Lower Radiator Support Replacement Pics
#1
Lower Radiator Support Replacement Pics
There are few good guides on the org on how to replace the lower rad but there aren't a ton of pics.. So I snapped a bunch during the process when I did mine this past weekend.
The total time start to finish was 9 hours but my font end was a little mangled.. I had to pull out one lower corner, slide hammer and sledge the passenger unibody rail, unkink the drivers side upper rad and unibody rail, and a few other things to get the new part to fit.
Ignore the miss alignments. They're more of an upper rad, fog bucket and bumper support.
Other new parts: bumper support, support brackets, hood struts, and cross member bolts.
The total time start to finish was 9 hours but my font end was a little mangled.. I had to pull out one lower corner, slide hammer and sledge the passenger unibody rail, unkink the drivers side upper rad and unibody rail, and a few other things to get the new part to fit.
Ignore the miss alignments. They're more of an upper rad, fog bucket and bumper support.
Other new parts: bumper support, support brackets, hood struts, and cross member bolts.
#5
I welded it in either from the back through the holes drilled in the unibody during dismantling or I drilled new holes through the new support to weld it to the unibody.
I wouldn't suggest just bolting it in.
I lined everything up, bolted it in with the tow hooks, spot welded, then took the hooks off to do the last few spot welds on the bottom from the rear.
There are 6 spot welds per side that are in the unibody rail and a pita to drill out. I used a die grinder with a long shanked carbide burr to burn through those.
This pic shows the 6 inside:
I wouldn't suggest just bolting it in.
I lined everything up, bolted it in with the tow hooks, spot welded, then took the hooks off to do the last few spot welds on the bottom from the rear.
There are 6 spot welds per side that are in the unibody rail and a pita to drill out. I used a die grinder with a long shanked carbide burr to burn through those.
This pic shows the 6 inside:
#8
#11
Yeah at least 2 maybe 3 hours of my 9 were because the front end was mangled.
I've done bodywork and welded before but I've never drilled out sections of unibody and replaced. Overall, it wasn't that bad. I should have done the upper too but I would have had a lot more pulling etc. to make that fit. Good thing it's only connected to the new lower via 10 spot welds.
I've done bodywork and welded before but I've never drilled out sections of unibody and replaced. Overall, it wasn't that bad. I should have done the upper too but I would have had a lot more pulling etc. to make that fit. Good thing it's only connected to the new lower via 10 spot welds.
#12
Just had mine done today but a shop in Denver, CO.
It's cost me 250 and took about 1h 30mins for the to do the whole job. So happy it's finally done. It was hard to find a shop that knew what was going in on the west coast since the car was from New England.
It's cost me 250 and took about 1h 30mins for the to do the whole job. So happy it's finally done. It was hard to find a shop that knew what was going in on the west coast since the car was from New England.
#16
95naSTA,
I have a 96 I30 and am looking at replacing the lower tie bar. I have the following question - did you buy part # 625302L800 (I30) or 6253040U00 (Maxima) part number. I am asking because I can find the Maxima part # for about $125 and the I30 part for $185 online and was wondering if they are interchangeable.
I have a 96 I30 and am looking at replacing the lower tie bar. I have the following question - did you buy part # 625302L800 (I30) or 6253040U00 (Maxima) part number. I am asking because I can find the Maxima part # for about $125 and the I30 part for $185 online and was wondering if they are interchangeable.
#17
95naSTA,
I have a 96 I30 and am looking at replacing the lower tie bar. I have the following question - did you buy part # 625302L800 (I30) or 6253040U00 (Maxima) part number. I am asking because I can find the Maxima part # for about $125 and the I30 part for $185 online and was wondering if they are interchangeable.
I have a 96 I30 and am looking at replacing the lower tie bar. I have the following question - did you buy part # 625302L800 (I30) or 6253040U00 (Maxima) part number. I am asking because I can find the Maxima part # for about $125 and the I30 part for $185 online and was wondering if they are interchangeable.
It looks like 6253040U00, you can see the end of the number on the sticker in the 8th picture from the top.
Last edited by crazy97; 12-13-2011 at 02:41 PM.
#19
#20
Im right in the middle of this project and can tell you this is a complete Fn pain. Bolts are snapping left and right... I took the grill out and tried the middle bolt for the bumper cover and snap! Should I just snap them all off and duct tape it all back together or what?
#21
Im right in the middle of this project and can tell you this is a complete Fn pain. Bolts are snapping left and right... I took the grill out and tried the middle bolt for the bumper cover and snap! Should I just snap them all off and duct tape it all back together or what?
Zip ties > duct tape
#23
My rad support was hanging so low before the repair that it actually increased axle vibes. Any vibration I had form lowering went away after I replaced it. Time to go lower.. lol.
#24
In the above photo, what is the function of that hose which goes in front of the A/C condenser/radiator-like thing and loops through the metal tube returning back where it came from?
Is that a very simple tranny cooler?
Is that a very simple tranny cooler?
#26
Im right in the middle of this project and can tell you this is a complete Fn pain. Bolts are snapping left and right... I took the grill out and tried the middle bolt for the bumper cover and snap! Should I just snap them all off and duct tape it all back together or what?
There was a day i looked at the replacing the bumper and saw how rusted those bolts were...i sd uh-uh i aint doing that job.
