How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
04-18-2012, 09:35 PM
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How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
I just found out I've been driving with a major crack in the rear beam in my 1991 Honda Accord station wagon for at least the last six weeks. There are many dirt roads where I live and this probably happend hitting a bad pothole this winter.
Here's what the crack looks like:
The car is now off the road and I've removed another rear beam from a parts car (that took a while) to replace the cracked one.
Here's more of the story -- there's a couple of strange interactions with an auto service center that supposedly did an alignment when they sold me new tires but never mentioned the cracked beam to me.
In the middle of March I noticed that the car was handling strange -- it felt squirrelly. When I was entering a highway on a long curved entrance ramp and I would pass over small bumps it felt like the front of the car would jump sideways a bit. I stopped one day and looked at the tires and noticed that the two front tires were dangerously worn on their inside corners. On the drivers side tire I could see frayed remnants of the steel-belts.
I decided this needed immediate attention and went to an auto care center for a major tire manufacturer.
I showed them the worn tires and mentioned that the camber seemed bad -- by looking at the car from a distance and head-on you could see the bottom of the front tires were further apart from each other than the tops of the tires. This was why the tires were so worn on the inside edges.
I purchased two new tires and had a front-end aliment done and left feeling re-assured that the problem was taken care of. I was not informed of ANY remaining problems with my car.
About one month later I started to notice similar problems and when I stopped on my way home from work noticed very similar wear on the inner corners of the new tires. Again the corner of the tire on the right side showed frayed steel belts.
I stopped at the same tire manufacturers auto care center on the way home and told them about the same wear occurring on the new tires and told them about the squirrelly handling and that I thought the previous alignment hadn't been done properly.
They had the car in the shop for about 30 minutes. The sales person I was dealing with had several longer conversations with the mechanic (I couldn't hear what they were saying). When she came out to talk with me she told me that they couldn't adjust the camber because something in the suspension was bent -- but at that time of day they couldn't properly diagnose what the problem was. They put a replacement tire on the right front side because that tire was the most worn. They told me not to drive the car far and that I could bring it back the next day. This was a Friday at the start of a long weekend and I told them I would take a look during the weekend to see what might be wrong.
On my way home I was trying to imagine what could have possibly caused this problem. I remembered I had changed he upper-control arm on the left front side ... but perhaps it had been on the right side and the auto-parts store had sold me the wrong upper-control arm and the one I installed was too short. he chances of this was low but if true would have cause the problem -- and would be easy to fix. So I stopped and bought a new right front upper control arm.
On Saturday I took apart the front right suspension. I compared the right front control arm I took off with the new one I had bought and they were an exact match. I then compared the curved cast arm going from the steering knuckle to the upper control arm. Perhaps I had hit a pothole and this arm was bent in. I had an identical part I had taken off another car and he shape of the curve matched. This meant that the arm wasn't bent either.
I described what I had found to my 16-year old daughter Rebecca and ended by saying that for the camber to be so bad that the wheel was visibly splayed outward AND for the problem not to be caused by the top of the wheel being pulled in inappropriately the problem must be cause by the bottom of the wheel being too far out. I mentioned that I thought this was unlikely because how could the bottom part or the car/suspension system be "stretched"?
I got under the car and looked at where the lower control arm attaches to the subframe. In a 1991 Honda Accord this part is called the rear beam. It is a massive structure bolted to the frame of the car to which many major components are attached. The rear motor mount, steering column, steering rack and pinion assembly, sway bar, and lower control arms are all attached to the rear beam.
Just inward of where the right front lower control arm attached there was a large easily visible crack extending from the bottom of the rear beam right up to the top. At the bottom the crack appeared to be about 0.25" wide.
This was the cause of my problems and the crack had probably occurred when I had hit a pothole on the dirt roads in my town earlier in the winter.
When I was going around a corner and hit a bump the front end of the car un-weighted enough for the crack to narrow and the position of the tires shift causing the front-end of the car to jump sideways.
Commuting 60 miles each way to work for the last month had probably been somewhat more dangerous than normal.
The auto car center never mentioned to me the large and visible crack.
When I bought two new front tires in March and had them do an alignment they obviously never thought about the camber measurement -- if they even did the camber measurement. It turns out that camber is NOT adjustable on a 1991 Honda Accord. My camber was extremely off -- which of course could be immediately determined just from the state of the two tires I was replacing.
