Frame rail damage?

Post by **cambell** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:52 pm

i am looking to buy this 1989 240sx body looks great from the pic i have seen but i guess there is a softball sized hole in the driver side frame rail... i havn't seen it in person yet. but just seening if anyone knows how hard it would to be to fix this?

thanksPIC

Post by **del82** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:36 pm

How in the hell...? Is it rusted out, or is it from some kind of damage?

Well, either way really, its a subframe car, so there's no real "fix" for it, you just grind off the rusty bits, and weld in new metal. Truth is, there's a lot of 240's out there that don't have holes rusted in them, and are still a decent price. Keep looking, you'll eventually find a great deal on a better base line. Or at least, that's my recommendation, for what its worth, heh.

Post by **cambell** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 9:33 pm

guy wants 500 cash? i thought it was a deal? is it not but i offered a trade on my sh!tty 92 saturn that i don't drive. i am not sure if it is rust or not but i am going to go look at it tomorrow i hope just to check it out. lol o ya my saturn i paid 250 for so ya steal. if he goes for it. but like you said there is no.. real way. but i got a friend that that will weld it for me

if anyone else could reply with your thoughts plz do

thanks

Post by **SullivanRacing06** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 5:03 am

is it from someone lifting the car from the frame well? or is the piece missing completly from the location?

Post by **cambell** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 1:26 pm

not sure and i drove by but the guy wasn't there.

Post by **del82** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:02 am

It's not against the law to look, unless its stuffed in a garage

git on underneath there with a flashlight and see whats up

Post by **nando** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 3:08 pm

ya when break/clutch fluid is spilled it slides down into the drivers fame rail... and then the paint blisters off... and rust forms from inside out...

but def replace with new metal is the way to go...especialy if there is some one who knows what they are doing patches it...any decent body shop will fix it...for some coin (rust work sucks)

i work in a body shop for a chevy dealer...and def done my share of rust repair... other than that it is a structual part and replacing it would be better than a quick patch job good luck

Post by **cambell** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:25 pm

thanks for the insight

Post by **edwards30** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 2:39 pm

i am also buying a 240 with this problem i am doing this technique for the fram rail but i do have a question about it..what size metal should i use i was thinking like 1/4 inch sheet metal with tig welding..

Post by **90sxappeal** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:16 pm

I just done the same type of repair with 1/16 inch sheet. Not sure on the extent for this 240 but mine was an easy fix. Just cut out old and weld in new.

Post by **goulet** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 6:17 am

You have to completely grind out the area. For example, if you have a patch of rust, completely grind out a rectangular section till you reach solid metal. You cant weld onto rust. Once u get that make sure to go over it again, sand it down. Match up a piece. Slowly start to tack weld it. On tack on one side, then on the other, and on the other. so on and so on.

Post by **!Zar!** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 6:41 am

If it is just the frame rail, don't worry about it.

Your car doesn't need it.

Post by **nando** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:46 pm

lol lol lol lol...wow

its the frame rail... the main support for the floor and the stucture of car...

get rid of it now or next will be the floor then you'll be Flinstoneing it...

Not Cool...

rust spreads and spreads if you dont get rid of it will ruin your car.

1/16 will be ok... just make sure you coat any exposed metal with either paint or undercoat...and dont set the carpet on fire!

Post by **!Zar!** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:38 pm

nando wrote:lol lol lol lol...wow

its the frame rail... the main support for the floor and the stucture of car...

get rid of it now or next will be the floor then you'll be Flinstoneing it...

Not Cool...

rust spreads and spreads if you dont get rid of it will ruin your car.

1/16 will be ok... just make sure you coat any exposed metal with either paint or undercoat...and dont set the carpet on fire!

You obviously have no idea, do you?

The S-Chassis in japan don't have a frame rail at all.

Yes, you need to mitigate rust as much as you can, but you don't HAVE to have undercarriage rails.

Out cars are unibody.

They aren't like a ford or a chevy where they are the main support of the car.

Do some research before you try and call someone one on something you obviously have NO real knowledge of.

