Frame Rail

[JohnnyC16117]

I found a shop with a frame / chassis machine that will pull the rear collision damage out of my van and let me finish off the rest of the work to save some money ..however the drivers side frame rail is broke near the back bumper mount and needs a new section welded in during the repair. I guess I need to start calling salvage yards to locate a piece of frame rail for them to weld in, which takes me to my question. My van is a 1994 and I am thinking finding one off that old of van in good shape and not rotted is gonna be a task in itself. Does anyone know what is the latest year of an Astro I can use without there being any difference in the frame? I am not sure if the frame rail on a 05 is the same as on my 94 and will work, and if not whats the closest from 05 I can go back? I figure the newer the van it comes off of the better chances of getting one in good condition.. Much Thanks In Advance

[ProStreet_LS1]

I dont know how your frame rail can be broken. Astros & Safaris have a boxed rear frame rail that is intregrated into the body.
It may be the brace that holds the rear bumper on that is broken.

[JohnnyC16117]

Hmm mine looks different, ill get a pic tomorrow and post. On mine there is a straight rail running back on each side that has inset nuts built in that the bumper mounts bolt too. When I changed my bumper, bracket and braces last year the area where one of the inset nuts for the mount to was rotted out and I had to use a large washer for one of the bracket bolts. That is were the damaged area is now on the rail I need to replace..Ill get a photo so you see exactly what I mean

[JohnnyC16117]

Sorry I see what you mean now tpibadassastro .. I didnt get a chance to look under mine and get a pic yet but I found a pic online and see what you mean, how it goes into the body..I never noticed where it stopped or went to until I saw this photo. The red arrow points to the "rail" I was referring too. It is rotted and broke out from where the bumper mounts bolt on to approx 18" back and needs that new section welded in. So I guess now my question would be are they all the same for every year and could I have that section cut out of any year astro at the salvage yard and it fit my 94?

[ProStreet_LS1]

I am not certain if the newer A/S have the same frame rails.

Is your 94 a shorty or extended? All 85-89 were shorties, 90-94 shorties or extended, 95-2005 all extended.

I think your real problem, is trying to cut out the pieces. The frame rails are not seperate from the body, they are part of the floor.

[JohnnyC16117]

Mine is the shortie..my same thoughts may have to cut it out with piece of floor attached as well. Not sure how this is gonna go yet, Gonna start calling around so Ill let ya how how it goes, Thanks

[davidfe]

Since this is structural and integral to the strength of the monocoque body, I would only
trust an experienced and proven welding professional.

Not worth putting my / family life at risk.

Good luck.

[JohnnyC16117]

I agree davidfe . I found a yard with a solid 1993, they are going to cut out the section I need and the Collision / Body shop tech is going to weld it in for me after it comes off the chassis rack. He is going to do that work all at once so he can track it and make sure everything is in line and back to specs. The shop doing the work has been in business 30+ years so I am confident that they will fix it up right. All really that I am going to have to do myself is put my rear side window back in, new bumper on, and some cosmetic body work. What ever it takes ..I'm dedicated in making sure that this is one less Astro taken off the road ...I will post some before and after pics as the work comes along.

[JohnnyC16117]

Got the section I needed cut out today ..got it cheap too $100 and they cut it out .. Now ready to go to the repair shop on Monday to get welded in ..took a quick snapshot of the damage from the floor side..just to show how bad it hit it took..no wonder it broke that all out Wrinkled the floor even.

[JohnnyC16117]

Here the pic of my underneath .. pic shows where the rail broke & ripped right behind the bumper bracket. For some reason that one section was rotting out even before the collision. Strange cause the rest of the underneath of the van is solid. The front part of the underneath I already treated and painted with POR-15 once the new section is in I will do the rear underneath with it as well.

[davidfe]

RUST,
That looks like quite a bit of rust in just this small portion of the
underside of your van.

I'd also want to check the rear spring brackets and other critical
mounting points.

My first van had a bad rear spring bracket. I have read of others
on this board too.

Since the weather is nice now, it would be a good idea to make a complete
inspection and apply POR15 and then paint [ or perhaps undercoating]
to extent the useful life of your van.

I hope you take pictures to help others in preserving
our vans.

Good luck.

David

[JohnnyC16117]

Thanks davidfe, you nailed it man... the guy from the shop that's doing my frame work called today and said I need to replace the front of the rear spring hanger bracket on the same side as well. I'm going tomorrow to get the part and drop it off to him so that will also be replaced. It should be out of the shop this week, so I can get started on my end of the work. I started taking pic's already and will continue to do so throughout the project and will post when finished