S13 Crossmember LCA bracket Fubar'd?

[Xplat]

Hi, folks

I bought my 240 a couple months ago and noticed on bumpy roads I would get death wobble. At it's worst I was too afraid to let go of the steering wheel with both hands to shift up (~50mph) . I blamed it on bushings, wheel weight, tire balance, blown tie rods, even thought it could be the steering rack/pinion.

So, come today I start pulling out all my front suspension crap and notice my driver side lower control arm wobbled at the point it meets the cross member. After pulling it out the bracket on the cross member was noticeably damaged and the holes for the bolt were elongated horizontally instead of being round/circular. :rant2:

Both sides of my cross member looks like the one pictured one the right (POI drawn in red)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/surgeis/mifked.jpg







I don't think I have the tools to deal with this I think... But what are your suggestions?

I was thinking of having some more metal welded onto the cross member and redoing the hole....

Or just transplanting a used crossmember in better condition... But I don't know how big of a job that would be.

Any other suggestions or help?

Also, would like some explanation as to what swapping the cross member would entail.

[ManoNegra]

Has that wobble always been there since you got the car?
I've never seen that before

welding in a piece of metal shouldn't be too difficult to do
probably would be the cheapest and fastest way to fix your problem too

replacing the crossmember isn't too difficult but it's involved
lift/support motor on a hoist
undo motor mounts, steering rack, remove arms, brakes, etc
unbolt crossmember and replace
would be a good idea to get an alignment afterward too

[Xplat]

Yeah, that wobble has been there since I bought the car. I just didn't pay much attention to it because I have only driven completely stock cars before and this one came with coilovers, and 17" rims. So, I figured it would clear up after replacing the bushings. I didn't find out until now when I started pulling everything out to put in the new bushings. The bracket also looks like it's kinked a little bit. I think it started off as some idiot previous owner using that as the jack point and bending the bracket, and just eventually through the years a shimmy developed as the LCA bolt wiggled back and forth.

-_-

Also, my driver's side frame rail is crunched just behind the driver's side door.

This car looks like they used all the WRONG points to jack the car.

(The passenger side tension rod bracket was also damaged) BAD JACK POINT

and the passenger side LCA was tweaked a little too.. My guess? BAD JACK POINT.

It just makes me mad that the previous owner or failure mechanics would use those as jack points. Because now I'm the one who is dealing with their stupid mistakes.

But hey, the KA had 92k miles on it and runs perfect.



My car also has Tanabe 7's on it (Previous owner placed them on) ... They're supposed to be 16 way adjustable, but they just click endlessley in either direction. (the rears) and the fronts don't adjust at all unless I pull the knob off and twist by hand (nothing to base adjustment off of)...

-_-

[racepar1]

Just replace the crossmember. It's not THAT hard and you can get one for cheap. Hell I have a spare I could sell you. That happened because the flca bolt was left loose for a loooooonnnnnngggggggg time. I have seen that on a couple cars before.

[projectRDM]

The original owner may have slotted them to get some more camber, with is damn stupid. Replace it or weld a washer the correct diameter over the hole and use it to align the control arm.

[Xplat]

Yeah, I'm considering just paying the for the labor to have it replaced since this may be easy if you have the tools and experience, but I have neither =/...

How many hours do you think replacing a cross member would take by a competent shop? (Ballpark to figure how long the labor I should be paying for, so I don't get screwed any more than I am)

And P.M. sent about that cross member racepar1

Hopefully, that one is in very decent condition.

[nrmskate]

The only way to get experience is to do it yourself.

I once had the same mindset as you, but, with time and effort, it led me to fixing and diagnosing many error that I have run into over time.

[Xplat]

Yeah, I know what you mean skate I've learned a lot about my car and it's suspension components just by inspecting and pulling them out myself to replace the bushings. This however, seems totally over my head. Google results and the FSM so far haven't given me a very good idea as to how I would do this.

Would I need to undo anything from the motor or transmission? or just hoist it to take the weight off the cross member and unbolt the motor mounts?

[ManoNegra]

Would I need to undo anything from the motor or transmission? or just hoist it to take the weight off the cross member and unbolt the motor mounts?

just like I outlined it in my first post
the process isn't very difficult but it sounds like it
may be beyond your experience and means
a shop would probably charge you a good amount
solely based on the number of components/things
that need to be unbolted to get the crossmember out

if I were in your shoes I'd follow Russ'
advice and just have a shop (muffler shop?) weld a
washer with the right ID in the spot

ps, very few 240s without something underneath
crushed from poor/bad jacking

[projectRDM]

No hoist needed. Stick a bottle jack or jack stand under the bellhousing, then drop the mounts.

Way easier.

[racepar1]

No hoist needed. Stick a bottle jack or jack stand under the bellhousing, then drop the mounts.

Way easier.

The only real bitch to dropping the crossmember is the bracket that holds the powersteering lines to it on the driver's side. It's not too bad to remove, but putting it back sucks ass. The rest is cake. The problem with going to a muffler shop and having them weld on a washer is that it is absolutely CRITICAL that the bolt be located in the correct position. Even a milimeter or two off and there will be noticeable driveability problems as both the caster and the camber will be screwed. Even after alignment the slightly different dimensions will cause one wheel to be in a slightly different position which will likely cause the car to pull in one direction or the other.