Bent Subframe Rail, need ideas on how to fix

[dmoo21]

hi,

so i am in the process of completly overhauling the suspension on my 93 mtx. among other things being done I am putting on full length Subframe connectors. this is where the problem is, the part on the subframe that is under the front seats of the car is bent up from jacking and lifting over the years, and when there is something straighton the front rail it is clearly bent upwards. i do not know how to correct this problem or if it is possible at all.

thanks for the help
Dan

(the piece of wood in the picture is for a reference of what the SFC looks like on it)

 

[dmoo21]

how do i make these pics smaller?


...got it
-dan

 

[Shoaz]

That's the seat rail support, and I think it might be tough to fix.

FWIW, one of the seat rails on my 95 has been bent similar to that ever since I put a jackstand too far back on the rail. That happened a looong time ago, too.

Maybe we got some unibody experts here who can opine about the likelihood of fixing that, but I suspect it's gonna be tough.

 

[Off Road SHO]

Yes it will be very tough to do. When the rails were bent from jacking, all the layers were bent. To straighten them you would have to place hydraulic jacks at multiple places inside the car with anchor points at the front and rear braces. Not worth the trouble for a unibody car.

Just customize your sub frame connectors to fit what you have.

Tom

 

[dmoo21]

would there be any movement if i were to pull down on them, or would a pull not be strong/powerful enough to get that bend out?

-Dan

 

[Electricat]

would there be any movement if i were to pull down on them, or would a pull not be strong/powerful enough to get that bend out?

-Dan

You would probably just tear or bend the first layer of metal, leaving the rest of the floor still bent, and probably weaker.

I ran into some of this when I did my subframe connectors....my SHO appears to have taken an offroad excursion at some point in it's life, and part of the damage was a bashed up subframe rail on the passenger side. What we did was welded the SFC at the points that did make contact, and then welded in some small pieces of steel plate to "bridge the gap" at the points where the SFC didn't make contact. It didn't make for a real pretty install on that side, but it was very effective I think..quite strong, and made a huge difference in body stiffness.

 

[Ishodu]

Like was said just leave it. Weld the SFC's on then fill in the gap with some plate cut to the shape.

 

[dmoo21]

Thanks for your help, i think i will modify the SFCs with some extra metal to fill that in a little more, again thanks for the input.

-Dan