Post by **nando** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 5:24 pm

Ford or Chevy? Mustang or Camaro? both amaricana both unibody.

one... yes im new to the s chassis.

two... i do know about automobiles

three... i have a passion for cars...weather it be at work or at home.

four... i was just sharing my knowlage dont take offense to my opinions

the part that i am describing is basically a chanel welded at either side of the floor... it adds strength and regidity to the car ... not having one would create more flex on the body... there are many after market parts which tie in the rails to either front or rear subframe...

i wasnt calling any body out... just trying to help out... it comes from the factory like that... id rather repair to specs than let it weaken the car is all.

Post by **!Zar!** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 7:09 pm

Most old school american cars had chassis with frame rails. And you pretty much just bolted the body onto the frame.

That doesn't take place with 240's since they are unibody.

As for the frame rails, it's the same reason why america got Onevia's instead of silvia's.

It was for safety. Dumb or not, it's what was done.

As I said before, if you look under a J-spec s-chassis, you won't find frame rails.

I can agree with wanting to repair to specs.

But quoting me and then laughing at me along with posting what you thought, is pretty much calling me out. Hence my reply towards you.

=)

Post by **Crazyirish** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 5:53 pm

!Zar! wrote:As I said before, if you look under a J-spec s-chassis, you won't find frame rails.

Really? Then why is a popular "J-spec s-chassis" mod a bolt-in/weld piece that connects the front and rear frame rails along one side of the car.

Not only are you spreading dis-information, but it is potentially dangerous mis-information. Every unibody car I have ever owned had some sort of frame rails (And believe me, I have owned a few). The difference is that on a full frame chassis, the body is a completely separate piece(s) that bolts to the frame.

For a reference, here is the part I mentioned. http://www.rhdjapan.com/jdm-lo...50942If there was no frame rail whatsoever, then what, pray tell would this bolt to? Or is URAS some fly by night company that sells extensions for imaginary parts of cars?

Post by **!Zar!** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:27 am

Crazyirish wrote:
Really? Then why is a popular "J-spec s-chassis" mod a bolt-in/weld piece that connects the front and rear frame rails along one side of the car.

Not only are you spreading dis-information, but it is potentially dangerous mis-information. Every unibody car I have ever owned had some sort of frame rails (And believe me, I have owned a few). The difference is that on a full frame chassis, the body is a completely separate piece(s) that bolts to the frame.

For a reference, here is the part I mentioned. http://www.rhdjapan.com/jdm-lo...50942If there was no frame rail whatsoever, then what, pray tell would this bolt to? Or is URAS some fly by night company that sells extensions for imaginary parts of cars?

It isn't a common mod. It's just a mod that is out there. It's cheaper to make the bracket yourself.

The jdm rail doesn't span the whole length of the car.

Hence. "For whatever reason, Nissan decided to design the S13 without connecting the frame rail to the rear of the car on one side. Uras has designed this brace to extend the frame rail all the way to the rear of the vehicle. This will produce a stiffer chassis with less flexing which is ideal for a drift car."

Maybe they should add that it will now save your life in case of an accident.

That brace goes on the rear left of a jdm car.

Post by **edwards30** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:54 pm

thanks for all the help..i also have rust on parts of my quarter panels in the rear and along the rocker panel..i want to do all of this myself so should i use the same thickness of metal?Also is TIG welding strong enough for the frame rails?

Post by **Crazyirish** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 9:30 pm

TIG welding can do whatever you want it to(or rather know how to make it do). Definitely repair the frame rails using the same or thicker gauge metal. As for the body panels, I would clean the rust off and see whats left. (Unless you're talking about actual holes in the sheet metal.)

Post by **edwards30** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:07 am

well on my hatch it is more than just surface it is where it has eaten away at the rear quarter panels

Post by **robinsone** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 9:15 am

Check this site out it may help

http://www.xcessivemanufacturi...tep=4

Post by **Crazyirish** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 2:29 am

9 month old thread dude

Frame rail damage?

Frame rail damage?

Re: Frame rail damage? (cambell)

Re: Frame rail damage? (del82)

Re: Frame rail damage? (del82)

Re: Frame rail damage? (SullivanRacing06)

Re: Frame rail damage? (cambell)

Re: Frame rail damage? (cambell)

Re: Frame rail damage? (nando)

Re: (90sxappeal)

Re: (!Zar!)

Re: (nando)

Re: (!Zar!)

Re: (!Zar!)

Re: (Crazyirish)

Re: (edwards30)

Re: (edwards30)

Re: (Crazyirish)

Re: Frame rail damage? (cambell)

Re: Frame rail damage? (robinsone)

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