'79 - '83 Trucks -Brittle, or Broken or sucky front hangars?

[HyDesertMutant]

Ok lets have a scientific resolution to this issue...everyone give your 

[derek]

i have bent the hell out of mine.
cracked the frame around it.
brandon built my new one that is a lot beefier and has taken a beating.

derek

[Brandon]

wow, got enough choices??

I had welded probably four or five cracks on mine before I build a new front hanger using jeep hangers. I suggest before answering this you go out and carefully look cause I have only see ONE actually break but lotsa cracks..


BTW for those that don't actually know Dereks frame is not from the same year as that body

[WHITE_TRASH]

Id say that like anything factory if you push it beyond its specified limits its going to give.  So I can see over time the mounts failing with rough usage.  But by the same token if you go out and wheel like a complete jackass your gonna break stuff a lot, just look at most of the "wheelers" at PBB

[Brandon]

I remember when it was pointed out to me that mine was broken - I was open with 33's and I had a VERY clean truck (actually got a first and second in car shows), but those front hangers had cracks all through em.

[derek]

nother pic of hanger.

derek

[Brandon]

derek - did those body mounts bolt right up with the newer body? Very cool.. lookin good..

[greengo]

mine had a small crack on the where it ties the hanger to the crossmember. but they were still a pain in the butt to remove. plus i didnt like the fact that the only thing holding my spring on were these flimsy peices of 1/8" thick metal. i also didnt like that when i torqued the boltd down to what couldnt of been more that 30ftlb's they bent and smooshed the bushing. i was barley able to flaten the lock washer.

plus the fact that if i had reused they it would of interfeared with the hi-steer. so heres what i buit to replace it.

and here you can see the peice i added to tie it into the frame more.

[derek]

derek - did those body mounts bolt right up with the newer body? Very cool.. lookin good..

the back 4 were close enough to line up.
but the front ones had to be redone.
but they wer all screwed up from before.
i let dave loose with the welder and he was able to fab up some mounts.
that front reciever sure has come in handy a few times.
had to pull around a couple trucks with it.

derek

[Brandon]

I wish I did mine like it - I don't have a reciever and I think that would come in handy. Good to hear it's doin its job! 

[fourwd1]

mine had a small crack on the where it ties the hanger to the crossmember. but they were still a pain in the butt to remove. plus i didnt like the fact that the only thing holding my spring on were these flimsy peices of 1/8" thick metal. i also didnt like that when i torqued the boltd down to what couldnt of been more that 30ftlb's they bent and smooshed the bushing. i was barley able to flaten the lock washer.

Do you get much bumpsteer having the drag link at that angle ?

[greengo]

yeah i get some bump steer, but nothing drastic. i added a steering stabilizer and it take most of it up/ masks it. my plan as soon as i get settled in my new home, is take about an 1" of lift out of the front.
heres a pic strait on from the front, after the springs settled a little, and you can see the stabilizer. it drives great on the road, much better than the push pull system. and never mind the colorfull bumper.

[Brandon]

mine is nearly like that, no bumpsteer and.. NO stabilizer