Then my car was in an accident and the entire radiator support had to be replaced. That was a yr ago.
The mech who fixed my car for the accident, spot welded like 10 places on the new lower radiator support.
Last month I was doing an oil change and noticed that the lower support was sagging at the location where the cross memeber for the motor mounts bolts up to the rad support.
I had the entire lower radiator support welded up from pass to driver side. One long solid weld.
Be warned and keep an eye on it for any sagging.
Last edited by cashoit; 02-24-2012 at 10:27 AM.
#27
Did you buy aftermarket? I heard nightmares about those not lasting long at all and with all the work being done the safest way would be to go to the dealer. I'm currently waiting on mine from Nissan and it was $480 for the whole thing, I hit a deer, and now I have the comfort of knowing it'll not only last if coated properly but it will fit right and it won't sag.
#28
Did you buy aftermarket? I heard nightmares about those not lasting long at all and with all the work being done the safest way would be to go to the dealer. I'm currently waiting on mine from Nissan and it was $480 for the whole thing, I hit a deer, and now I have the comfort of knowing it'll not only last if coated properly but it will fit right and it won't sag.
My mech bought it.
I let him buy it cuz every time i bring him a part for my car, he tells me the part is puny lol. He then makes a phone call, gets the part, shows me the part, and sure enough the part he got is way more robust and stronger then the part i found originally.
For this reason I let him buy the rad support.
I was gonna do ebay, but too many ppl here sd the ebay ones were junk and the OEM part was out of my budget at the time.
#32
I feel tired looking at the pics...
But it must be a great feeling knowing it's been done right, and you DIY'd.
I know a while back I figure I'll just take it to the body shop....and they wanted $1400 for aftermarket. I thought, hmm.....if I say I want OEM, they charge me for it, it could be 2 years before I realize I got ripped-off and they still used aftermarket!
But it must be a great feeling knowing it's been done right, and you DIY'd.
I know a while back I figure I'll just take it to the body shop....and they wanted $1400 for aftermarket. I thought, hmm.....if I say I want OEM, they charge me for it, it could be 2 years before I realize I got ripped-off and they still used aftermarket!
#33
From experience, you will learn in a matter of months, not years. It's not the rust you have to wait for, both mine and my brother's cracked very quickly after the change-out using aftermarket supports.
#34
I feel tired looking at the pics...
But it must be a great feeling knowing it's been done right, and you DIY'd.
I know a while back I figure I'll just take it to the body shop....and they wanted $1400 for aftermarket. I thought, hmm.....if I say I want OEM, they charge me for it, it could be 2 years before I realize I got ripped-off and they still used aftermarket!
But it must be a great feeling knowing it's been done right, and you DIY'd.
I know a while back I figure I'll just take it to the body shop....and they wanted $1400 for aftermarket. I thought, hmm.....if I say I want OEM, they charge me for it, it could be 2 years before I realize I got ripped-off and they still used aftermarket!
#35
Excellent pictures.
I just discovered I have the same issue with my 1996 Maxima when I was working on this:
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...help-asap.html
I removed the lower cover and found that the lower radiator support bar had broken - rusted away in the bottom center area.
The support is not totally gone on so I plan to drill holes on either side of what's left and add an 18" support bar.
I'm not looking to restore things to almost brand new, just fix it so it works. Am I fooling myself?
I just discovered I have the same issue with my 1996 Maxima when I was working on this:
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...help-asap.html
I removed the lower cover and found that the lower radiator support bar had broken - rusted away in the bottom center area.
The support is not totally gone on so I plan to drill holes on either side of what's left and add an 18" support bar.
I'm not looking to restore things to almost brand new, just fix it so it works. Am I fooling myself?
#36
Nice writeup!!
I just crawled under our 2000 and it looks VERY rusty from what I could see. The support from the hood latch down to the lower radiator support was rusted off at the bottom. Looking through the the cracks in the plastic cover on the bottom of the car, all I saw was rust on the lower radiator support.
Looks like I'll need to do this in the not too distant future!!! A friend of mine here in Columbus said if the lower radiator support, your whole engine will drop about 3-4 inches. NOT a pleasant thought!!!
Did the parts change at all from 4th gen to 5th gen?
Thanks, Ron
I just crawled under our 2000 and it looks VERY rusty from what I could see. The support from the hood latch down to the lower radiator support was rusted off at the bottom. Looking through the the cracks in the plastic cover on the bottom of the car, all I saw was rust on the lower radiator support.
Looks like I'll need to do this in the not too distant future!!! A friend of mine here in Columbus said if the lower radiator support, your whole engine will drop about 3-4 inches. NOT a pleasant thought!!!
Did the parts change at all from 4th gen to 5th gen?
Thanks, Ron
Last edited by isrb710; 09-22-2012 at 03:44 PM.
#38
Brave man. I have to do this same thing to my Infiniti, but I'm going to have a local body shop do the work for me. They quoted me $300 which includes a new cross-member and the labor to install it.
Last edited by desktop; 09-22-2014 at 12:07 PM.
#39
#40
over the time here on the .org people have posted pics of non oem supports failing miserably within short periods of time...it seems they are way to thin!!! spend the extra few bucks for oem cuz u will have to do it again if u dont!!!
order it from nissan and bring it to them...300 bucks is a cheap price just for labor! let alone parts
you will be sorry if u dont use nissan!