Chassis front off!

[makeitfit]

Hi guys, can I cut off the front horizontal cross member on the chassis?
It's the bit under the radiator, and seems to be there just to hold it up!
As there is a huge chassis cross member proper just behind it, is it really needed?:nenau

 

[Lee3197]

Why do you want it off Mate ?

Lee.

 

[zippy656]

for the winch so he can "makeitfit"

 

[Lee3197]

That would make sense Zippy ! :augie

Lee.

 

[makeitfit]

Loads of room for winch, which is much higher btw.
I just noticed the cross member was a bit rusty and er pointless!
Without it there's more room under the front too.So was thinking of body lift anyway so if the rad goes up a bit with the body the member isnt doing much:nenau

 

[Terranosaurus]

Technically if you modify the chassis you will need to have it IVA'd (SVA as was only harder and much more expensive). Its effectively the same a bobtailing a disco/rangy etc, if you mod the chassis it needs testing.

 

[extreme-4x4]

the area you are talking about is part of the bodywork.
it is not part of the chassis,however as you know mine is removed to get the winch in. but when you cut it out you will find the whole truch starts squeeking all over badly. as you have effectivly removed some of the rigidity of the front bodywork

basicly its a part that holds it all square and solid, by all means remove it if you want. but you will have to replace the strength by putting a peice in higher up out of the way. possibly like i did add some braces accross at 45 degrees too.... then its solid again

i spent 2 days squeeking badly before i found out where it was coming from and all the movement wore a tiny hole in the rad, as you saw

 

[elty001]

Loads of room for winch, which is much higher btw.
I just noticed the cross member was a bit rusty and er pointless!
Without it there's more room under the front too.So was thinking of body lift anyway so if the rad goes up a bit with the body the member isnt doing much:nenau

when you do a body lift the rad stays where it is its the cowling that moves(prefably into a bin:lol)
my opion is leave it where it is as its there for a reason however pointless it may be.

 

[Terranosaurus]

when you do a body lift the rad stays where it is its the cowling that moves(prefably into a bin:lol)
my opion is leave it where it is as its there for a reason however pointless it may be.

Depends on your frame of reference really.

Having actually done a bodylift on a T2/Mav - the rad and cowling move upwars relative to the engine and fan (and everything else attached to the chassis. I found it unnecessary to do anything more, the fan still cleared the cowling and the pipework just needed slackening at both ends and resettling.

 

[makeitfit]

Yep all the above I guess. I've got to agree with extreme about rigidity. I was going for max clearance on steep attack angles. I didnt realise it counts as chassis!
I'll take some pics tomorrow and show you what I mean. As far as testing IF it's deemed chassis, do you have any idea how much that costs?
Cheers boys:thumbs

 

[Terranosaurus]

As far as testing IF it's deemed chassis, do you have any idea how much that costs?

Looks like £199 - http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosacorp/rep...t?query=IVA&pr=CORP&order=r&cq=&id=49ffcc8b21

 

[makeitfit]

Hmmm, maybe I'll rethink the info avail on this mod then:augie

 

[extreme-4x4]

its def not chassis... its ok to remove as long as you replace it for strength

no need for vosa and all that poop

 

[Deleted Member S]

its def not chassis... its ok to remove as long as you replace it for strength

no need for vosa and all that poop

You hope:augie:lol

 

[extreme-4x4]

the bit i circled... he's talking about def not chassis

but if its chassis your all knackered if you done a body lift

 

[rossco]

Its not chassis as such but is structural for impact, removing that will weaken the integrity of the chassis and effect of impact would not be nice.

 

[makeitfit]

Cheers rosco, I've got a dirty great skid plate thing that fits under the winch bumper and then bolts on to the actual chassis. So thats why I thought I could "trim" this bit
I'll be having a look more carefully at the weekend.
Later:thumbs