[TR] TR6 rear shock mount break

[Tim Gaines]

Dave,
When I think back just a month to what I was attempting originally I 
feel pretty stupid. Finding that crack up near the diff was really a 
stroke of luck because it convinced me to give up on the idea of welding 
patches to an already flimsy structure. I feel good about the RATCO Diff 
Tower Replacement Kit. It looks very sturdy and the installation has 
been much easier than what I had thought it would be early on.

Tim


------ Original Message ------
>From "DAVID MASSEY" <dave1massey at cs.com>
To "Triumphs" <triumphs at autox.team.net>; "Tim Gaines" 
<mtgaines at presby.edu>
Date 3/19/2026 8:42:09 AM
Subject Re: Re[2]: [TR] TR6 rear shock mount break

>From your pictures it looks like you had a pending diff mount failure 
>so no matter what you do about the shocks you needed to address this.  
>Big job with the body mounted but it sounds like you have it under 
>control.
>
>Good luck.
>
>Dave
>
>
>
>
>On Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at 04:18:05 PM CDT, Tim Gaines 
><mtgaines at presby.edu> wrote:
>
>
>
>Dave, I did check the Coil-Over kit, but it looked as if the job would 
>be a good deal more demanding than than the one I'm into with the 
>replacement cross member. That old cross with the shock mounts would 
>have to come out either way, and since I have already refurbished the 
>lever shocks, well  .  .  .  .  I realize that RATCO has improved the 
>geometry of the shock system with the Coil-Over compared to the tube 
>conversion that probably tore my cross member apart, but it seems to me 
>that the design of the original lever shocks is as good or better. The 
>ball joint in the levers allows them to follow the arc that describes 
>the travel of the rear of the trailing arms (where the levers, or the 
>tubes in the conversion, connect) without putting lateral pressure on 
>the cross member. That is my thinking anyway.
>
>And for anyone interested in the description of the RATCO Tower Kit 
>installation I started last week:
>
>Today was a good day in the garage. After several days with nasty 
>weather and then some more with other demands, I lowered the jack under 
>the diff so it could move down to its "cradle" formed by the 2 half 
>axles and the drive shaft. I then cut through the short welds holding 
>the left and right ends of the cross member to the frame rails. I was 
>then able to lever the the cross up far enough for its studs to clear 
>the diff and then slide the whole cross out.
>
>The photos tell a sad tale:
>(1) Rear side:  Some of the metal that connected to the left rail was 
>gone and small cracks are above that. I had to (straight) cut those 
>connections on the right.
>(2) Rear side again:  I had fabricated a patch to replace the missing 
>metal in my original (aborted) plan.
>(3) Front side:  The unreachable crack that scuttled the original plan.
>
>The new kit has not shipped yet, but I still have some work to do 
>anyway. The old welds on the frame I cut today need to be ground 
>smooth, and then I need to used a flap wheel on the grinder to get the 
>frame clean and shiny for the welds to come.
>
>Tim
>
>------ Original Message ------
>From "DAVID MASSEY" <dave1massey at cs.com>
>To "Stan Foster" <stan at redtr6.com>; "Triumphs" 
><triumphs at autox.team.net>; "Tim Gaines" on either<mtgaines at presby.edu>
>Date 3/13/2026 7:20:53 AM
>Subject Re: [TR] TR6 rear shock mount break
>
>>Here's a thought.  Ratco sells a Coil-Over conversion kit that doesn't 
>>use the stock shock mounts at all.  Have you considered that?
>>
>>Dave
>>
>>
>>On Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 12:06:49 PM CDT, Tim Gaines 
>><mtgaines at presby.edu> wrote:
>>
>>
>>It is a stormy where I am, so I'm inside with my laptop instead of 
>>under my TR6 working to get that rear shock mount cross member out. 
>>Somehow I must have deleted some of this thread, and I don't remember 
>>if I ever continued with my "fix" to the problem. I did carry it over 
>>to "The Triumph Experience" where I got some more recommendations, and 
>>though I was discouraged for a time, I am now very optimistic about my 
>>choices.
>>
>>First, I got out the lever shocks that I had removed a couple of 
>>decades ago and opened them up and found the cause of their horrible 
