Crossmember repair?

[rodo]

While waiting for Ukrainian mail services and customs to get my new Lada crossmember across the big pond, a FIAT friend provided one from a donor car. Great! And then he pointed to the rough shape. To wit: where the body-to-crossmember bolts fit forms a 90degree with the horizontal bolt holes. Now it is past 90degrees, presumably from an accident. The rest of the crossmember is in pretty good shape, some places appear (the a-arm bolts) to have been well rewelded. So it may be worth straightening that bend back to 90 degrees. Anyone had to do this, tried to do this, paid someone else to do this?

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Are the angles you are talking about the same on both sides? I don't have any real experience with crossmembers, but if the angles are the same, maybe that's the way it's supposed to be?

-Bryan

[rodo]

Alas, no, the other side is 90degrees square. It is definitely bent. Friend has a massive press that can bend strong things but the two of us could not figure out how to get it in such a way that would work in this case.

[DieselSpider]

A frame shop may be able to help however that cross member appears to have seen better days with all the weld splatter and such so you will be better off with a new one.

Even if you do manage to bend it straight it still may not be parallel and true plus it will be brittle and more prone to developing stress cracks where it was bent.

[SteinOnkel]

Not worth it. This is potentially life-threatening if the part catastrophically fails. I would wait patiently for the new one.

[RRoller123]

+1 not that expensive compared to the risk.

[rodo]

Well...dang. C'mon Ukraine postal service!

[SteinOnkel]

Well...dang. C'mon Ukraine postal service!

I order stuff for my other car from Europe all the time. My favorite vendor is in Riga.

It's most likely not in the Ukraine anymore - the tracking is completely useless. More than likely, it will be stuck in US Customs for weeks (sometimes months) and then one day * poof * it arrives at your house. The tracking will show almost none of this progress

[rodo]

And covid won't make that any better...even though contact infections are almost nil, but never mind. I just hope the Lada crossmember is up to the task and actually fits!

[spider2081]

the tracking is completely useless.

After waiting for a package from Serbia I went to the post office to report it missing. They tracked to customs while I was there and spoke to someone. 2 days later it was at my front door. Coincidence ??

[rodo]

UKRAINE CAME THROUGH. Just arrived today. Took three weeks shipping. Some thoughts: I am into it for about $150 shipped, it is a version of a 1.8 crossmember, the way some of the bolts are held in, not welded but with a bent tab, seems weak, will need the cut out for the exhaust and the thicker "shims" where it bolts to the body; will need one of the vertical "shims" for right/left alignment (fits on the triangle at the highest point of the crossmember).

But those fixes/updates ought to be a snap. For $150 I think it will work.

[rodo]

(Moved this to a new thread.)