At that first visit the auto car center should have first noticed he camber was extremely out of operating specification just by the wear on the tires. Second they should have noticed it when they did an alignment. Third they should have know that the camber is not adjustable on a 1991 Honda Accord. Fourth they should have noticed the large visible crack in the rear beam, and lastly they should have told me that it they couldn't sell me two new tires until this major and dangerous cracked rear beam was replaced and that I should NOT drive this car anywhere.
When I went back a second time in mid-April with the exact same problem and with the two brand-new tire they had just sold me showing the same dangerous levels of wear on the inside corners they again should have noticed the large visible crack in the rear beam and told me it was too dangerous to drive away in my car. Instead they just told me that my suspension was bent.
The next Tuesday after the long weekend I drove my daughter Grace's 1991 Honda Accord to work and stopped at the auto car center and spoke with the manager.
I told him about the problem and my judgement that they had never done a proper alignment when I first bought the new tires. I also told him I was upset that they never noticed the large dangerous crack in my rear beam and let me drive away with the car in that dangerous state.
He asked me what it would take to make me happy.
I had been thinking about this issue and it hadn't been easy for me to come to a conclusion.
On one hand my risk of a major accident was much greater for the four weeks of commuting 60 miles each way to work due to their mistakes in performing the alignment and then interpreting the results.
On the other hand I was NOT in an accident.
Obviously they are responsible for replacement of the two damaged new tires they sold me, and for doing a proper alignment after I get the rear beam fixed.
Are they responsible for more?
It seemed to me that they are ... but I have no idea what or how much their liability is.
So considering that state I decided that what would make me happy would be to have four new tires for my 1991 Honda Accord and four new tires for daughter's 1991 Honda Accord.
I showed the manager a video of my car up on jack stands in my driveway and showed the cracked rear beam. I also told him that I had removed a rear beam from a parts car I had and was planning to install it in my Honda Accord.
The manager of the auto care center offered to replace the damaged tires (one had already been replaced -- it was the one I drove 30 miles home on on Friday) and install the rear beam I had removed from the parts car at his internal labor cost of $45/hour. He did not have a labor estimate for this work. I mentioned that I thought with their equipment it might take 3-5 hours. After the rear beam was installed he would then do an alignment. He also offered to install four tires on my daughter's Honda Accord for his cost. The cost for the four tires would total about $153.
I was disappointed with this offer and told him I had to get to work and I would think about it.
Shortly after I left he called mu home number wanting to talk more. I spoke with him several hours later from work and he wanted to revise his offer and offer he four tires for Grace's Honda Accord for free and two rear tires for my car at his cost.
At this point I think its worth getting some other opinions about whether this offer is a good deal.
I do not know what their liability is. I'm wondering if the reason the manager offered to replace the rear beam is partly because their liability is possibly much higher than I have estimated and by doing the work they can both make me happy AND dispose of the rear beam with the large dangerous crack they failed to notice twice.
I just have no experience in this kind of problem ...
Here's what the crack looks like:
The car is now off the road and I've removed another rear beam from a parts car (that took a while) to replace the cracked one.
Here's more of the story -- there's a couple of strange interactions with an auto service center that supposedly did an alignment when they sold me new tires but never mentioned the cracked beam to me.
In the middle of March I noticed that the car was handling strange -- it felt squirrelly. When I was entering a highway on a long curved entrance ramp and I would pass over small bumps it felt like the front of the car would jump sideways a bit. I stopped one day and looked at the tires and noticed that the two front tires were dangerously worn on their inside corners. On the drivers side tire I could see frayed remnants of the steel-belts.
I decided this needed immediate attention and went to an auto care center for a major tire manufacturer.
I showed them the worn tires and mentioned that the camber seemed bad -- by looking at the car from a distance and head-on you could see the bottom of the front tires were further apart from each other than the tops of the tires. This was why the tires were so worn on the inside edges.
I purchased two new tires and had a front-end aliment done and left feeling re-assured that the problem was taken care of. I was not informed of ANY remaining problems with my car.
About one month later I started to notice similar problems and when I stopped on my way home from work noticed very similar wear on the inner corners of the new tires. Again the corner of the tire on the right side showed frayed steel belts.
I stopped at the same tire manufacturers auto care center on the way home and told them about the same wear occurring on the new tires and told them about the squirrelly handling and that I thought the previous alignment hadn't been done properly.
They had the car in the shop for about 30 minutes. The sales person I was dealing with had several longer conversations with the mechanic (I couldn't hear what they were saying). When she came out to talk with me she told me that they couldn't adjust the camber because something in the suspension was bent -- but at that time of day they couldn't properly diagnose what the problem was. They put a replacement tire on the right front side because that tire was the most worn. They told me not to drive the car far and that I could bring it back the next day. This was a Friday at the start of a long weekend and I told them I would take a look during the weekend to see what might be wrong.
