73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Body, Glass & Paint => Topic started by: Roughshod on April 26, 2010, 04:24:26 pm
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I just picked up another bed for my truck. Mine has nearly perfect bed sides, but the floor is shot, so I plan on swapping the floor out of my new bed. The floor is in great shape, but one of the cross sill pretty rotten. I have only found one place that sells the entire cross sill, and since it was under the bed, I was thinking about patching it up. I did a search and did not find any posts about this repair. Does anyone have any pics or tips for repairing or replacing a bed sill. ( I am talking about the larger cross sills that support the bed to the frame). While the bed floor is off, should I drill out the spot welds on each one and coat the inside with chassis saver and re-weld? As you can tell by the pics, the guy that I got this bed off of like to play in the mud and I don't want to have rust start creeping in from the others!
Thanks!
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If that's the only bad spot just make a new piece. You can buy a new floor too.
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The floor is very solid, I just have to weld up a few holes that the po had cut for fuel lines (he had a fuel tank in the bed). I will probably just patch that cross member up. What a better place to refine my welding skills.
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The front rail on my bed was rusted out where the bolts go through. After drilling out the spot welds and a lot of grinding, I got the old channel off. We had some 2" x 3" rectangle tubing laying around the shop and found they are the same size as the original rails only heavier.
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2 x 3 tubing was a thought, but I am going to wait until I get my old bed off and see if any of the rails on it are salvageable, or at least enough for patches. How much does 2x3 tubing typically cost per piece?
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raybuck auto had replacement cross sills you can buy and put on.