Rust Problem!!

[cplus]

In the middle of engine rebuild and I am going through the engine bay, On the passenger side I see the rusted frame area. See Pic. What can I do to this? Is this something I can weld a patch to or is it really serious. I doesn't look good. I can shake the car and the split moves.

[BuDavid]

it is really dangerous I would say Jim.. the pressure of the compression rod applied on this spot is too high while braking, much more than shaking the car by yourself! don't put your self in hazard..

fix it properly bro..

[cplus]

What is the best fix for it?? Any Ideas..

[Zak's Z]

I had the same problem, but other side of the motor. I had to get new floors welded in, and new frame rails. I got these from Charlie Osbourne at http://www.datsunzparts.com/ .

They are great replacements. The body guy/welder had to remove the TC rod mount and reinforce the area. He also had to fab a new front suspension mount - the one that sits on the frame rail. Then he welded the t/c rod support back on and I was good again.

If you want pics let me know and I'll put them in my gallery. He did a decent job there (although floors/rockers are a bit offset now).

If you do get this type of work done, make sure they measure the frame after and get it perfectly straight after the work is done.

Zak

[LanceM]

That's not good. The spray foam is a bad idea too as it holds moisture against the metal. I would say you are going to have to replace a lot of metal to do it right and I sure wouldn't drive it untill it was fixed right! You hit something with that right tire and it could fold right back.

[JimmyZ]

I saw a temporary fix for this once. A guy welded a 1/4"x2" wide piece of strap to the center crossmember. (From crossmember to Compression rod housing) Just about died laughing when I saw the fix but it got him through a little longer.

Mine did this too. Like Zak I had to replace floor pans and one frame rail. (Battery acid runover caused it)

Make sure that you use the crossmember as an alignment aid when replacing the frame rail. Frame rail replacement is pretty easy to do once you get the engine, tranny etc off the car. I could easily pick up the front end of my 240 once the front suspension assy was removed. This is a great excuse to sandblast and paint the engine compartment too!

The attached pictures show passenger frame rail replacement. I had to cut out the battery tray and firewall material immediately around it because it was too thin to save/weld. You can see that my frame rail had the same tear as yours.

It is a grave safety issue so fix it before it totals the car and possibly yourself with it.

Jim

[cplus]

Thanks for all the help. We are to the frame shop Thursday. Thanks Guys!