On my way home I was trying to imagine what could have possibly caused this problem. I remembered I had changed he upper-control arm on the left front side ... but perhaps it had been on the right side and the auto-parts store had sold me the wrong upper-control arm and the one I installed was too short. he chances of this was low but if true would have cause the problem -- and would be easy to fix. So I stopped and bought a new right front upper control arm.
On Saturday I took apart the front right suspension. I compared the right front control arm I took off with the new one I had bought and they were an exact match. I then compared the curved cast arm going from the steering knuckle to the upper control arm. Perhaps I had hit a pothole and this arm was bent in. I had an identical part I had taken off another car and he shape of the curve matched. This meant that the arm wasn't bent either.
I described what I had found to my 16-year old daughter Rebecca and ended by saying that for the camber to be so bad that the wheel was visibly splayed outward AND for the problem not to be caused by the top of the wheel being pulled in inappropriately the problem must be cause by the bottom of the wheel being too far out. I mentioned that I thought this was unlikely because how could the bottom part or the car/suspension system be "stretched"?
I got under the car and looked at where the lower control arm attaches to the subframe. In a 1991 Honda Accord this part is called the rear beam. It is a massive structure bolted to the frame of the car to which many major components are attached. The rear motor mount, steering column, steering rack and pinion assembly, sway bar, and lower control arms are all attached to the rear beam.
Just inward of where the right front lower control arm attached there was a large easily visible crack extending from the bottom of the rear beam right up to the top. At the bottom the crack appeared to be about 0.25" wide.
This was the cause of my problems and the crack had probably occurred when I had hit a pothole on the dirt roads in my town earlier in the winter.
When I was going around a corner and hit a bump the front end of the car un-weighted enough for the crack to narrow and the position of the tires shift causing the front-end of the car to jump sideways.
Commuting 60 miles each way to work for the last month had probably been somewhat more dangerous than normal.
The auto car center never mentioned to me the large and visible crack.
When I bought two new front tires in March and had them do an alignment they obviously never thought about the camber measurement -- if they even did the camber measurement. It turns out that camber is NOT adjustable on a 1991 Honda Accord. My camber was extremely off -- which of course could be immediately determined just from the state of the two tires I was replacing.
At that first visit the auto car center should have first noticed he camber was extremely out of operating specification just by the wear on the tires. Second they should have noticed it when they did an alignment. Third they should have know that the camber is not adjustable on a 1991 Honda Accord. Fourth they should have noticed the large visible crack in the rear beam, and lastly they should have told me that it they couldn't sell me two new tires until this major and dangerous cracked rear beam was replaced and that I should NOT drive this car anywhere.
When I went back a second time in mid-April with the exact same problem and with the two brand-new tire they had just sold me showing the same dangerous levels of wear on the inside corners they again should have noticed the large visible crack in the rear beam and told me it was too dangerous to drive away in my car. Instead they just told me that my suspension was bent.
The next Tuesday after the long weekend I drove my daughter Grace's 1991 Honda Accord to work and stopped at the auto car center and spoke with the manager.
I told him about the problem and my judgement that they had never done a proper alignment when I first bought the new tires. I also told him I was upset that they never noticed the large dangerous crack in my rear beam and let me drive away with the car in that dangerous state.
He asked me what it would take to make me happy.
I had been thinking about this issue and it hadn't been easy for me to come to a conclusion.
On one hand my risk of a major accident was much greater for the four weeks of commuting 60 miles each way to work due to their mistakes in performing the alignment and then interpreting the results.
On the other hand I was NOT in an accident.
Obviously they are responsible for replacement of the two damaged new tires they sold me, and for doing a proper alignment after I get the rear beam fixed.
Are they responsible for more?
It seemed to me that they are ... but I have no idea what or how much their liability is.
So considering that state I decided that what would make me happy would be to have four new tires for my 1991 Honda Accord and four new tires for daughter's 1991 Honda Accord.
I showed the manager a video of my car up on jack stands in my driveway and showed the cracked rear beam. I also told him that I had removed a rear beam from a parts car I had and was planning to install it in my Honda Accord.
