chassis gap / tear ?broken?

[Peetn]

Hello,

while replacing the bushes of my stabilizer bar I noticed that there is a gap in the chassis at one side of the car but not on the other. See picture. Don't pay attention to the leftover weld which was a sad attempt by a Brazilian "mechanic" to attend to the problem. The weld broke straight away.

So my question: is the gap normal or not; should it be welded properly or what else to do?

In about a week we are leaving for very bumpy south american roads so now is the time!

Thank you!!

 

[gmanpaint]

I'm not 100% because of how close up the picture is, but it looks like the seam where the engine cross member meets the frame rail. If that is what I'm thinking about, that is definitely not supposed to be like that.

Anybody else want to chime in here?

 

[partsman48210]

From what I can see you should get that welded and make sure its not throwing anything out of alignment. Below where I circled in red looks to be the factor seam weld and its broke just outside the weld. In blue its torn also, which tells me its under a good amount of stress. In my opinion I would get it fixed before any long trips

 

[Turdle]

That is broken all the way across the picture! Looks like the frame is split and the engine crossmember-lower arm mounts have busted away from the frame . This very bad

You really need to pull it back into shape and weld it before driving it anywhere.

 

[swshawaii]

Why the question? As you stated, the attempted repair broke. Agree with the others here, it looks unsafe.

 

[Peetn]

Thanks guys, will take it to a serious welder tomorrow. I think the first attempt to weld, besides being done by a moderately talented welder, also failed because it was welded while the car was jacked up and as such the gap kind of disappeared. So when the car was put back on the wheels that would have added stress straight away. Anyway, thanks! At least now I know it is definitely worth looking after...

 

[partsman48210]

like you said "when it was jacked up it all went back together". That's how you want it before you weld it. If you leave the gap open and "try" to weld it then things wont be aligned properly, which will cause problems down the road. If the guy welding doesn't think he can get good penetration without the gap then its best if he grind one out rather than make it by stressing the frame. Being inverted will make it a little more difficult to get good penetration. Also, it will make the welders life much easier if you grind the whole area to bare metal

 

[bill06447]

"moderately talented welder"? More like no talent welder-he/she didn't grind the metal, no penetration, etc. Find someone who knows what they're doing it might take them some time and cost some money but the job will be done safely and correctly

Bill

 

[Peetn]

"moderately talented welder"? More like no talent welder-he/she didn't grind the metal, no penetration, etc. Find someone who knows what they're doing it might take them some time and cost some money but the job will be done safely and correctly

Bill

Maybe pictures of the mechanics will help you understand my situation.

 

[jremington59]

You aren't going on any trips with that. That needs some work by a quality welder.

Tell your friends next time it would be best if they ground the entire area down and a MIG's not cutting it, lol.

 

[Winniethepooh]

it needs much more qualification welding a frame. By normal welding the metal becomes brittle and will break again. The only chance may be using far overlapping metal pieces with serious thickness. But not guaranteed.....

 

[Peetn]

Thanks guys, I had it welded in a factory that makes trucks and police disperse vehicles. I hope it holds!