cross member welded

[80spiddy]

I read posts on here of the problems with the front cross members. I went out to check mine out today. To my dismay, mine has also been welded. This car has almost no rust. Body to bare metal and no rust. Floor toeboard had one quarter size hole as well as the tunnel area which I patched. I'm guessing things were not tight at some point and caused structural damage in that area and they welded it around the periphery on frame. Now I question how strong it is, since it looks like stick welding and not real professional. I have never driven the car yet, but am about finished restoring everything. I replaced front end components, but not the a arm bushings. I did plan to do this since I see the rubber coming apart on them. I was going to first see if there was a problem aligning it before I tear it apart. I don't have a heavy welder (just a wire mig for lighter stuff). Is it worth having it welded better for safety. Not sure if this can be done with car assembled. I hate the thought of cutting it out to hope to get a new one in there right. I thought of just drilling for more bolts to hold it if there was ever an issue. Thoughts.

[spider2081]

Is the cross member welded to the car chassis? If so this is a lot of work to bring back to stock configuration. If only the cross member has welds on it this is more common as they are prone to crack over time and mileage. If your plan was to remove the control arms to replace the bushings then That would be the time to rework the cross member. The engine can be supported from the top. There are engine supports sold at most parts stores for this. I fabricated my own out of wood and a piece of pipe I had hanging around.

[80spiddy]

Yes, there is weld on cross member to frame. Everything in the area looks solid (no rust at all anywhere, even around shock towers). I thought of taking to frame and alignment shop to have aligned and if no problem there, I know I can replace front a arm bushings alone eventually. If there is a problem, I will fix what I see wrong along with new bushings. Then back to alignment shop. I just worry about what happened that someone welded and how strong it is and will it last.

[80spiddy]

For the first time since buying (Oct. 2014) this spider, I was finally able to take it for a test drive since restoring most of it. It actually drove better and quieter than I expected. Even though I replaced the tie rod ends (all else looked good except a arm bushing rubber), and aligned best I could, it steered and handled well. I am hoping the welded cross member doesn't have any negative effects on getting it aligned and staying there.

[azruss]

if the cross member is welded in the wrong location, it could make caster difficult to get right.

[carl]

Are the crossmember mounting bolts still in place? If so I think this would indicate that the crossmember is at least located correctly. If worried about the integrity of the welds, I would look for a body shop that could could look at the welding an redo if needed. I would not make a welded crossmember a deal breaker for keeping a spider, especially if just for street use. Redoing the bushings will probably change the front end alignment so you will have to go back and get the alignment redone.

carl

[80spiddy]

Yes all the bolts are there. I can see the top inner frame area on passenger side looks like the metal started cracking/splitting where the nut is, for the bolt to come through. The driver side doesn't reveal anything. Maybe it was doing the same, so someone thought it was a good idea to weld to keep both sides tight and the same.

[v6spider]

Yes all the bolts are there. I can see the top inner frame area on passenger side looks like the metal started cracking/splitting where the nut is, for the bolt to come through. The driver side doesn't reveal anything. Maybe it was doing the same, so someone thought it was a good idea to weld to keep both sides tight and the same.

Are the cross-member bolts tight? Or are they stripped?

Rob

[80spiddy]

Sorry so long to post. The bolts are tight. But there is evidence the frame area under the head of bolt had cracked.

[v6spider]

Sorry so long to post. The bolts are tight. But there is evidence the frame area under the head of bolt had cracked.

No worries! Ya if the metal is solid you may be able to weld the crack.. And grind the welds smooth. The concern I have is how did it crack in the first place..

Cheers!
Rob

[ScoopMan]

The frame rails are very susceptible to cracking where the crossmember bolts up. I have two Spiders, and this is happening to both of them. It is a combination of corrosion and metal fatigue. In my 1979, some PO welded the Crossmember to the frame rail, but it was an effort to fix the frame rail, not the crossmember.

I am planning on pulling the engine out of my 1971 and then dropping the crossmember so I can properly repair the frame rail. I do not really see another way to do this