seems like the repair on my car is going good... the problem is that i called them up to see if it's ready... nope tomorrow... no problem... I ask if there was engine damage or bent frame. They said no, engine is good, but frame was bent a bit, now it's straight again.

poop that sucks... i'm glad it's straight now, but i never noticed it crooked before. kinda sucks to find out

i know a bent frame is usually bad. BUT that's all i know about a bent or crooked frame. Usually cause the car might seems like it's driving kinda not straight, that's how you know it's frame problem?

other than that, what other problems can a bent frame do?

 

I thought the Max didn't have a true frame, I thought it was unibody. Anyone confirm?

Erik

 

actually yeah, can anybody confirm that... you have me thinking now...

would be good to know..

 

even if it does, cant it still bend ??

 

Yeah, I guess anything can be bent, but then can it be fixed?

Erik

 

yes it is a uni-body and yes they can put it back to factory specs

 

Woo hoo, I was right...

Erik

 

That is what i thought too, but they still can be bent. With unibody, if the frame is bent too much, it cannot be repairable and the car becomes junk.

I got into an accedent where a truck ran into the front my my car. The frame & engine was fine but the body suffered some more. Luckily my frame wasnt but & the body panels took the beating.

 

If repaired properly you will not see any difference in performance, grip or handling. the only real concern is if you get hit in the same place again. once metal has bent there is nothing you can do to make it as strong as it once was without replacing it altogether. it has to do with the electron configurations of all metals, not just steel. they (metals) are flexible (to a point) but once bent they can no longer sustain the same impact.

 

hmm i can go with that... that i don't mind as much... maximas are pretty safe...

what is a unibody type compared to a "frame" as i know it to be?

i dunno what unibody means. poop

 

Don't quote me on this, but I always thought it was like this:

Frame -> Welded together at the factory
Unibody -> Largely one solid piece of metal riveted in several places if needed.

that's what would make sense, but I could be wrong.

 

Frames can be bent back to spec. Even if a frame is bent to badly.. the car isnt always totalled. The body shop that i work at.. we just put a whole new frame under a EXPEDITON... talk about some fun stuff. Unibody is where the body parts help make up the chassis. Frame construction is where the body is set down seperately on the frame.

 

hmm ok cool, so you guys think this should be already, except for possibly making the whole car less "strong" per-say...

i was wondering why my whole right side in the front seemed weird... my fogs were always a bit too high, or my bumper was a bit too low.


well atleast that's fixed.

thanks fer the replies

 

A unibody means what it sounds like: a body and frame in one. All maximas use unibody construction. The unibody is made from formed metal sections welded together. Some car also use specially designed epoxy glues to join sections. This technique is not used in the Maxima but can be found in Aluminum cars such as the Audi A8/S8. Unibody damage is a bad thing. From my personal experiences and advise from auto body specialists, a repaired unibody is not the same thing. Metal is a funny material in that when bent, it streches and becomes thinner. This translates to a weaker frame. Also, weld seams are stressed durning an accident as well as the repair process. I think if I were ever to get into an accident with the Max, and it had frame damage, I would sell it afterward. Unibody cars that had frame damage never go back to new. You may or may not notice a difference, but the car is not the same.

 

poop, that sucks so basically i should watch out an not get into another accident... otherwise the next one might bend alot more this time. It sucks i couldn't notice this before. i'll ask how badly it was bent outta shape. who knows, maybe it was very minor.



well as long as my max lasts me many more years, i won't be too upset with myself.

 

I think that is a good rule in general.

SuDZ

 

haha you know, you're right

ugh didn't get my max back today... now they say it's tomorrow...
they were missing the clips that attach the bumper onto the fender sides...