HD Rear Cross Member from Pressbrake

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Shifty1962

Well-Known Member
Posts
4,209
Location
The Winchester Club - Englandshire
Just wanted to share my experience regarding replacing the rear crossmember on my 1998 TD5 90 CSW.

Whilst picking at what looked like a little flaky paint I suddenly found myself poking holes in the rear crossmember. The more I poked the worse it got. I considered plating it with my trusty Sealy MIG welder but as I tow heavy trailer loads on a regular basis it seemed sensible to get it repaired properly before the rot spread to the chassis rails and further.

A quick call to Pressbrake aka Clive at Black Sheep Offroad Home and I was soon on my way over to get the job done. For some reason his PMs dont work so if you need to contact him call the number on his web site.

Some time ago I had spent an hour or so carefully drilling out the rivets and spot welds that held the rear floor in place and this made removing the fuel tank a doddle. It also meant that we could easily get full access to weld the new crossmember in place. Clive wasted no time in cutting away the old crossmember and we quickly saw that the tin worm had not yet penetrated to the chassis rails which was reassuring. They were however full of mud and silt that had got in the various holes that LR include in the chassis rails for reasons unknown. A quick blast with the air line soon sorted that. I also took the opportunity to paint the insides of the rails with red oxide zinc primer. Before you all start shouting I know some of it will have burnt off during welding but not all.

Starting at 8am we had the job done by 8pm including talking bollox and drinking many cups of tea.

Clive uses 6mm steel to form the crossmember that he cuts, bends, and welds on site to order. In comparrison the standard crossmember was made from 2mm steel so there are no worries regarding strength. Also Clive's design does not build in mud and water traps for rust to take hold.

He has all the tools to do the job some of which are quite exotic like the amazing plasma cutter that cuts through thick steel like a hot knife through butter. I've got to get me one of them when I can afford one.

You could not hope to meet a nicer bloke and his welding is second to none. I swear he could weld wood to water if necessary. He knows all about LR chassis and their inherent faults so dont be worrying that he will ruin your motor.

BTW I'm not on commission but I do believe in spreading the word when I find sombody that can do what they say they can for a sensible price.

I've posted a few pics for those of you that like that kind of thing.

Cheers

Shifty
 

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Good to hear more praise for Pressbrake :)

My crossmember has had some patches on the face but I've recently poked a few holes in the inner-sections so will probably look to replace after the summer, awkward place to patch and don't want to have it spread along main chassis rails.
 
when did pressbrake fit your x member shifty? He said that he wasn't going to do landy parts any more but looks like he does a good job. Looks like it'd be a shame if he did stop working on em.
 
when did pressbrake fit your x member shifty? He said that he wasn't going to do landy parts any more but looks like he does a good job. Looks like it'd be a shame if he did stop working on em.
We did it on 31st May. He made it on 30th and finished it off with recovery points, tow hitch and jacking holes, whilst I unbolted everything ready to chop off the old one.

He said it was the quickest TD5 he had done because having the floor out made things so much easier. Even so it was a good long days work for the both of us.

Never said nowt to me about not making LR bits. He had a few on the go and we talked about various other bits that could be improved. Said he felt a bit like a production line sometimes but I told him that was because his product was good and in demand.

Saying he does a good job does not accurately reflect what he can do. He does a better than good job and I dont know too many peeps that can weld like him and also have the knowledge to design and fabricate structural parts.

As an example if you look closely you can see the five tabs that hold the rear body. They look exactly like the old bolt on ones held to the cross member by by a flimsy strip and three bolts, but in fact they are individually welded to the top edge of the crossmember but made to look the same as the old ones. His attention to detail is perfect. He could have just welded some flat plate to the face of the crossmember (which is what I would have done) which would have done the exact same job and been much easier in terms of fabrication and time.

Its a shame he is not a bit nearer to me or I'd be pestering him all the time for stuff. Even so we'll stay friends and anybody is welcome to come and see my motor to get a close up of the work he does. If anyone wants more detaile pictures then just PM me.
 
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ive got a crossmember from clive, well made quality crossmember better that others costing over double the price. i made a balls cutting my old one off so sent clive an e-mail for a price for some extensions only charging me £15! great person to deal with who knows his stuff about landys.
 
We need to encourage and use guys like Clive or they will fade away and then only the sh*tpart made as cheaply as possible stuff will be available. Some of the commonly available crossmembers are even thinner than the originals and spot welded instead of seam welded which should tell you something. They are all about a quick profit.
 
Brave fella.

Will they appreciate the 6mm cross member youve had fitted?

They (HMRC) might just crush it all the same.

Just askin'.
 
We need to encourage and use guys like Clive or they will fade away and then only the sh*tpart made as cheaply as possible stuff will be available.

I was one of the first people no here singing Clive's praises. I'm all for keeping good quality / local work in this country, not cheap sh*t.
 
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