Fixing Chassis Rails - Where In Perth?

[PHATR32]

hey is the rail spot welded on? how can it be removed?

[the stink]

I don't think mr nissan would go to the trouble of including these rails just for cosmetic purposes as they are under the car where only your mechanic will see them ... sure they might not be true chassis rails like on ye olde cars, but they still are a structural part of the monocoque chassis and they look to add a lot of strength to the floor. I think the vehicle examination people are quite right to expect it to be in good condition and its a bit of a worry that chassis specialists dismiss a big dent like that so lightly. The other thing you need to make sure is that it hasn't twisted or bent the rest of the chassis.

its a 99% probablility the rail is spot welded and to remove it the easist thing to do is buy a special spot weld removing drill bit and drill them out. you are then left with a hole one side (in this case in the floor pan) that you can plug weld from inside the car to attach the new rail. The bigger problem i think you will have is getting access to the rail where it looks to sit inside another rail section and no doubt there will be access problems elsewhere. Unpicking spot welds is time consuming and fiddly work.

like someone else said 2k sounds about right to do the job properly....

[Cubes]

Nice find with the chassis rails.

This is most definitely what I will be doing.

Have I attached a pic of the underside of a VL Commodore?

Its not suprising those things pop windscreens, lol.

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...pe=post&id=2157

Edited August 25, 2005 by Cubes

[PHATR32]

ok, i just talked to a guy that works with my wife, he used to be an automotive engineer and has some contacts that can weldup the new rails.

Im going to buy 3 rails from nissan, The crushed one and the 2 on either side of it.

I was picking at the rail yesterday and found it was roughly spot welded every 5 to 6 centermeters.

Ill remove the old rails, and get this guy to weld up the new ones.

Im waiting for him to get back to me.

Steve

[Driver]

tell him to hurry up

or ill kick his ass!

oh and to charge 1/2 price...

[PHATR32]

1/2 price my ass, i ll give him half a carton of VB. The VB thats been sitting in ym shed for 2 years cause it tastes like urine.

theres also a 2 week wait for the "over night parts from Japan"

[PHATR32]

here is a pic from the fast software

it show the bit thats crushed, and the 2 other bits that are damaged.

The one thats slightly damaged, il replace anyway cause that the bit that the gear box member bolts onto.

the smaller rail ill also change just to make it all look better.

ill keep you's updated.

steve

Edited August 26, 2005 by PHATR32

[jaik]

Quite possibly the wildest chassis repair on a road car that ive heard of hahaha. Good luck dude

JK

[PHATR32]

why wild? the bent parts will be replaced with oem parts welded in place by a proffesional welder.

[jaik]

Its wild because you have to do it! I nearly couldnt get my cefiro complied because of the underside of it ... so I know how you feel!

JK

[Beer Baron]

grafting in new rails is definately the way to go. you really need to make sure everything is perfectly sqaure though. I cannot stress this point enough.

best of luck, i will be interested to see how it goes, take plenty of pics.

[PHATR32]

ill keep yous posted, i just talked to the engineer guy and he said he'll be seeing his mate tonight. Hopefully this guy will be able to sort it and let me take pics too!

I assume getting the whole bar mig welded would be better than spot welding it??

i hope it turns out to be ok.

Steve

[Cubes]

How much were all the bits? $100 each?

Edited August 26, 2005 by Cubes

[PHATR32]

i just talked to nissan, the crushed bit is $141, the slightly damaged bit is $101.60 and the little one doesnt exist any more cause they dont make them!!!

so i guess i wont be changing the little one, which mean ill have to be carefull when removing it.

steve

[Nemesis]

Very interested mate, i need to get my passenger side fixed. unfortunate incident with a kurb!

[PHATR32]

yeah curbs are shit.......luckly its only on one side

[Guest]

It is isnt too hard a job if you have the OEM parts, I have done it before and it just needs somebody who knows what they are doing.