land rover series 3 rear crossmember
- Thread starter adam79
- Start date
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BRITBART/BEARMACH sell Crossmembers, which look ok HOWEVER the big concern with these is they don't have crush tubes in. So if you try and attach a hitch you will be screwed if you Torque it correctly as it will just collapse the box section.
So a question is do you intend to tow/recover heavily....I have pulled 2 Defenders (tied together) out of bogs with a Brit part Crossmember to only have issues when I upgraded the towing to take a horsebox when I had problems with it.
Any half decent welder could add crush tubes, but its a lot easier before its fitted, or you could opt for a more heavy duty one which are harder to source.
PRESSBRAKE on here was regarded as one of the best but I don't think he makes them any more.
How much money do you want to spend ?
Option 1 : Buy one with crush tubes likely fabricated > 300
PRO : Stronger/Better
CON : Price
Option 2 : Buy Britpart/Other and get it welded in < 125
PRO : Cheaper
CON : Weak/Thin Metal not as good.
Would you be doing it yourself....
This guy is on the forms @pressbrake
http://blacksheepcrossmember.co.uk/
Option 1 : Buy one with crush tubes likely fabricated > 300
PRO : Stronger/Better
CON : Price
Option 2 : Buy Britpart/Other and get it welded in < 125
PRO : Cheaper
CON : Weak/Thin Metal not as good.
Would you be doing it yourself....
This guy is on the forms @pressbrake
http://blacksheepcrossmember.co.uk/
Never heard of that before. Do you mean there's a problem with bolting a ball hitch straight to the crossmember? Usually peps use a drop plate which is bolted to the crossmember and the hitch is attached to the plate otherwise the hitch is too high for most trailers and horse boxes. I have a Dixon bate drop plate and tow a horse box without problems. It's a three year old crossmember. Where are the crush tubes fixed?
rob1miles
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Even with the crush tubes you should have a doubler plate on the inside. I suppose its an easy job to drill the crossmember before its fitted and weld some tubes in. I have the NATO hitch and the bolts have to be tight, I would think the crush tubes are important as the box section will squeeze up over time and the hitch will work loose. Odd that they sell them without.
Truly scary that they sell them without.
rob1miles
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I found the dims for the plates. The one with the cut out goes on the outside and the plain one goes under the tub. I suspect these would work for a drop plate too.
ciderman
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Well worth knowing.
Extreedoc
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I have a Britpart military pattern one on mine, it does have crush tubes. Metal is about 2mm thick and it fitted perfectly, I had no problems with it and it's still good 8 years on. I did weld closed either end and two openings beside the main chassis rails. Why leave it open to the entry of water and mud? I also waxoyled it very thoroughly internally.
rob1miles
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Mine has one of those - its lasting well, as you say, why leave the ends open, but then its the same with the outriggers. I think the key with the crossmember is lining it up right before welding as you can't correct any errors later.
Extreedoc
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This is a good picture as it shows the crush tubes, the thickness of the metal and the open ends of the military pattern RCM also the opening near the extension which also needs closing. There are also crush tubes in the middle for the drop plate.
Click for a bigger image.
Click for a bigger image.Hi, well the landy that needed a cross member was sold, but I have found a engineering firm that makes,
All the Series crossmembers are available with a 2mm (standard OE spec) or a
3mm (HD) main body. They all have internal bracing (anti crush) around the
tow point area and a 6mm reinforcing plate behind the top tow holes. They
are built to be an accurate copy of the original, Land Rover, crossmember.
They come as powder coated or galvanised,
SERIES 1/4 CHASSIS HEAVY DUTY £156 or Galv £174 from the photos it looks quality stuff.
http://www.ddsmetal.co.uk/
All the Series crossmembers are available with a 2mm (standard OE spec) or a
3mm (HD) main body. They all have internal bracing (anti crush) around the
tow point area and a 6mm reinforcing plate behind the top tow holes. They
are built to be an accurate copy of the original, Land Rover, crossmember.
They come as powder coated or galvanised,
SERIES 1/4 CHASSIS HEAVY DUTY £156 or Galv £174 from the photos it looks quality stuff.
http://www.ddsmetal.co.uk/
ciderman
Active Member
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- sunny worcestershire
wish i'd bought a 3mm one...............
