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I hav e a friend who has a super clean 89 RD-688 dump. 18 front 55 rears. Problem is frame rails have some big time cracks. ahe has a quote of 20 grand to replace both rails. Alternative is to cut the outer rail at back of cab (at 45 degree angle) and have Adams from Vt. punch new rear sections and weld in.

Any opinions. They did rails for a friends single axle B-81 and their laser drill job was right on- no reaming of any holes.

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P.G. Adams does very nice work from what I've seen.There was a post on here some months back,of a guy that did just that(outside rail replacement) to a red RD dump chassis.Looked like he did a nice job on it.post-510-0-05796700-1374632314_thumb.jpgWe've got a local welder around here that does the 45 degree thing on all his stretches & repairs.I have never seen any of his frame mods,come back for warranty work.

IF YOU BOUGHT IT, A TRUCK BROUGHT IT..AND WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH IT, A TRUCK WILL HAUL IT AWAY!!! Big John Trimble,WRVA

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Guys- thx for your responses. Couple of comments- fish plates to me are band aids- rail replacement is a permanent fix without adding dead weight to original vehicle. Glad to hear comments on the 45 degree cut. I think my friend paid around 3000 for the single axle-would imagine a tandem would be close to twice that??

Attached are a couple of shots of the B-81 in progress. The "finger " is pointing to spot on outer rail where cut started.

post-1625-0-50721900-1374634760_thumb.jp

post-1625-0-40516300-1374634782_thumb.jp

post-1625-0-29604300-1374634823_thumb.jp

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Pg Adams are good people to deal with. The frame rails I've replaced have been "z" cut and stagged from one side and another. This was for dm tri axle mixers that had 58k rears and were loaded heavy on a regular basis. A fish plate in my opinion is temporary fix for a problem that needs dire attention. 20k for a fix might sound high but think of all the labor that goes into that not to mention the the cost to replace such a truck with a new or used one....

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Pg Adams are good people to deal with. The frame rails I've replaced have been "z" cut and stagged from one side and another. This was for dm tri axle mixers that had 58k rears and were loaded heavy on a regular basis. A fish plate in my opinion is temporary fix for a problem that needs dire attention. 20k for a fix might sound high but think of all the labor that goes into that not to mention the the cost to replace such a truck with a new or used one....

Agree on the 20 grand and the labor- but that is the 64 dollar question. Replacing complete rail you have all that labor associated with the cab, motor mounts etc. Putting a section in cuts out in my viewe a ton of labor-granted you are cutting the frsame rail with a cut-off wheel and have the weld time but it has to be less.-I would think.

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Consider a step cut. More weld equals more strength. You can also straddle the splice with a cross member.

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Always heard good things about Adams. You can use the old rails as a template to drill the new ones. Clamp the opposite rail outside to outside and drill only the symmetrical holes. New rails from Mack are going to run 6 to 10K. That's why the estimate is 20K.

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I'm looking at the same problem on a smaller scale on a '98 Ford Ranger- only 90k miles, never uses any oil, cab and box have at worst surface rust on the bottom, but frame is rusting badly in back. This is a common problem on Rangers, just google it and you'll see 10 year old Rangers with collapsing frames, bumpers falling off, etc.. Mine ain't that bad, it passes the Toyota "hit the frame with a ball peen hammer and see if it goes through test" and the "jump on the back bumper" test... But in a couple years, it probably won't. I've got a leaking rear brake line to find and fix and the fuel system seems to lose prime if I park it for a while anyways, so I'm probably gonna pull the box off, fix those problems, and further inspect. Don't want to put much money in it, since the 12 year old tires need replacing too... But I looked it up on KBB and it's worth $4-5k, so maybe worth cleaning and repainting the frame behind the cab where it's rusted the worst.

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The cough cough company didn't think that way. They replaced the good old R-models that i rebuilt with new CH613 then the troubles started with the radiators, ring and pinions, accelerator assembly's, air compressors. Not bad for brand new trucks and the dealer was to busy to fix them. One truck was at a dealer for a month for axle housings and a engine block.The terminal managers said they burned 2to3 quarts a week that they where worn out .They where putting 6k to 7k miles a week on the road each truck.

Ed

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