I opened up my hood and saw that my radiator support was bent to the point where it's visibly showing from the outside. What i mean by that is that my headlights and my hood arent aligned with the bumper. One headlight is in further than that other headlight.

I was told that i could buy a aftermarket radiator support and just drill in the points to match the ones off the oem radiator support and i would be able to just screw and bolt it on instead of having to weld it on. Any truth to this? Anyone have a radiator support that's just wrenched on?

Here's the pictures of what im talking about, anyone know of a company that makes reputable radiator supports? how much do u think it'll cost for one at the junkyard? I really want my front end aligned correctly.





License plate is different now, no worries.

 

Looks like you can just do the T-bar. But I cant really tell how bad your radiator support is from the pictures. It just looks like it is bent up and not back. If thats the case, a T-bar should work and it NEEDS to be welded on. Do not bolt it up. If you want to save money, buy a spotweld bit and a center punch and remove the T-bar your self then get someone to wled the T-bar on. Good luck.

 

looks like some kind of crash damage to me....maybe before the car was yours?...D

 

I used a Cylinder Jack , torch and Sliding hammer to get my car straight after rear ending a focus with no brake lights on i-5







Finished


Il look for more pics so you can see the support better with everything takin off later

 

I'm changing that exact piece on my DA at this very moment. It's just spot welded on (and some 10mm bolts), you can see all of the spot weld dimples if you look closely. Just drill them out. make sure to remove the fenders first, since there are a couple of welds where the Rad support meets up with the fenders.

It's somewhat stable with just the bolts, but I think it really needs to be welded on. I got myself a little Mig Welder off ebay for $100, works great.

As for the best place to get the support....THE DEALERSHIP! believe it or not!...OEM Radiator Support was about $63 out the door. Good look man, hit me up if you have any questions.


Modified by Circusraven at 12:22 AM 6/4/2008

 

To be honest, looking at it from the top it doesnt appear to really be pushed back. At least not as far as it would take an eye to notice. Im hoping that's what it is. The hood is out of shape so i know that needs changing. Im not looking to buy a welder but like you said maybe pay someone to weld it on.

I think this car was in an accident also before i got it. I dont mind putting it back straight, it's just that i have 0 experience with welding, soldering yes, welding no. If any of you can give more ideas that would be great.

To the guy with the blue teg, your rad support came out great. So once it was aligned everytihng just fit correctly, how many tries did i take of hitting it?

 

I think your other option would be just whacking the crap out of it with a hammer until it's flat. Your Rad Support isn't as bad as mine was, mine was more like the blue teg, which is what happens when you slide into the back of a car.

OR

You can buy the support and take it to a body shop to have them install it. It shouldn't be an arm and a leg, since your car doesn't have a lot of front end damage. For the price, I'd say get an OEM support. A taiwan support might not fit just right, so you'll be right back where you started.

 

You do not need to replace your radiator support. That will be a pointless waste of time. Take a sliding hammer to it, and work in reverse order of the accidend. It will go very easy. Or stop by an auto body shop and have them do it, shouldn't be that expensive.

 

thanks fellahs, i think ill try that sliding hammer thing..i'll give u all an update on it soon. iight.

 

If you plan to replace it please don't bolt it on, weld it!