The manager of the auto care center offered to replace the damaged tires (one had already been replaced -- it was the one I drove 30 miles home on on Friday) and install the rear beam I had removed from the parts car at his internal labor cost of $45/hour. He did not have a labor estimate for this work. I mentioned that I thought with their equipment it might take 3-5 hours. After the rear beam was installed he would then do an alignment. He also offered to install four tires on my daughter's Honda Accord for his cost. The cost for the four tires would total about $153.
I was disappointed with this offer and told him I had to get to work and I would think about it.
Shortly after I left he called mu home number wanting to talk more. I spoke with him several hours later from work and he wanted to revise his offer and offer he four tires for Grace's Honda Accord for free and two rear tires for my car at his cost.
At this point I think its worth getting some other opinions about whether this offer is a good deal.
I do not know what their liability is. I'm wondering if the reason the manager offered to replace the rear beam is partly because their liability is possibly much higher than I have estimated and by doing the work they can both make me happy AND dispose of the rear beam with the large dangerous crack they failed to notice twice.
I just have no experience in this kind of problem ...
04-19-2012, 03:36 PM
#3
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
That's why I put the main question (how dangerous was this?) in the subject line and the picture right at the top ;-)
I'd love to just weld it but have no idea if that would be strong enough.
I've pulled another rear beam out of my parts Accord and am planning to install it this weekend.
I'd love to just weld it but have no idea if that would be strong enough.
I've pulled another rear beam out of my parts Accord and am planning to install it this weekend.
04-19-2012, 09:18 PM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
I'm sorry to disturb with my -for sure- idiotic question. But could I ask you to show on the picture, aside from the very clear arrow, what the crack is? I'm going to go under the car tomorrow and I'll check mine too... I had that awful wear in the front tires but not the negative angle on the wheels. I'd really appreciate if you could do so.
BTW, regarding the replacement. Get all four tires for free for you daughter's car. Have them replace the part themselves and get the 2 tires for your car at their cost. That's fair since you were lucky and in no accident.
I'm glad you didn't have any problems other than the pesky manager at the auto repair shop.
Regards from down south!
BTW, regarding the replacement. Get all four tires for free for you daughter's car. Have them replace the part themselves and get the 2 tires for your car at their cost. That's fair since you were lucky and in no accident.
I'm glad you didn't have any problems other than the pesky manager at the auto repair shop.
Regards from down south!
04-19-2012, 09:20 PM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
Again sorry for my idiotic question, but I sure dont know how that beam should look like when undamaged and it's way to late in the night for me to go to the parking and throw myself under the car to have a peek!.
04-19-2012, 09:51 PM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
Are you asking for a closeup?
Here's a closeup. I am looking from the front towards the back of the car. The crack starts right above the power-steering pump. I removed a metal cover that protects the power-steering pump before I took this picture.
The crack when I first got home from the tire shop was about twice as wide -- perhaps a 1/.4" at the bottom. I took this picture after pulling the car back together with chains and a come-along. I was wondering if I could weld it back together but decided against trying.
You can also see in the picture that the crack appeared just in towards the center of the car after a double-layer of molded sheet steel transitions into a single layer. This will be a place where stress concentrates.
Reading over previous threads where people hit curbs sometimes they have bent the lower-control-arm -- but this would tend to tip the wheel in NOT out. If you have bad wear on the inner corners of the front tires I'll bet the camber is way off and the bottoms of the front wheels are further apart than the tops.
Here's a closeup. I am looking from the front towards the back of the car. The crack starts right above the power-steering pump. I removed a metal cover that protects the power-steering pump before I took this picture.
The crack when I first got home from the tire shop was about twice as wide -- perhaps a 1/.4" at the bottom. I took this picture after pulling the car back together with chains and a come-along. I was wondering if I could weld it back together but decided against trying.
You can also see in the picture that the crack appeared just in towards the center of the car after a double-layer of molded sheet steel transitions into a single layer. This will be a place where stress concentrates.
Reading over previous threads where people hit curbs sometimes they have bent the lower-control-arm -- but this would tend to tip the wheel in NOT out. If you have bad wear on the inner corners of the front tires I'll bet the camber is way off and the bottoms of the front wheels are further apart than the tops.
04-20-2012, 05:03 AM
#7
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
Good idea no to weld it. Replace that as soon as you can!
Even though welding it would work. There is no way for you to get it cleaned and prepped properly without removing it from the car anyway. After all the work getting it out, it's just easier to replace it.
Even though welding it would work. There is no way for you to get it cleaned and prepped properly without removing it from the car anyway. After all the work getting it out, it's just easier to replace it.
