NHTSA Complaint #10500077 — 1994 FORD E-150

HOPE THIS ISN'T A DUP; I STARTED A REPORT YESTERDAY, BUT DON'T THINK I COMPLETED IT. ASKED TO DO SOME WORK ON MY 1994 CLUB WAGON (167K MI), AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOUND A CRACK ON THE LOWER SIDE OF THE FRAME, BENEATH THE STEERING BOX. HE WOULDN'T DO THE WORK. SUBSEQUENTLY A BODY SHOP FOUND THERE WERE ACTUALLY TWO CRACKS, ONE ON THE INBOARD SIDE OF THE FRAME, RADIATING FROM THE STEERING BOX MOUNTING HOLE, TRAVELING BACK AND DOWN, AROUND THE LOWER CORNER OF THE FRAME, THEN FORWARD ABOUT 3" ON THE LOWER FACE OF THE FRAME ,ALONG THE EDGE. THE LAST 2" OF THE CRACK WERE OPEN, WITH ABOUT A 2MM GAP. THE CRACK ON THE OPPOSITE FACE TRAVELED IN AN ARC OF PERHAPS 60 DEGREES CENTERED ON THE MOUNTING BOLT HOLE, ABOUT 2" FROM THE CENTER, THEN DIAGONALLY DOWN TO THE LOWER EDGE, THEN BACK A COUPLE OF INCHES ALONG THAT LOWER EDGE. BOTH LOOK LIKE FATIGUE DUE TO SB TORQUE ON THE FRAME. FORD WON'T FIX THE PROBLEM, PROVIDE A METHOD TO FIX IT, OR COMMENT ON THE POSSIBILITY OF FIXING IT. THE CORPORATE CONSUMER HELP PHONE LINE SAID I SHOULD BUY A SHOP MANUAL AND READ IT TO DETERMINE IF THERE IS A WAY TO FIX IT. THE LOCAL FORD DEALER RECOMMENDED A BODY SHOP. THAT SHOP OFFERED TO WELD PATCHES OVER THE CRACKS. AFTER READING SIMILAR STORIES, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PROFOUNDLY BAD IDEA. A SEARCH THIS (NHTSB) SITE FOR SIMILAR PROBLEMS CLAIMS 15 TOTAL PROBLEMS WITH THIS MODEL AND YEAR. HOWEVER, ANOTHER SITE (HTTP://HARRIGILL.NET/FORDVAN/INDEX.HTML) LISTS 39 FOR THE SAME MODEL AND YEAR, COPIED FROM THE NHTSA IN 2007 - AND YET MORE FROM 1993. WHERE ARE THE OTHERS? AND WHAT OF THE PROBLEM WITH THE SAME FRAME IN OTHER YEARS? WHAT IS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF REPORTED PROBLEMS FOR THIS DESIGN, SUMMED OVER ALL YEARS? IT SEEMS TO ME THE NHTSA AND FORD SHOULD HAVE WARNED OWNERS OF THIS PROBLEM. PERHAPS YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED BECAUSE FRAME NOT IN YOUR LIST OF PARTS? *TR