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Damaged mount on chassis rail
Moderators: toaddog, TWISTY, V8Patrol, Moderators
Damaged mount on chassis rail
Just got a question, as I understand, welding etc onto the chassis rails is a big no no due to weakening the rail?
The radius arm mount on my cruiser looks as though its taken a hit from underneath and the mounting is slightly bent. This is welded onto the chassis rail.
Do they cut the mount off and weld a new one on, or get it pulled back into shape (which would probably weaken it?)
The radius arm mount on my cruiser looks as though its taken a hit from underneath and the mounting is slightly bent. This is welded onto the chassis rail.
Do they cut the mount off and weld a new one on, or get it pulled back into shape (which would probably weaken it?)
Its not perfectly acceptable. Smashing hydrualic rams onto steel fractures the crystalline structure of the steel, it work hardens, it becomes brittle and will lead to cracking. It might be perfectly acceptable to the laymans eyes but the steel is never the same.
Plus some vehicle cant be done this way. Look at some BMWs and Audis. You have to buy a whole new subframe because the parts are specially heat treated.,
Plus some vehicle cant be done this way. Look at some BMWs and Audis. You have to buy a whole new subframe because the parts are specially heat treated.,
That may or may not be true, but the fact is there are thousand upon thousands of vehicles driving around this country that have had chassis rails repaired. My workshop is right next door to a major NRMA smash repairer and if chassis rails weren't repaired or replaced in this manner 80% of crashed cars would be written off. And they don't "smash" hydraulic rams into anything - they attach them to chains which pull while the vehicle is clamped to a special rack such as a Car-O-Liner http://www.car-o-liner.com.au/caroliner ... oliner/au/nullack wrote:Its not perfectly acceptable. Smashing hydrualic rams onto steel fractures the crystalline structure of the steel, it work hardens, it becomes brittle and will lead to cracking. It might be perfectly acceptable to the laymans eyes but the steel is never the same.
A subframe bolts to the chassis, they get replaced because they are bent. I know this because being the mechanic next door to a smash repairer we diagnose and replace a lot of subframes from Commodores to V10TT VW Touraegs. I have replaced more front and rear subframes on vehicles then I care to remember, and you would be amazed how small a hit it takes to bend them on some cars. Usually the damage isn't visible just by looking, but it will always show up to a skilled wheel aligner.nullack wrote:Plus some vehicle cant be done this way. Look at some BMWs and Audis. You have to buy a whole new subframe because the parts are specially heat treated.
Your right, thered be many many vehicles out there repaired that way. Most people dont tow heavy objects or hammer their 4wd offroad for years on years. For those that do, even an undamaged chassis can crack and break (this happened to me in my old comp gq). What is certain is that putting tonnes of force onto a chassis dislocates the grain structure and work hardens the chassis. This fatigues the metal even further and makes it brittle. The chassis will never be as good as it was originally.
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