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04-20-2012, 05:17 AM
#8
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
Thanks a lot for the clarification, I just came back from under my car and thankfully it isnt cracked. I checked though beacuse I did change the front wheel bearings cause mine had a lot of play and were already making that ugly humming noise. Had the car aligned and the wheels balanced, but as I have never checked that I wanted to make sure I was not chasing all different problems. Also I checked now the inclination on both wheels and it doesnt seem off (I did it before I jacked the car so that the suspension is properly seated in). Again thanks a lot for the data!
Also, I gotta tell you, you did the right thing by not welding the beam back together and instead having it replaced!
Also, I gotta tell you, you did the right thing by not welding the beam back together and instead having it replaced!
04-20-2012, 11:55 PM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
I would take the 4 new tires for your daughter and new tires for you with 4 wheels alignment for both cars, plus the labor putting on the new beam. Let's put it this way, you are lucky that he's even offer it. Lot's of places will flat out denied knowing of the crack. You can't prove it, not sure you willing to pay a lawyer to argue your case. So take what you can and be done. I think it's more than fair. If you want to get more than what you deserve then you will have to pay it back else where. This is just me. Thinking too much about it might confuse you. Good luck.
04-21-2012, 12:37 PM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
if you do weld it you have to get it back to honda specifications squared of the beam.... i think it would be better to buy one if you can afford it
04-21-2012, 03:22 PM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
Questions:
Did YOU as a customer look at the before and after printouts of the alignment?
Did you inform them about the floating sensation you were feeling?
Which tires were replaced/showing wear?
Heres the deal:
When you pay for an alignment they briefly check the suspension parts that commonly wear out. Balljoints, tie rods, struts/shocks, and wheel bearings. If they align the car and it is within spec then their job is complete and they can back it out. Job done.
The technician ONLY gets paid for the job they do. So they are not going to mess around checking every aspect of the suspension unless YOU the customer purchase a complete vehicle inspection or pay for diagnostic time in which they will actually get paid for. Would you work for free? No. Neither will they. If a job pays .8 of an hour and it takes them 1.2 hours to align it then the technician loses money because they are only getting paid .8 of the 1.2 hours it took them to do the job when they could be working on another vehicle.
A broken rear beam is NOT common and therefore one should not expect a technician to look at it.
If they aligned it again they probably should have done a more in depth check but I don't know what you said when you brought the vehicle in for service.
I don't think you really "Deserve" anything extra. You did not purchase a service that they did not complete. Correct? I think the offer of getting tires at cost is more then fair and not really necessary.
As far as liability - how would it be their fault? There is no way to prove when the crack was there and since you did not purchase any sort of inspection they are not held liable for not inspecting the car. Simple.
Did YOU as a customer look at the before and after printouts of the alignment?
Did you inform them about the floating sensation you were feeling?
Which tires were replaced/showing wear?
Heres the deal:
When you pay for an alignment they briefly check the suspension parts that commonly wear out. Balljoints, tie rods, struts/shocks, and wheel bearings. If they align the car and it is within spec then their job is complete and they can back it out. Job done.
The technician ONLY gets paid for the job they do. So they are not going to mess around checking every aspect of the suspension unless YOU the customer purchase a complete vehicle inspection or pay for diagnostic time in which they will actually get paid for. Would you work for free? No. Neither will they. If a job pays .8 of an hour and it takes them 1.2 hours to align it then the technician loses money because they are only getting paid .8 of the 1.2 hours it took them to do the job when they could be working on another vehicle.
A broken rear beam is NOT common and therefore one should not expect a technician to look at it.
If they aligned it again they probably should have done a more in depth check but I don't know what you said when you brought the vehicle in for service.
I don't think you really "Deserve" anything extra. You did not purchase a service that they did not complete. Correct? I think the offer of getting tires at cost is more then fair and not really necessary.
As far as liability - how would it be their fault? There is no way to prove when the crack was there and since you did not purchase any sort of inspection they are not held liable for not inspecting the car. Simple.
04-21-2012, 05:15 PM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
Pretty much what the last guy said. I used to work for a Honda dealership and do alignments, I also do a bit of side work on older Hondas at home. A cracked subframe (I can't say I've ever heard the term "rear beam" before) is uncommon, unheard of really. I've seen subframes rust before, but never crack. A honda alignment is basically a "set the toe and go" deal. You can't adjust the camber or caster, if they're out of spec then something is bent. A good tech will tell the service adviser. A good service adviser will tell the customer.
IMO all they owe you is a free alignment and 2 front tires. Anything more than that is being more than generous to you. Honestly you sound like you want more than you deserve out of this.
