Doh!

[RowdyRebel]

Been spending the winter trying to get stuff done while work is slow...and while I had the rear section out building a hitch (to drag my pickup behind me when I need to drop the Mack off somewhere for service) I found a hairline crack in a cross member. In less than 2 days, the hairline crack broke completely in two.

it was easy to remove....being broken completely in two and all.

...but at 1:00 AM working outside in the cold, I wasn't in the mood to fight the new piece to get it in...so I rednecked something together that would get me to a shop in the morning

I figured the flat steel would be stronger than the broken piece anyway...a pair of vice grips to hold a bracket with some air lines attached.

new piece in:

SB121023 08/19/05 called for some extra reinforcement

[Gambi80]

...glad I'm not the only one who's Mack needs to find some Simple Green and a Hotsy...

[Underdog]

I just had the same X-member replaced on my vision in October. Was keeping an eye on that hairline crack all summer. I was going to weld it myself til I pulled off the 5th wheel and saw the front side was cracked almost over the top to meet the rear. Glad I sent it over to Allentown Mack for the job; they put new huckbolts in just like from the factory, as well as the upgraded gussets. I ended up with a new 5th wheel too, as I discovered cracks in the slider plate once removed. Frameless dumpin' puts a lot of stress on these pieces, I suppose.