HybridHatchback

My baby got in a small accident and the radiator core support is bent bad. The bar that goes accross right in front of the radiator on the bottom is pushed almost into the radiator.

I ordered a new Rad. Core support but when I was removing parts from my car I realized that the damn thing is welded on. There is a dot every so many inches where the part was welded.

What do I need to do to get the core support replaced? I want my baby back.

vladd

drill the welds out.

function83

drill out the welds and weld in your new core support a good body shop should be able to do it.

euclid

you should take your car to a shop that has a frame straightner, you may not even need to put in the new support, i did the same thing awhile back before i had a rear swaybar, damn understeer.

dxhatch93

Grind out the welds using a grinder

Civic_95_Si

I hit a snow covered curb this past winter. Bent my core support and pushed my radiator up into the hood latch. It evetually led to my CF hood smacking my windshield and meeting its maker(sorta). It cost alot to fix. New hood+ new bumper+ core support + paint + labor. It's not fun.

HybridHatchback

thanks for responses.

I have the front of the car stripped and the welds are ready to be drilled or grinded out.

I'ma search for good body shops this week and tow the car over there.

I just want them to put on the core support.

I hate ******* with body shop prices.

(I got a body shop estimate for the car and they wanted $3,600 to fix my car. The new core support cost me $138 off ebay and labor hopefully won't be too much)

vladd

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HybridHatchback &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thanks for responses.

I have the front of the car stripped and the welds are ready to be drilled or grinded out.

I'ma search for good body shops this week and tow the car over there.

I just want them to put on the core support.

I hate ******* with body shop prices.

(I got a body shop estimate for the car and they wanted $3,600 to fix my car. The new core support cost me $138 off ebay and labor hopefully won't be too much)
</TD></TR></TABLE>

you gotta drill the welds out, not grind them out. if you can get a welder from somebody this is easy to do yourself. i've done it once on a integra and twice on a civic. just make sure the support is lined up perfectly straight, and bolted and clamped on before you start welding. just weld the holes in that you drilled, and grind the welds to make them smooth after. then, bust out the ol spray paint and paint to match the car.

HybridHatchback

When you say drill the welds, what kind of drill bit should I use?

Should I just drill a hole straight through the weld?

I'ma search for how to on welding.
thanks.

vladd

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HybridHatchback &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When you say drill the welds, what kind of drill bit should I use?

Should I just drill a hole straight through the weld?

I'ma search for how to on welding.
thanks.</TD></TR></TABLE>

if you don't have a drill set, borrow one from a friend. i just use a bit that's a little bigger than the welds, no certain size. if you've never used a drill before, make sure the bit is spinning clockwise. pushing on the drill will make it drill a lot faster. simple as that.

HybridHatchback

lol

dxhatch93

Its much easier to grind out the welds. I grinded mines out and it seems better because u dont have a hole on the main structure of the car. If u use a grinder u can ONLY grind off the core support until its very thin and just peel it off. Drilling through that much metal is pretty hard. I tried both methods of drilling and grinding, and i hafta say grinding is a way lot easier.

AcuraEL

I drilled mine out (hella long) and bolted the new support using some small bolts, since I didn't want to spend on welding

vladd

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AcuraEL &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I drilled mine out (hella long) and bolted the new support using some small bolts, since I didn't want to spend on welding </TD></TR></TABLE>

you better hope you bolted it on good, becuase it'd suck to have everything fly off one day

dxhatch93

I also bolted mines. Used 16 bolts total with permanent thread lock.

HybridHatchback

Anyone know where all the points are that I have to drill. I am not positive about where each weld point is.

I need to drill , take the bent one off and bolt the new one on tonight. thanks.

vladd

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HybridHatchback &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Anyone know where all the points are that I have to drill. I am not positive about where each weld point is.

I need to drill , take the bent one off and bolt the new one on tonight. thanks.</TD></TR></TABLE>

well, how would we explain to you where all the welds are that you need to drill out? there's a bunch of them. just find ones that look like they're holding the support to the car and drill them out. sounds like a dumb answer but that's how you do it.

IWearMyKswiss

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civicdxtyper &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

well, how would we explain to you where all the welds are that you need to drill out? there's a bunch of them. just find ones that look like they're holding the support to the car and drill them out. sounds like a dumb answer but that's how you do it. </TD></TR></TABLE>

werd


and ive also bolted a rad support to a car before,..alot of nuts and bolts and it holds strong

HybridHatchback

I guess i'm being too specific but , last thing because i just want it to be perfect. What size bolts should I use, and how big of a bit should I use to drill out the welds? I want it to be a clean job.

HybridHatchback

bump

zigs

You can use a normal drill bit but a spot weld bit will make it alot faster and easier. Should take maybe 15 min top to drill of the radiator support with it. All the welds are the little circles who stated in your above post.

HybridHatchback

I couldn't find a spot weld bit at any stores so I just purchased a grinder.

This is a pain in the ***!

There are a lot of spot welds and it takes a lot of messy work for the grinder to break a weld.

Anyone have advice on using the grinder to break spot welds??

Thanks.

Patron

A drill is a thousand times easier.

dxhatch93

When you grind out the welds, just run the grinder over the welds just enough to make that layer very thing. dont grind all the way through the core support. after that it should be easy bending and ripping off the core.

HybridHatchback

wow, that just might work!

I'm doing that first thing after work tomorrow. I have been trying to go all the way through the entire time.

nite.