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Crack in Frame at Steering Sector

If you are going to run wheels greater than 7” you need to address reinforcing the power steering box. My truck had a piece of angle iron welded to the frame in the vicinity of the box extending to the core support. Yesterday, I installed the support brace that Dodge Connection sells.
 
i have an 88 sb that has that crack at the box. i'm just glad that it is a spare frame that i use for when i cut long bed frames to short bed frames.
 
Same frame crack happened on a friends 77 chev 1/2 ton. I weled a plate over the crack and told my friend to find another pick up and the chev was parked. -It's a partser
 
Unfortunately just welding plates to cracks just disguises the problem. Bracing with the correct torsional support will keep the frame from the twisting that caused the crack in the first place.
That is why Dodge installed the bracing.
 
@7mopar - I've never seen the factory bracing on a truck. I mostly drive 2wd and was wondering if the factory fix is more common on a 4wd. It would explain how I've missed seeing it thru the years.
 
Last one I have seen was on a 93 D150. We modified it at installed it into a 74 W250 frame. Just because we had it.
 
I've never actually seen one on a truck. Fortunately badvert65 posted a link to the brace offered by Dodge Connection. I studied the pic and modeled the one on my truck from the pic. Then I added the brace on the opposite side to help make it look symmetrical. I feel like it's good to go now.

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Not sure why Dodge did not due this on all trucks. The frame rails with the steering box in front of the frame bracing was a weak point. The constant twisting caused by the sector and steering link puts a lot of stress on that rail.
 
I agree with you #7 and Chevy's were the same. Its as stupid as a double overhead cam V8 Audi being an interference motor.
 
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