Maldito X

I need to fix an EG hatch, the radiator support bar, where the latch is, that thing is really bent, the fender, and the hood are ruined, and that's actually the most damage it received, by looking at the brace, I thought I could just unbolt it and replace it, but it seems to be tack welded, do you guys have any suggestions as to how to fix this? The driver side is the worst, and where the last bolt goes on the fender, closest to the headlight, that is where it's really bad, it just looks like a crumpled piece of paper. Any DIY would be appreciated, thanks.

schardbody

not likely to find a DIY on it, but i had a teg that my wife rear ended someone with that had similar damage. i used two ratchet straps hooked to the radiator support at differant spots and used my truck to gently pull it back as straight as possible. dont use chains cuz they dont give enough, use some kind of strap. if you put them in the right spots and pull them the right amount it will end up fine. mine was so bad the fan shroud was wrapped around the header, and you would never know afterwards.

Maldito X

Oh, I was thinking about using one of those dent pullers that are like a pulley or something, you know? Although I would probably only place it in one spot, because passenger side of the support is just where it should be, it's only the driver side that's totally bent in like a good 7 inches....I'll be trying this tomorrow though, any more suggestions?

schardbody

go slow, in my opinion i would get atleast the drivers side headlight and fender before pulling it, that way you know when its almost where it needs to be. if its real bad, pull it to where it looks pretty good, then put the light up where it would be mounted and see how it lines up.

Maldito X

Yeah, we were fitting the bumper today, to see how the damage was, and to see if we could hide the damage and line up the headlight, but it was really dent in, and there was no way of bracing the headlight back on, not that he has one at the moment, since it was broken in pieces, but yeah. We'll probably try to line it up as close as possible, and then see how it fits up, although we still need to get a new hood, driver side headlight, and driver side fender

vtecnologist

u really should go to a body shop
if its wadded up that bad, the tie bar is probably going to need to be replaced
you can try it yourself , but it wont ever fit right, and nothing will line up..

Maldito X

Yeah, well were trying to save cash...the other option we were considering was to try and find a hatch at a junkyard, cut off a good amount of the front section, and take it home and weld it on there...I'm not sure how well that one will work, any idea?

Syndacate

run it w/o a bumper, expletive that, just pull it straight and go

That's what I was doing with my ex's BMW for awhile, she hit a utility poll (one of those grey things on parking lot curbs, looks sorta like a time meter for the parking space....)

Anyways, the bumper and trunk were dented, and I had **** to do, so I simply ran it w/o bumper, trunk, and muffler (it was bent to the side and leaking - sounded like **** anyways), then a damn cop pulled me over for not having a back license plate...I had the damn bumper w/ the license plate on it in the trunk, he still said no, I had to ziptie it - and then the damn cop wouldn't sign off on it, I had to blow 35 mins at a police station waiting for them to inspect it and clear the ticket.....

It seems like everytime I pull onto a road w/ an incomplete car I get nailed by the coppers, friend's cavalier was at his house, needed me to bring it to his shop, so I did it, passenger's side windshield was smashed, air bags deployed, no front bumper no fender, then it happend again last wednesday, we finally got the seats in a hatch that myf riend's building (built up high powered engine w/ turbo) and I took it for a spin, of course a cop was getting a coffee accross the street and his car was on the other side of the building and I didn't see him, left go dknows how much rubber (was holding e-brake), and he gave me a ticket for a saftey hazzard because I didn't have any doors, winshield, windows, or seatbelt (just an empty case w/ 2 seats)...

Wow, I'm WAY off topic, but just stating my point, u can keep the pieces off for ahwile, until you get it aligned properly anyways..better to do a full job then just a half *** alignment..so just don't rush the job so u can get it done in one day


That's too long of a post...

Maldito X

Well, we were planning on taking a couple of weeks on it to do it little by little, but we probably were only gonna do the best to our abilities, and if that ended up being half assed, then that's the best of our abilities lol. I'm pretty sure we can drive around without a front bumper, but I think we need fenders and a hood on or we get ticketed. Also we need to fix, possibly the tie rod?? long story, but car went over a curb at one point, and after that the passenger side tire was tilting in....like the top of the tire tilted inwards to the fender, and the bottom was outwards, this is what it looks like, staring at the car from the front (the sticks are the tires) / | You guys know what is probably the cause of it? Were gonna look into it, just that this weekend has been busy for us.

bubblehead

that sucks sorry

Maldito X

yeah it sure does suck....but we'll get it up again, and it'll probably look better