Alignment cam tab bent + next steps Northern VA

Hi all, I have seen several threads on alignment tabs bent by off-road use or human error in some way. I am assuming mine came from wheeling and would like to see what options are for installing a weld on alignment tab kit. At the moment I do not have access to a welding apparatus of any sort (nor totally trust myself welding on my frame). I am in the NOVA area, can anyone recommend some good shops who can get this done? Also, would love suggestions on tab kits that people are using, have seen the Total Chaos ones but am absolutely open to recommendations, thanks! Pic attached of the front passenger tab

 

Looks off, its rusty, has a dead spider on it, and looks almost like it was ground off with a cutoff wheel. If it snapped off you would think there would be some cracking in the paint on the weld, or the weld would be bent. I dont have much to contribute other than that though. Good luck.

 

I'm currently dealing with this as well. Initially thought the Marlin Crawler kit would be easier. Upon initial attempt in my driveway to install, determined that while the TC kit requires a lot of work, it's more straightforward. Both are not for the beginner modder/fabber, and require somebody with some experience. Find a local fab shop

 

I just bent mine back and put a giant a$$ weld bead on the back. Has held for 3 years. Anit-seize the shat out of the cam bolt when you put it back. They rust and freeze, mine had just started.

 

Just noticed your appear to be gone, lol.

 

My LCAs are getting cut out rather than messing with the stuck cam bolts. Terrible design

 

These kits seem to work pretty good, if repairing.

 

Got it, thanks for the note. I'll begin the search

 

This is super helpful thank you, great photos showing the detail. The tap back and bead method may be the easiest option right now unless I can find a fab shop around me that I trust with frame welds Ill take the tip on the anti-seize right now though.

 

My fault on picture quality, it just is severely bent over to the point of being flat haha

 

Perfect, these were the exact ones I was looking at! Probably go for these tbh

 

Someone must have put some of that voodoo magic on my tabs

 

Oh ya, i see them now. Mine were just like that. I was going to go with the Total Chaos kit, but figured i would just bend them back and put a bead on the back of them and see how it went, as that was way easier. I cant weld for shat either. I just practiced on some old mower blades for a while before going to my frame. Proved to be a good idea. Weld didnt look great, but i have had zero issues so far. I just kind built a littl slant down from the top of the tab to the fame. Didnt go crazy with it and its held up fine. Really not sure why they dont just do something similar from the factory.

Also, when you anti-seize the bolts, just try to keep it on the bolt its self and off the back face of cam bolt, if that makes sense. Sorry for the 4th grade writing, cant write with a mouse for shit. If you got some on there already, dont worry too much about it. Dry right there just keeps it from wondering after its set. Lubed up it could move some, they say. Not really sure if it would or not.

 

I got my Marlin crawler cam tab gussets welded on at Offroad Innovations in Winchester Virginia. Great shop, and cheaper than many shops in NoVA. I've had them weld on a few items, including my archive shock relocation, and they did my re gear.

 

Here is another bad pic from a different angle. Wish i would have took the pic before hitting it with spray paint. Also, i didnt drop the a-arm out, as you can see. So i just took breaks welding, so i didnt roast the rubber bushing behind it. Do a little, move to other a-arm, go back to other and do other side. Back and forth, etc...to keep from melting that bushing. Forgot that important note, lol.

 

I used the little shitty Harbor Freight welder I bought to practice. Lol. Figured I could always grind it off, as I'd have to do anyway with the kit, if it didn't work.

 

If I had a garage I'd probably buy one myself also. But honestly, I dont like to learn on shit that if I fuck it up, itll be harder for the next guy to fix.

I'd get some practice in on some blank steel first.

 

Marlin Crawler kit is beef, and reinforces the frame/mounts themselves instead of just the tabs. Dont have to take the lcas out too for it which is nice

 

I practiced some on old scrap metal before hand and have dabbled with welder off and on. Really not that complicated and not structural welds anyway. Its just holding that cam bolt flap from moving left or right. Which is why they used a flimsy ass piece of bent steel on there, pressure welded on in 3 spots. Bead on the back of it, makes it much stronger for a daily (non rock crawler). Its not that big of a deal to grind, chisel, some welds off, if you screw up. You have to grind/chisel all that shit off anyway, to put on one of the TC kits anyhow.

I'm not rock crawling, so the Marlin Crawler kit would have been overkill for me. Its just a daily/farm truck. Needed it done quick and it has held up 3 years. Most i would need would be the TC kit, but hasnt been necessary in 3 years since i fixed it.

Fun fact, it was an ass hat trying to do an alignment that bent them both in the first place. He was trying to loosen from the wrong side (ie the side that doesn't rotate). I literally had to go into his shop and tell him what he was doing wrong. He owned the shop and he and his "best" mechanic had been working on loosening it for an hour, before i walked out. They had a giant cheater bar and had just broke their 2nd snap on socket. I showed them and they were like, "oh shit!" I was like ya morons, so i set it close as i could with no tabs in their shop (while they watched) and drove it home and had to take a whole next day off to fix their dumb ass mistakes.

So ya, i kind of always work on my own stuff. Had been already, but was like, i dont have an alignment machine, so i will take it in for this. How can you screw that up right? Well i was wrong, lol. Figured out how to do alignments on my garage floor and did it myself after tacking it up. Its so hard to find decent work these days, lol.

 

I bent my LCA bolt causing it to seize while wheeling, bending the chinsy steel there.

I will say the front of truck "feels" stiffer once I had them put on.