Today I stopped at the steel place and got a 5 foot section of 4 inch square tube (3/16 wall) to make a new transmission cross member out of. I am planning on cutting it up with the chop saw at slight angles and welding the joints back together to make the up and down jogs where the exhaust pipe goes over and the upward hump in the middle.
Do yall think that tube material will be heavy enough for the zf-6 's weight ? (F-350 ford)
I have 2 ways to hook it to frame.
1. Like the factory did- both sides of the member go in from the drivers side. This means one side sits inside the frame and the other side sits outside the frame. not completely clear why THEY did it that way........ unless it was somehow easier to fit.... (?)
2. I can just have flat plates on the outside of the frame which hang down 4 inches below the frame- and those downward hanging stubs get welded to the ends of the square tubing. Have to get the length JUST RIGHT for a tight fit- but I should be able to do that. This means that the box tubing is effectively riding on the bottom edge of the frame in terms of ground clearance....... If I did it the first way- the tube would be INSIDE the frame and not really hang down that additional 4 inches..... would that be a good reason to do it the first way ? ( I am thinking - YES- now........ )
Thoughts...... ?