Update on Cracket Gusset on Rear Diff mount. 2nd Crack PICS

Hey Guys,

I got my Trail Logic Gusset kit in Thursday. Got around to installing the rear part of the kit today.... Started taking the rear appart to clean, and noticed that the rear gusset is cracked at the weld too. The other crack was at the front mount. Fixed it the other day. Will have to fix the rear gusset now too... Really sucks.... Anyway I went ahead and tore the rear A-Arms and Knuckle down. Found a really loose lower shock bolt.... Tightened it up... Cleaned all the bushings on the A-Arms. They needed it. Pulled the King Pins out of the outer knuckle and holy crap were they a mess... I had to buff them up on the bench grinders wire wheel. They were starting to rust, even with grease. Moisture was gettting in there. Re-greased the world and put it all back together. If I hadnt caught those Nasty King PIns.... I would have been buying some within a year. All the squeaks have gone away now. Except on dang noise that I can't pinpoint. May be gear back lash or something. Dont know. It only does it when you nail it from a dead stop and let off... Could be the crack at the weld, but the rear diff is pretty well braced now. Maybe im just paranoid.... Any input on the noise? Lesson learned.... Check all your differential bolts, suspension bolts, and your King Pins regularly!!!!! If you dont, you will have problems.

See the updated pics below

ClayW

Oh and by the way... I often have for luck....

Just take it slow, you're getting there and doing it right it looks like.
My luck's been pretty much too lately, it seems. I know from which you speak.

It sounds like they may be shortcutting the welding process by not heating the pieces before welding them.......Maybe Shawn could add his .02. I am interested in why they are cracking.

Glade you got er fixed up Clay.....

Yeah, I just don't understand why they designed the rear and front gussets like that. Why would they not support the rear differential from the bottom too? Really upsets me. The crack is at the weld, but actually in the horizontal frame piece that the factory gusset is welded to. Really aggrivating.

They must be scared to put some real heat on them welds all you gotta do is crank up the amps to get better penetration...i'll have to inspect my gussets

I can tell you this.... If I cant get these cracks to stop, and the damn noise i keep hearing... Im selling the bastard and getting a newer one.... I am REALLY REALLL REALLY pissed about this. I often go overboard when it comes to taking care of my toys..... I also baby my toys for the most part.... Clean the hell out of them etc.... This issue drives me ape-shit.

Clay the back-lash noise you are hearing is common. Surely it has diminished a great amount now that diff is not floating around.
I've had self-induced problems before ,as we all have, just consider it lessons learned. It's not the machines fault.

Here is a pic from the rear, looking forward. You can see the rusty spot. The pressure washer blew the paint off right there. The second pic is looking over the drivers side rear tire back towards that rear gusset. You can see the rusty crack. Its prob 3/4 of an inch long. Not all the way down. But not to far from being all the way. The crack its self is on the horizontal piece of the frame

From my experiance cracked weld beads......never stop until the weld is ground out and re-welded. Or untill they come completely apart. Another option is to weld a bead (small) on both ends of the crack. That should stop it from speading, for a while.

that is what mine looked like also. have it welded the full length of the crack and add all the extra supports that you can. and check the bolts often