Ok, so I just discovered a huge problem with the rear subframe. I never upgraded the sway bar, but the driver side rear LCA did not have the mounting point for the sway bar, so that side of the sway bar had been just hanging for a while. I back into my driveway everyday coming home, I think that's what caused this problem. I knew the trailing arm bushings were going out, and when I saw my wheel with so much negative camber I kinda thought it was maybe just the bushing..







so i got the trailing arm off and pressed in the new bushing







and when i go putting it back together i noticed the LCA bolt mount flex while tightening, and this is why







Decided to not replace the car and fix it myself. Used a big tiedown strap mounted at the bottom of each rear strut (with LCA's on obviously) and cinched the crap out of it. playing with a hammer got it all to look pretty straight. After some grinding and drilling;











i used 1/4" drill bit in order to make the spot welds, i'll supplement that with some seam welds in a bit.







I plan on using a lower strut tie bar when im done welding. I have seen many writeups about using ASR subframe braces, but that only looks more beneficial if the swaybar mounts to the subframe, which mine does not. There are brackets aft of the subframe for that. I will be welding doubler plates over the cracked areas before I'm done.

 

Excellent Job! I think I will add a lower bar as well after seeing this.

 

I agree with essex clean EF tho

 

i would not feel comfortable driving that the rear subframe is never ment to break like that also i would at least put a subframe brace just for peace of mind

 

Thanks DjAccurate.

I considered using a subframe brace, but because this subframe does not have the two holes on each side above the LCA mount for the sway bar, it would only mount up using the LCA bolts, thus being a much more expensive alternative to a tie bar. Am I wrong to think that, structurally speaking, in this application, a tie bar will get the same job done?

 

You need to stop using your fluxcore welder on those seams and at the very least call a professional in to do the welding, I wouldnt trust those welds for **** and that is a huge safety risk.

Wouldnt cost much at all to bring a guy in to lay some beads after you did all the prep work and grinded the metal smooth, but you kind of butcherred it now, just laying filler welds and not actually penetrating it looks like

 

Hmm. I did need to hear that, thanks. I wouldnt mind grinding off most of what ive done to have someone come in and do it right. To have it 'done right', does that mean using a MIG welder instead of this dinky wire feed crap? To be honest i put this thread up to get some feedback like this. So my question is, do i buy a mig welder, or hire someone to do it with their mig?

 

It would be much cheaper for this job alone to simply grind off whatever you can and get it as close to the prep stage you had it at in the one pic (which was very good) and hire a guy off craigslist/yellow pages

It will literally take them an hour or less to run those seams, and if you call around and tell them they dont need to prep anything just show up and weld, youll find a credible person locally to do it for a good price. and if you want to go all out and put doubler plates, which could definetely be a good idea because these pieces obviously let go for a reason, you could pereabricate them yourself and cut to the right sizes ready for the guy to just hold it place and stitch weld.

You look like you are capable of fab work, so definetely can save some money doing the grunt work and time consuming things, and just call in a pro to weld those seams. Youll definetely feel much safer. Might be out a $100, but definetaly would feel safe taking that corner at high speeds not worrying about that wheels letting completely go from the car

 

Honest truth I would go to the junk yard get a new subframe and get someone to weld it and seam it out and the efs never had their swaybar on the rear crossmember they bolted on the rear beams of the frame bro

 

i wasnt really sure if all or just some ef swaybars mounted this way, but i was just saying the subframe brace wouldnt do much more than a tie bar would.

i dont think a whole *used* subframe from a car with xxx miles would be any better than this one after its been properly reinforced, and itd be much easier to keep this one straight on the car rather than trying to get a new one to do the same.

I will reprep, fab some doublers and hire a welder. will update with pics n such with progress. Thanks for the input

 

I agree with Vagitarian for the most part. The only real way to fix this problem would have been to take it to a shop that is can fix frames. You have no idea how straight it is, and to Vagitarian's point how strong your welds were.

I hate you for the enlightenment that this problem occurs. Now when I am all "vtec just kicked in yo," I'll be thinking about your rear subframe breaking.

 

This happens all the time and you would have to be nuts to junk a car for this. As far as it not aligning properly that is why you have toe link adjusters. There is no way that fix is even a 1/2 inch off.

 

Just fyi the wheel only got all crooked when i drove backwards. Driving straight would make the wheel straighten up and i drove it for a good 300 miles before i put her down, with minimal tire wear. On the last drive home i heard popping sounds during corners coming from that area. When i backed up into my driveway as usual i heard a loud *** pop while that one wheel made its way up onto the sidewalk before the others.

so, Whited, as far as just driving and cornering, i dont really see much danger of a similarly styled frame vehicle just falling apart during typical driving.

 

I think the repair is ok. I have a flux core welder and have welded all kinds of stuff together and never had any problems. Also he over did the repair so he should be totally fine. From the factory the car only had a few spot welds holding that in place, now it has a ton of spot welds and a bead as well. Just put some seam sealer on it, undercoat it, and go on with your life. Check it every thousand miles or so and see if you notice any problems.

I would not, under any circumstance, grid it all back off to start again. That would seriously weaken the metal and lead to more problems. You should be fine just the way it is.

 

So.......................you kept driving it after the rear wheel starting having 20° of negative camber when you backed up?


Wow.

 

yep. oops.

 

Get the ASR brace asap. You do not want this happening while you're driving.

On the ASR for the EF/CRX you have to drill 2 holes on each side. That way your subframe doesn't just fall like that. The holes go through the spare tire area so there would be that whole area holding it up if it rips again.

This happened to me with my old crx. The same things aswell. Rear bushing and same type of split in the subframe. Left side aswell.

That's why I bought the ASR when I got my new one.

No, it's not like a rear tie bar. It's better. The tie bar won't hold up the subframe if it rips again, but the ASR might/will.

 

Wow those ASR Braces look nice. I didn't know they bolted up like that on the EFs.

 

Get another car

 

EF ASR on the way. Had a welder with 30+ yrs experience look at my welds, he says it'll be fine, but i'll definitely install an ASR brace. Of course these aren't the prettiest welds, but 1)this isn't a showcar, 2)all the welded areas will be hidden by the spare tire, the gas tank, and the ASR brace. 3) i know i got good penetration with these welds, fluxcore welding just doesn't really get much nicer looking than this.
This car and I have been through too much to part ways over something that can be fixed.

 

Lies, depends on the welder and the person using it.

I'll get some pics of some of my flux core welds (I've only had the welder since march, and have only gone through 3 lbs of .030 wire).

What kind of welder is it?

 

The metal being welded makes a big difference too. I have done a lot of welding with this Campbell Hausfeld Flux Core 80 and most of the time it does look better than this, but that's when it's on much better for welding metals. Show me some pics of your fluxcore welds on Honda's paperthin chassis. It's a lot more difficult than most things I've welded.

 

finished screwin around with it and applied a rubberized undercoating.




now the rear end has new trailing arm bushings, upper and lower control arm bushings, new compensator arm bushings, new Tein SS springs, and it'll have the ASR brace and an EG/EK? sway bar in a few days.

 

This was not part of the deal