I just noticed that where the crossmember bolts on to the lower part of the frame, the front bolts on both sides are not holding. It seems that the frame portion has broken away. The rear seems to be holding for now and the upper bolt is OK. There is absolutely no rust anywhere, just metal fatigue I guess.
What is my course of action?
79 Spider
Crossmember to Frame
Re: Crossmember to Frame
You have to open it up and weld it back together. There maybe different ways to go about it. Here's what it looks like inside and what I did. Thanks to the info Manoa Matt had provided.
My bolts were loose. I had to cut the inside of my frame to get them out. Your frame is probably broken here.
I took some pipe and welded it to sheet metal and bent the ends so when you put it in between the inner frame. You have something to weld to. Hopefully your isn't pulled apart from the frame there. The idea is to have a bolt go all the way through the frame to hold the cross member on. The pipe would go from one end to the other so the frame doesn't get crushed when the bolt is tightened.
My bolts were loose. I had to cut the inside of my frame to get them out. Your frame is probably broken here.
I took some pipe and welded it to sheet metal and bent the ends so when you put it in between the inner frame. You have something to weld to. Hopefully your isn't pulled apart from the frame there. The idea is to have a bolt go all the way through the frame to hold the cross member on. The pipe would go from one end to the other so the frame doesn't get crushed when the bolt is tightened.
Last edited by azygoustoyou on Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- manoa matt
- Posts: 3442
- Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2006 4:28 pm
- Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider 1800
- Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Re: Crossmember to Frame
You've learned well my grasshopper. Nice fix. Odd that your 78 has the frame rail neck down where the crossmember mounts. My 78 does not have that.