hook bolt or some other front frame hole to say the trans crossmember bolt and if those measurements taken on the left are reading short as compared to the same measurements taken on the right the problem is usually in this area.