Snapped front beam

[andhoops]

Anyone ever snapped their front beam before was a bit scary!!!

 

[Myvanway]

Glad all was ok though.
Leave it to the 'Pro's' when it comes to fukin with narrowing and slamming me thinks.

 

[RICH-I-AM]

Who built the beam?

Rich

 

[Clem]

Just before too much is said (and I don't want to get involved in an argument thats not mine), I don't know who modded the beam, but I know the guy who built the van and he's a genuinely really good guy. The van was built about 6 or 7 years ago for him and his son to use and theres no way it was built with any doubts at the time over what was being done.

Obviously the beam has failed which questions the methods used which is fair enough, but lets not make this personal. The previous owner would/will be gutted to know this has happened.

 

[BrotherNumberOne]

That's not good. Thank god it didn't happen at speed! Did it bend the chassis or shear the bolts on the left side?

 

[Moseley]

Jeez - I'm surprised to see it snap there as you'd presume that most of the weight is taken at either side by the mounting points, not the middle. It would suggest that there was a fundamental weakness in that weld.

 

[martin.sim]

That's not good. Thank god it didn't happen at speed! Did it bend the chassis or shear the bolts on the left side?

Do buses actually go at speed ?
Glad no one was hurt, metal can be fixed... Costly I know :-(


--------------------------------------
Why didn't I buy my bus years ago !?

 

[Bigbear]

What's all the fluid in the picture?

 

[woz]

:shock: Blimey - What a nightmare

Hope you get it sorted soon

 

[Trikky2]

There was a thread on Vzi recently about a beetle with a narrowed front beam which had snapped.

I mention it because the problem appears to be the same. Butt welded without any sleeving.

Glad it wasn't more serious. It's fortunate the failure occurred at low speed.

Well scary :shock:

At the risk of making myself unpopular (again) with some enthusiasts, there are certain types of popular suspension modifications which should not be undertaken lightly.

When it comes to anything structural its always best to pay the extra and get things done and checked by professional qualified people IMO.

 

[K@rlos]

Trimly, would should that make you unpopular? Your right!

 

[Davydomes]

I mention it because the problem appears to be the same. Butt welded without any sleeving.

Bingo....sleeving should have been used. Unless you have the ability to check the weld by Ultrasonic Inspection or even Dye Penetrant there is no way the penetration of the weld into the base metal can be checked/confirmed and this is a safety critical component. This is what worries me about some of the "back street" modifications I occasionally see.

 

[ozziedog]

I`m still trying to work out how that happened, not sure how the forces could be exerted to force that apart even if it was held together with sellotape. The bolts holding the beams plates to the chassis must have come adrift or broke or weren`t tightened to the chassis. Powder coat perhaps ?????.
Tricky,, you always gain more friends than enemies, by saying stuff like that, so don`t panic mate. If you was chatting Bo**ox then that would be different.
I`ve tried blowing up the picture, but I can`t really see much of the weld to comment, or maybe there ain`t much to see ? Just glad everyone is fine and it happened where it did and not on the Motorway. Second one that wants to know about the liquid,,, What is it? I am seriously hoping that you didn`t wet yourself :shock: Understandable if you did though :lol: I am hoping against hope that you didn`t spill your Stella :evil: :evil: Or you`ll have me and John after you Let`s hope it was something boring like coffee or brake fluid :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,, Glad you`re in one piece mostly :mrgreen:

 

[Trikky2]

Second one that wants to know about the liquid,,, What is it? I am hoping against hope that you didn`t spill your Stella

:lol: :lol:

 

[Trikky2]

I`m still trying to work out how that happened, not sure how the forces could be exerted to force that apart even if it was held together with sellotape. The bolts holding the beams plates to the chassis must have come adrift or broke or weren`t tightened to the chassis. Powder coat perhaps ?????.
:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,, Glad you`re in one piece mostly :mrgreen:

Yes I agree its weird. The end plates don't look bent. Did the chassis give way or did the bolts come out or shear off. [puzzled smiley]

 

[trebor]

There is no prep work on those cut ends so if there is no gap left when welding it will just sit on the outside of the tube :shock: I bet it was done like that to stop any distortion and curving of the length of tube.

 

[ozziedog]

Just to add to what has been said already, I and others would probably be interested to know if the beam is powder coated especially around the end plates. There have been a few threads of recent years where things like wheels have come adrift where the contact points have been coated with powder coating and have failed under compression even though torqued correctly. Cleaning it off where the wheel nuts/studs contact the wheel and possibly the other side where the wheel contacts the drum/hub surface is one thing, but where do you go with this? Clean off where the bolt heads contact the end plates? But what about where the plates contact the chassis? Is powder coating possibly too thick in some areas?

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,Interesting indeed :? :? :?

 

[68_early_bay]

Second one that wants to know about the liquid,,, What is it? I am hoping against hope that you didn`t spill your Stella

:lol: :lol:

:lol:

 

[BrotherNumberOne]

Just to add to what has been said already, I and others would probably be interested to know if the beam is powder coated especially around the end plates. There have been a few threads of recent years where things like wheels have come adrift where the contact points have been coated with powder coating and have failed under compression even though torqued correctly. Cleaning it off where the wheel nuts/studs contact the wheel and possibly the other side where the wheel contacts the drum/hub surface is one thing, but where do you go with this? Clean off where the bolt heads contact the end plates? But what about where the plates contact the chassis? Is powder coating possibly too thick in some areas?

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,Interesting indeed :? :? :?

It's slippery stuff, I noticed the other day that my tin snips won't cut the JK panels that are powder coated grey.
It is difficult to see how it's happened, surely the bolts should either be sheared, or the chassis rail bent inwards to allow the left side endplate to twist like that :?

The welding doesn't look great where the tubes go through the endplate either although it's a bit hard to see properly.

 

[leon]

wow, changed my post cause i just seen pics on your gallery thread! :shock: Sheered the bolts on the chassis! scary!!!!