bent frame

[cmzinner]

ok, so basically, I hit a curb after loosing control on a wet road. it forced the front drivers side wheel back almost to the fender (upwards and aft ~3 1/2 inches). I've replace the lower arm, the axle on that side, basically, everything that was bent has now been replaced....but I just got back from pep-boys (to have an alignment done) and they tell me the frame is bent and they won't touch it.

The question is: if I have the frame stretched back at a body shop....oh,God....will it ever be a functional car again? I understand that it will most likely EAT tires forever now (best case scenario), but IS IT WORTH IT OR SHOULD I JUST JUNK IT.

[neoblue89lxi]

I would get a second person to look at it to make sure the frame really is bent. If it is ask how bad it is then your can make a really hard decision.

[cmzinner]

thx, my guess is that it at most would have a 1/4 inch bend or torque (towards the aft) in the frame some ware in the area where the lower arm connects. Collision occured at speed on order of 10-15mph. All that aside, I might not have replaced everything bent on that fuggen suspension....if this car was built correctly, the components of the suspension would crush long before frame deformation occurs, but who the hell knows, it's a foreign car and Japan desires light uniform bodies.

[Blkblurr]

I would get a second opinion from a body shop you trust. Look at it yourself to see if there is any damage at the mound points. It really depends on how you hit the curb as to how much damage was done. Sounds like it was a side impact on a square curb. By the way, your foreign car was built in Marysville, Ohio with mostly US built parts.

[smufguy]

a bent frame can never be bent back. Cuz its not supposed to be done so. So if i was you, i would start looking for a donor. I know this sounds stupid, but believe me, i had it once and i tried to cut and weld the front end. But all the money you put into it, its just not gonna be right. ONce the frame is bent, pretty much everyone knows, that even the damn dealership with the frame chart (one on the back of the shop manual) with all dimensions, cannot be attained. and if u can, its extremely painstaking and costly. Drive slow in rain my man.

[cmzinner]

I'm gonna give a body shop a chance at this. The frame is off by about .25 inches, and this is most noticeable by the way that the hood has a .5 inch gap on that bad side while the other has the normal .25 inch gap. There are no dimples in the body panels and the windscreen's seal is unchanged so all signs point to a localized incident....and yes, it was a side impact into a square curb.

btw, when I pulled off the wheel of the damaged side for inspection, I noticed that the source of the brake fluid had apparently resulted from the brake line being critically LOOSENED. No one touches a thing on this car but me. These things don't just come unscrewed on their own: especially w/ guys like me who seriously tighten hydraulic lines when they work on them (M.E. - I take pride in hydraulics)....Someone prolly doesn't like me.

[cmzinner]

By the way, your foreign car was built in Marysville, Ohio with mostly US built parts.

JDM....came off a boat, I swear....but doesn't really matter if I never get this thing operable again :-|

[Dennis]

Someone prolly doesn't like me. probably not, but who knows?

[cmzinner]

probably not, but who knows?
this car is old, I think I should let it die...trade up for a new piece of junk.