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Frame Ripping Apart. lol. *pics


sicj

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Been upgrading the suspension recently. One of the best purchases I bought was Techno Toy Tuning's adjustable tension arms. The steering feel is AMAZING. The frame however couldn't handle the new stiffness. lol.

Granted the frame was rotted pretty bad around the tension rod mount. In the pics you can see the foam I sprayed in there to keep water out. I did that when I bought the car (2 months ago)

I was backing out of a parking spot full lock to the left when I heard a pop/snap. I attributed the noise to the tension rod being loose. They've only been on the car 4 days. Turns out the pop was the tension rod ripping the frame rail off the chassis. haha

 

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Im glad it happened in a parking lot instead of on the freeway going 70mph. How can someone even keep junk like that on the road? Foam? Do you seriously think that was safe? How do you find it funny? Thats disgusting.

Edited by David K
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Im glad it happened in a parking lot instead of on the freeway going 70mph. How can someone even keep junk like that on the road? Foam? Do you seriously think that was safe? How do you find it funny? Thats disgusting.

 

I had no idea the extent of the rust was bad enough to rip the mount off the frame. If I had kept the stock tension rods this wouldn't have happened due to the large amount of slop in the bushings. I'm sure even just replacing the stock bushings would have resulted in this.

The foam was so no more water could get in there until I had funds to patch it properly. But I know, everyone like you has endless amounts of money to repair stuff the moment it needs it. not.

 

 

It funny to me because I've been saving and planning on getting new floors and rails put in. But my main priority was to get the suspension fully adjustable (which it is now) then go onto the floors. I was just hoping I could continue to drive the car 'till I was ready to put it out of commission. It's been on stands for a month, and I finally got to drive it for a short 4 days before it's on stands again. haha

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As you progress in your build and you spend more and more time here, you'll learn that there are certain members that don't give much thought to. As with most things in life, we must learn about the world and it's properties through experience. Some of us are lucky enough to have friends and or relatives that are mechanics, or engineers or just well off so we receive advice or financial support. The key is to not be embarrassed or ashamed to ask silly questions. We've all heard that "there is no such thing as a stupid question." Obviously there is such a thing as stupid response. Even the "smartest" of us have made stupid posts or embarked on cheap or nonsensical repairs and "upgrades."

 

The foam in the frame rail is a tremendously bad idea. You'll notice that the frame rail has holes in it or does not seal completely at the welds, the factory does this to allow the frame rail to breath. The factory knew the car would rust but did what it could to prolong it for the expected life span of the product. That foam will hold in water and speed up the degradation and adding "performance" suspension components will further expedite this process by applying additional stress on already weak components.

 

I had the frame rail tear apart at the sway bar mounts when I added my ST bars, what was shocking to me at the time was that the car was a Texas car and relatively rust free. What became apparent to me later as I rebuilt the car was that there is always hidden rust, one small spot almost always leads to a bigger spot, and big spots lead to major repairs. I would sell your TTT tension rods, save some money, take a welding class, and start repairing your car. If you have a second car, use it. If you don't buy a beater Honda or Toyota truck and drive that around while you fix it. Driving it will only destroy it further and it could get to the point were it's beyond repair OR it could get to the point that you cause an accident as my friend alluded to earlier. You don't necessarily need to spend big money on welders or pre-fabricated patch panels; While they help, patience and care will get you far when your broke.

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Im glad it happened in a parking lot instead of on the freeway going 70mph. How can someone even keep junk like that on the road? Foam? Do you seriously think that was safe? How do you find it funny? Thats disgusting.

 

It's funny just because its like, wow, never knew that would happen. It could have ended up bad, but it didn't. So there is no point in getting majorly upset about it. Better he looks at it on the better side of things. Now he can re-enforce his frame.

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I'm with David. If you take a second to look at the suspension and think about what it does, you should be able to figure out that the loads from the TC rod transfer to the chassis RIGHT THERE. If the frame is swiss cheese there, then that needs to be fixed right away before you spend money on cool go fast parts.