IMO all they owe you is a free alignment and 2 front tires. Anything more than that is being more than generous to you. Honestly you sound like you want more than you deserve out of this.
04-22-2012, 04:26 PM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
I also agree with the majority. Replace your beam and get the tires. I too feel the same way towards some shops. I currently have an issue with my 96 accord and it's pulling right. The shop recommended I replace a rear upper arm with an adjustable one. All I can say is that you are lucky.
04-23-2012, 12:25 PM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
I've got the rear beam (that's what the shop manual calls it) back in.
That was a bunch of work outside in my dirt driveway!
Had to replace the motor mount. Also put in new wheel bearings, rotors, pads and lower ball joints.
I didn't take off the steering rack -- just re-used the one from the parts Honda.
The flare nuts on the power-steering pump were very hard to get off.
On the running car I ended up having to use a vise-grip to get the two smaller ones off. I had tried heat, light banging, and a flare wrench over and over and they wouldn't budge.
One came off with the vise-grip. The other was SO frozen on I broke off a piece of the power-steering pump itself -- the nut never did come loose.
I used the power-steering pump from the parts car and between the two was able to get good tubing for all four lines.
I took off the air duct from the air filter to the FI to get at the rear engine mounting bolt.
When re-installing I found I had to jack up the motor a bit, loosen the bolts holding up the rear beam (loosen the left side a bit more than the right side) and then I was able get the motor mount bolt started.
The Tire/Autocare center will replace my one bad tire and align my car and put four (cheap) new tires on my daughters Honda Accord Wagon tomorrow morning.
That was a bunch of work outside in my dirt driveway!
Had to replace the motor mount. Also put in new wheel bearings, rotors, pads and lower ball joints.
I didn't take off the steering rack -- just re-used the one from the parts Honda.
The flare nuts on the power-steering pump were very hard to get off.
On the running car I ended up having to use a vise-grip to get the two smaller ones off. I had tried heat, light banging, and a flare wrench over and over and they wouldn't budge.
One came off with the vise-grip. The other was SO frozen on I broke off a piece of the power-steering pump itself -- the nut never did come loose.
I used the power-steering pump from the parts car and between the two was able to get good tubing for all four lines.
I took off the air duct from the air filter to the FI to get at the rear engine mounting bolt.
When re-installing I found I had to jack up the motor a bit, loosen the bolts holding up the rear beam (loosen the left side a bit more than the right side) and then I was able get the motor mount bolt started.
The Tire/Autocare center will replace my one bad tire and align my car and put four (cheap) new tires on my daughters Honda Accord Wagon tomorrow morning.
04-23-2012, 08:07 PM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
IM glad to read about the stores resolution.there's nice people out there after all. Could you post pictures of the process of replacement? I like to examine the parts I'll be messing with soon before I actually do. Thanks!
04-24-2012, 05:15 AM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
What work are you planning? Are you planning to replace the rear beam?
If I know more about what work you are planning I could post pictures and/or comments about that part of the work I did.
04-24-2012, 06:45 AM
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
The autocare center found another problem ... even after replacing the rear beam the camber is 2.9 degrees off on the the front left side.
Looking further they found the front left strut bent.
If I hit a pothole hard enough to crack the rear beam I'm not at all surprised that the strut is bent.
They wanted $750 to replace both struts. I'm going to do it myself.
Strut questions continued in this new topic thread: 1991 Replacing struts: just struts or struts and springs?
Looking further they found the front left strut bent.
If I hit a pothole hard enough to crack the rear beam I'm not at all surprised that the strut is bent.
They wanted $750 to replace both struts. I'm going to do it myself.
Strut questions continued in this new topic thread: 1991 Replacing struts: just struts or struts and springs?
04-24-2012, 08:49 AM
#18
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Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Re: How dangerous is a cracked rear beam?
The autocare center found another problem ... even after replacing the rear beam the camber is 2.9 degrees off on the the front left side.
Looking further they found the front left strut bent.
If I hit a pothole hard enough to crack the rear beam I'm not at all surprised that the strut is bent.
They wanted $750 to replace both struts. I'm going to do it myself.
Strut questions continued in this new topic thread: 1991 Replacing struts: just struts or struts and springs?
Looking further they found the front left strut bent.
If I hit a pothole hard enough to crack the rear beam I'm not at all surprised that the strut is bent.
They wanted $750 to replace both struts. I'm going to do it myself.
Strut questions continued in this new topic thread: 1991 Replacing struts: just struts or struts and springs?
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