Took my 1995 Nissan Maxima for an oil change, the mechanic lifted it up and said the radiator support beam was all rusted out. He also said that the engine could fall out. He referred me to the auto body shop next door.


One quote said $800.
Another guy said $3,000 and it's not even worth it.
Another shop said $150 and he was going to weld it (shady as ****).
Last shop said $615 with OEM beam (most trustworthy) and impossible to weld

 

Refer to core support thread in my sig.

When you replace it, OEM or you will be back in the same boat in a month.

$615 sounds pretty good. If you go with them, be sure they are using an OEM piece and that they guarantee their work. Ive seen numerous threads where shops said one thing and did another.

 

The answer to the thread title is no.

 

Read your thread and mine is nowhere near as banged up as some of those pics. I smacked it a couple times, seemed pretty solid. Should I be good to drive it for a few more weeks?

 

If the crossmember below the rad support isnt dangling youre fine. And if it is youd be fine for a little as long as you didnt ram it into any speedbumps, although it would put huge strain on your engine mounts and make it sag an inch lower.

My rad support is rusted to crap, entire middle of the beam is rusted to the point where my finger goes through it no problem. Its been this way for about 5 months or so, likely longer since thats only when i noticed it.

Your best bet imo is to buy the support from nissan parts zone for like 130 plus shipping, its OEM so it wont break like aftermarket ones. Make sure you paint/coat the beam so it wont rust; mine came painted black already so this may even be not needed.

With some determination you could even do this job yourself, youd need a cutting wheel to get at all the spot welds which ive heard are a complete pita to get. Its also recomended you reweld the support back in, however some postulate that the welds are not at all needed - in theory they are only there to hold the beam in place as the car is being built on the assembly line, as the bolts that keep it together are not added until later in the assembly line. Ive read of people putting it on with no rewelding and i am yet to see anyone coming back saying it was a mistake.

As for pricing, id figure ~400 is fair if you supply the part. However its certainly possible for DIY, just tedious, which is why im considering having someone else do it for me.

 

Mmmm, tetanus.