>>performance. They were filled with grease! I found a Youtube video on 
>>the "Yakov's Beauties" site (so many great Triumph jobs there) that 
>>showed how to refurbish them. I did what he did and got a similar 
>>result where much more force was needed to move the levers. I really 
>>think they are going to work as is, but if not I'll get them done by 
>>one of the shops mentioned by others here.
>>
>>Second, I did embark on an attempt to weld up and patch the cracks 
>>that had appeared on the left side of the cross member (gas tank out 
>>of course). I thought I could hold the pieces together with C-clamps 
>>and then spot weld them in a few places from underneath, up into the 
>>channel. The idea was to then add more to the welds in the channel and 
>>then weld patches to the outer surfaces of the channel that I would 
>>cut from 14 gauge sheet steel. I did get a couple of spot welds done, 
>>but the channel is narrow, the MIG nozzle is pretty wide, and it was 
>>very hard to see anything when the nozzle and my hand blocked the 
>>light. The killer was my discovery of another crack farther up near 
>>the differential that was in an even narrower spot. I called a local 
>>welder who was happy to come take a look at the possibility of doing a 
>>stick weld up there, but he said there was no way it could be done, 
>>and he thought the cracking would spread anyway. Total discouragement 
>>at that point because I just couldn't imagine incurring the expense of 
>>a frame-off job to install the RATCO Differential Tower replacement 
>>after post-Helene clearing and tree work had depleted our accounts.
>>
>>A very helpful post on The Triumph Experience (from Ken D) let me know 
>>that the RATCO replacement could be done without removing the frame. 
>>"Read the instructions on the RATCO site," he said. I did, and the 
>>process sounded very doable, even for this 78 year old. I talked to 
>>Bob at RATCO, and got some good advice about carefully checking my 
>>frame for rust before proceeding. The cross member set up for lever 
>>shocks was not in stock, but it is likely to be shipped next week. 
>>Meanwhile I have been busy following the instructions. I'll briefly 
>>describe how things have gone for those who might be thinking of the 
>>same solution.
>>
>>There was some initial frame prep required that would be very 
>>difficult to do without first making room by removing the hubs and 
>>half axles from the trailing arms and letting the arms hang lower. 
>>Each side has 6 nyloc nuts holding the hub to the cast aluminum 
>>trailing arm. All but one of mine came out nicely, but one nut was 
>>frozen to its stud, and that stud and nut unit re-tightened after 
>>several turns out. It was extremely tight and I feared stripping the 
>>aluminum threads in the arm by forcing it out. It took several hours 
>>(over a couple of days) of spraying Liquid Wrench, turning back in and 
>>then out, tapping the surrounding metal, applying heat with a heat gun 
>>(a torch might have been too much for the aluminum) to loosen the nut. 
>>It seemed interminable, but I did begin to feel that the nut was 
>>backing out a little farther on the stud, and it did finally give 
>>leaving the stud and arm threads intact. Whew. Another Yakov video 
>>showed how to simply pull out the hubs (no need to do anything with 
>>the diff). Mine were stuck, but I borrowed a hub puller with a slide 
>>hammer from Advance Auto (payed $175, got it refunded after pulling 
>>the hubs in 90 min).
>>
>>I used my little air compression driven grinder with cutting wheel to 
>>slice the shock bump stops from the frame sides (to be re-welded later 
>>to a frame collar in the RATCO kit). It was a tedious job. I borrowed 
>>a friend's Makita electric angle grinder with a 4.5" diameter, .040" 
>>thick cutting wheel for the cuts to the old cross member. The cuts on 
>>the front side of the old cross member to separate it from the frame 
>>were about 6" long and took less than a minute each! The same cuts on 
>>the back side of the old cross were hindered by the bottom of the 
>>trunk area where the gas tank resides. Only about an inch of the 
>>cutting wheel could cut until the body of the angle grinder was 
>>blocked from moving farther in. This was incredibly discouraging, and 
