Is this chassis repair acceptable?

[Murph]

There was a kink/ripple in the left hand chassis rail that the panel shop missed when they were doing all the other work on my zed. Took it back so they could fix it, and all they did was beat the kink straight without doing anything to reinforce the area. So I was already a bit pissed off with that, when I discovered how they did it!

They cut a 3.5cm hole in the side of the rail in the wheel arch, beaten out the kink from there, then just shoved a rubber plug in it. Not happy. :mad:

I went to see the local transport authority about it and they said that when assessing such a thing they'd first look to the manafacturers guidelines for such repair/modification. Does anyone know where such information is available these days.

What are your opinions on this "repair"?

[2ManyZs]

Well, it looks OK as long as the frame rail is sound..

If I were you, I think I would weld a small patch over the hole and a strip around the "kink" in the frame rail in the shape of a U.

Once metal is kinked like that, it will not take much to make it bend again. I'd put a 2 or 3 inch wide strip, bent in a U to fit over the frame rail tightly and seam weld it, then grind the welds down so they don't show and repaint the spot.

If there is any doubt as to how sound the frame rail is, it might be best to replace it in the near future.

[Fun_in_my_z]

brace it up real good it should be ok. if not its not that hard to replace :devious:

[blitzkraig]

That repair is complete BS if you ask me. Unless you knew you were going to a half arse shop I'd say you got ripped. Any decent body guy would have at least welded that hole back up.

[Fun_in_my_z]

i would go and see about getting my muney back or something.

they should have there rears kicked for work like that my 10 year old brother can do better than that.

[Zvoiture]

Let me preface this: I am not a mechanical engineer, nor do I KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT STRUCTURAL METAL. Metal is great because you can weld a gusset over it and be good as new or even stronger. But, addressing the 'repair' and the shop NOT welding anything over/around the hole/stressed area and giving it back to you as a structuraly sound unit, it is interesting to compare to structural wood members (my business). This diatribe is basically worthless because (a) wood and metal are probably quite different in how they fail, ( there is no clearly defined 'bearing point', and © the entire inside of the fender above the structural member is practically a gusset, or 'web'....anyways, all Iknow about is wood and it is Thanksgiving morning and I am bored so what the hell.... In 'unengineered' (natural) structural wood members, you are limited to removing roughly 1/3 of the cross section on horizontal members and 1/2 of the cross section on vertical supporting members. So, rounding things off, if you have a 2"X4" board on edge supporting a ceiling, you can only drill a 1 3/8" hole in it. Translated to the frame rail, I'd say your hole is a bit over that ratio. On engineered wood products, the rules are both stricter and more relaxed because it changes as you approach or depart from the bearing point. Within a certain area close to the bearing point you can make practically NO penetrations but as you move away, the penetrations allowed become larger but there are very close restrictions realted to shape (drilled holes can be much larger than square) and how close you are to the top or bottom edge of a horizontal member. Dead center is the least susceptible to failure, but as you approach the top and bottom edges, the stresses multiply. On engineered members constructed out of natural members (roof trusses) the allowance for penetration is almost nil. Only the tiniest absolutely unavoidable holes can be drilled in the members, and there is a good chance it will be reviewed. There is probably very little of this that translates to metal.

Again, weld a plate over it and it is done. Stilll, cosmetically and ethically it will be wrong.

steve77

[stevegee]

That hole and the weld run on the chassis rail looks pretty crook..but I would check with RTA/DMV structural repairs by welding can only be carried out by licenced welders. Sure its OK to weld but if it is chassis its structural and that sort of welding needs a DLI (federal) licenced welder just like tanks boilers and pipelines. If it is safety and life then a duty of care applies. If the car crashes and the coroner asks the questions then the guy who welds it will be lible under law. The hole cut by the mechanics was wrong and you possibly have recourse under law, trouble is proving it is gonna be hard, it is a bad repair and you may need to contact a Z works professional, I think there is one in each state here. I read recently of the whole chassis rail being replaced by one of the Z car people. There are new laws in place all over Australia about joining cars together, you just can't do it any more and from what my RWC mechanic tells me any RUST in a chassis is terminal these days and has to be repaired by a structural engineer. I am a TAFE teacher and read much on OH and S issues. Every fatal car crash is investigated these days by TOG, cars get impounded and inspected for illegal modifications and there is ALWAYS a coroners report in a fatal accident. Trouble is if you are the driver you are not likely to be around to hear about it.. ..:dead: