Houston we have a problem! (the bent frame thread)

[Bar]

AZ SVT:

"It does not fail "so easily." "

I am not 100% sure about that. I think there are more "slight failures" out there than we know about. A pronounced V in the bed to cab gap is a telltale sign. A small V in the gap is not so obvious. Not starting an argument, but I do think there are a few jounce/axel collisions, though small, that have done some movement.

 

[AZ SVT]

AZ SVT:

"It does not fail "so easily." "

I am not 100% sure about that. I think there are more "slight failures" out there than we know about. A pronounced V in the bed to cab gap is a telltale sign. A small V in the gap is not so obvious. Not starting an argument, but I do think there are a few jounce/axel collisions, though small, that have done some movement.

You may be right, but I would bet that everyone that has a bent frame has tried to emulate the stuff they see on You Tube. You can jump a Raptor, but you better stick the landing like a pro. I just don't think there is much room for error once you are getting really dramatic, You Tube worthy, air and/or speed. If a guy can come on here and tell me with a strait face he did nothing crazy and bent his frame anyway I'll sell my Raptor tomorrow and buy a EccoBoost F-150. At least then I'd have a fully functional 1/2 ton pick up and no crazy expectations off road.

 

[Nv Guy]

I think you're talking about the shelf on the lift block? There's nothing on the axle. I could see that being a cool design but, to "design a weakness" into that shelf wouldn't neccessarily be the most efficient considering it takes hits on more occasions than the hard hits to the frame. So in turn, it could bend over time with lesser impact. The frame being the part that bends does sound extreme but, one of the whole points of this is that it shouldn't be taken to that limit or put in that position in the first place. When it is, it needs to get past the bumpstop first and then to the frame.....and then you can drive out and not be stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Yes, I am talking about the lift block. Ford knows how much energy the jounce bumper will absorb before it passes the load onto the frame. What's to prevent them from engineering the shelf so it fails (bends) just beyond the jounce bumper's limit? If I did miscalculate a kicker or was surprised by something on a trail I would rather be able to look under my Raptor to see if the shelf was bent than have to look for (and pay for) major frame damage.

 

[Bar]

Yes, I am talking about the lift block. Ford knows how much energy the jounce bumper will absorb before it passes the load onto the frame. What's to prevent them from engineering the shelf so it fails (bends) just beyond the jounce bumper's limit? If I did miscalculate a kicker or was surprised by something on a trail I would rather be able to look under my Raptor to see if the shelf was bent than have to look for (and pay for) major frame damage.

At the very least, they should lose the weak bumpers for something a bit better. Those weren't designed to take impact. They were designed to stop metal to metal.

 

[Highroller]

Anyone have an idea of what would happen if you increased the suspensions upward travel by an inch or 2, before hitting the bump stop? Would this make any difference? If it would the decrease chances of frame bending why not trim the bumpstop an inch or two, possibly won't do any good, but just a thought.

 

[AZ SVT]

At the very least, they should lose the weak bumpers for something a bit better. Those weren't designed to take impact. They were designed to stop metal to metal.

Anyone have an idea of what would happen if you increased the suspensions upward travel by an inch or 2, before hitting the bump stop? Would this make any difference? If it would the decrease chances of frame bending why not trim the bumpstop an inch or two, possibly won't do any good, but just a thought.

these ideas will work in principal, the shelf and/or extra travel will delay the axle impacting the frame, but by how much? And what else is going to break?

Think about it; if the shelf gives way before the bump-stop is completely crushed then you will in fact now have an extra inch or so of travel before you re-impact the bump-stop. Assuming the impact was hard enough to bend the frame in the first place, and no other Raptor parts are between the axle and frame, then about 0.003 seconds later your axle finishes crushing the bump-stop assembly and impacts your frame. Now, instead of just needing a new bump-stop and the frame straitened, you gotta buy a set of lift blocks too.!

If you don't want to bend your frame then do a good pre-run and be careful. If a cow jumps out in front of you, that's one thing, but that big ass bump, ditch, kicker, wash-out, rock, tree, is there right now and it will be there after you slam into it. All we have to do is drive out there, note where it is and slow the hell down before you get there!

That's day one shit.

 

[Bar]

Bottom line, you're right. It is day-one shit! I like that!

I'm just looking forward to the hydraulic bump stops. Insurance, I guess.

 

[AZ SVT]

I'm just looking forward to the hydraulic bump stops. Insurance, I guess.

For sure it will not hurt and please let us know what you think of them once they are installed. I think they will improve the bump-stop function which is to improve dampening and bleed off energy axle is carrying.

What do you think of this? If you want to really know exactly how fast and hard you can hit a bump or jump, how about mounting a camera where you can see the axle travel? Then you could slowly increase the speed, viewing the video each time until you get to the point you are about to max out. Now you know how fast you can go. Do this enough times and you would be able to better estimate what the limit is. Now if you back it off a couple notches you can drive like a pro, look like a rock star, and keep the truck in one piece.

 

[gotSVT]

I thought I'd throw up a pic of my truck UN-bent. I haven't driven it yet so I can't say anything about how it works but it looks better than it did a few weeks ago.

 

[Pynenut]

So i havent read all 56 pages of this thread but have a question. Does installing a bumpstop kit fully kill the chances of bending the frame and is it true that those who installed aftermarket springs a couple years back, ran them without bumpstops?

I should have my rpg kit installed in a couple weeks and just want to know how much i am improving my chances of damaging the frame.