>>I think it is the only flaw in the instructions provided by RATCO. 
>>Maybe there are low profile angle grinders that could work? I finally 
>>hit on the idea using my saws-all with a good long Diablo 
>>metal-cutting blade (I do have a few of my own tools at hand). It did 
>>a good job of cutting the rest of the way and took only a few minutes. 
>>I have used a grinding wheel to smooth out the metal left on the frame 
>>after some of the cuts, and that has gone well.
>>
>>Yesterday I reinstalled the hubs using just 2 new nyloc nuts on each. 
>>The hardest part (not really bad) was sliding the new rubber boots 
>>(old ones worn) over the splines in the shafts before pushing them 
>>through the trailing arms (held up with a scrap piece of wood). This 
>>next is the best thing about the whole job. Tomorrow I plan to place a 
>>jack under the diff, remove the 4 nuts holding it to the mounts (2 in 
>>the old cross), and then lowering the jack to allow the diff to settle 
>>into a cradle of the 2 axles and the drive shaft. The only thing left 
>>holding the old cross in place is an easily accessed half inch weld on 
>>each frame rail. Should take about a minute to cut through those and 
>>then pull out the old cross. There will be more grinding to smooth the 
>>frame surface in preparation for the new cross member. That cross will 
>>be positioned by slowly jacking the diff back up into the 2 stationary 
>>forward mounts and into the mounts on the temporarily movable new 
>>cross. Ingenious! At that point my nearby pro welder has agreed to do 
>>the welding to the frame.
>>
>>The current price tag on the RATCO kit is $375 plus shipping. The 
>>welder charges by the hour, but I don't think it should take too long. 
>>Maybe $200 or so there; certainly less than $800 total for the fix. 
>>That is more than I thought it would take originally, but this is much 
>>better than having an iffy patch job or a car that sits in the garage 
>>until . . . ?
>>
>>Tim
>>
>>
>>
>>------ Original Message ------
>>From "Stan Foster" <stan at redtr6.com>
>>To "Tim Gaines" <mtgaines at presby.edu>; "Triumphs" 
>><triumphs at autox.team.net>
>>Date 10/8/2025 5:37:30 PM
>>Subject RE: [TR] TR6 rear shock mount break
>>
>>>I had those brackets and the stress caused the cross ember to be torn 
>>>off the frame. I fitted the cross member from RATCO and switched back 
>>>to lever arm schocks.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Stan
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>From: Triumphs <triumphs-bounces at autox.team.net> On Behalf Of Tim 
>>>Gaines
>>>Sent: Wednesday, October 8, 2025 4:37 PM
>>>To: Triumphs <triumphs at autox.team.net>
>>>Subject: [TR] TR6 rear shock mount break
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>I have been hearing a slapping sound either under or behind me in the 
>>>1974 TR6 when I encounter even slightly rough pavement, so today I 
>>>decided to sort it out. I thought I had found the problem quickly 
>>>when I saw that the spare tire securing hook bolt had come loose, but 
>>>no such luck. When I finally gave up on simple fixes and jacked up 
>>>the left rear end and removed the tire, I saw that the cross member 
>>>had cracked near where the after market shock mount adaptor bolts on. 
>>>I did a quick check with the Moss parts catalog and that cross member 
>>>is not available with them. So, I'm wondering if this shock mount 
>>>replacement for the old lever shock (I installed a couple of decades 
>>>ago) was a bad idea and put too much pressure on that frame member. 
>>>It occurs to me that there may be some folks out there who have gone 
>>>through this and can tell me just how a fix should be attempted.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>That crack shown in the photo seems to be only on the back side of 
>>>the cross member. I have learned some welding skills in the last few 
>>>years, and I have a mig welder, but I have never done anything under 
>>>a car. I really don't like the proximity of the gas tank either. I am 
>>>thinking that my local pro welder would be the guy to call on, but is 
>>>this really something that can be fixed that way?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
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>>
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