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At this point you are most likely screwed. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to get the chassis straight again without the use of a full frame machine/jig. Check the roof and the A pillars to see if there's any kind of wave, crease, or dent. IMHO, your chassis is junk.

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That area above the TC rod bucket was rusted to nothing on both sides of my car. I cut and fabbed a replacement piece in a similar shape to the factory piece out of 1/8" thick steel plate. Wirebrushed and cleaned inside that whole area and coated it with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator and Chassis Black then coated the back of the patch piece with weld-thru primer. It turned out pretty nice and now with undercoating over it, you can't even tell it was ever rusted so bad. I also added bad dog frame sub-connectors and seam-welded in most areas.

 

Fixing that on your car will suck though...should've made your car and frame sound before buying fancy suspension bits. Thats what I've been doing and it sucks, but it'll be worth it in the end. I have a whole basement full of brand new shiny go fast parts and suspension bits, but won't bolt them on until the entire chassis has all rust removed and is restored properly.

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At this point you are most likely screwed. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to get the chassis straight again without the use of a full frame machine/jig. Check the roof and the A pillars to see if there's any kind of wave, crease, or dent. IMHO, your chassis is junk.

 

The tension rod mount just looks like a 'box' tacked to the main chassis. It looks like the tack welds popped and the whole 'box' was peeled away. I doubt entire structural chassis damage would be a result from a few tack welds popping away.

 

Imma save this Z, after all, that's what these cars are all about. It's a series 1 it's worth saving. I ordered Zedd's floors and full BadDog rails. It will be back and better.

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The tension rod mount just looks like a 'box' tacked to the main chassis. It looks like the tack welds popped and the whole 'box' was peeled away. I doubt entire structural chassis damage would be a result from a few tack welds popping away.

 

Imma save this Z, after all, that's what these cars are all about. It's a series 1 it's worth saving. I ordered Zedd's floors and full BadDog rails. It will be back and better.

 

 

John know the suspension forces in these cars better than most. I was surprised he would say what he did, but I would look into it very carefully. Dismissing it would be a big mistake.

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I doubt entire structural chassis damage would be a result from a few tack welds popping away.

 

Imma save this Z, after all, that's what these cars are all about. It's a series 1 it's worth saving. I ordered Zedd's floors and full BadDog rails. It will be back and better.

 

You're the expert. Good luck with the repair.

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testy, testy people. wow.

 

So now that the roof and pillars aren't wrinkled, or dented, like you suggested to check (thanks for the tip) now what? still scrap it, or try to save it?

 

You'd think people on here would be a little more into PRESERVING the few chassis we have left instead of hunting for a perfect showroom floor chassis. But I'm sure everyone's car on here is perfect I know.

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testy, testy people. wow.

 

So now that the roof and pillars aren't wrinkled, or dented, like you suggested to check (thanks for the tip) now what? still scrap it, or try to save it?

 

 

Its completely up to you. If you have the time and access to a frame machine or a good surface table you'll learn a helluva lot about chassis repair. That will help you with future car mods and making cars handle well. If you approach the repair that way, you'll get a lot more out of it then a fixed car.

 

But... it makes no sense financially when you can get a straight roller chassis for $1,000 and then just transfer your existing parts over to the new car. Not every S30 can (or should) be saved. It will be much better for the marque if your car was parted out then poorly repaired.

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Its completely up to you. If you have the time and access to a frame machine or a good surface table you'll learn a helluva lot about chassis repair. That will help you with future car mods and making cars handle well. If you approach the repair that way, you'll get a lot more out of it then a fixed car.

 

But... it makes no sense financially when you can get a straight roller chassis for $1,000 and then just transfer your existing parts over to the new car. Not every S30 can (or should) be saved. It will be much better for the marque if your car was parted out then poorly repaired.

 

I agree. Definitely try getting a clean roller. Who knows, it might even have less rust than yours! B)

 

Keep us posted.

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