Hey guys, i need some inputs on straightening rear beam axle because my toe and camber is all f*** up which made me buy 4 tires already and it is time to end this situation. The labor and cost of used beam cost me 700 dollars if i were to do it. Any place ppl kno in NewEngland that straightening the beam instead of buying the whole thing? help me please thanks

 

Call around to any frame shop or even body shops that have a frame puller and see if they can do it. I'm thinking replacing it is gonna be the way to go though.

 

oh. yeah thats what imma try to do tmr. call a bunch of body shops and see what they quote me for. and if its worth it then i do it but if not i probably just buy the whole set and install it myself. is it hard to replace it though?

 

The answer depends on how proficient you are at working on cars. Its more physical than technical. I'd say to allow yourself 4 to 6 hours.

 

Well someone made a thingy to go in the middle where it kinda pivots on the sentra forums so that you could adjust the placement of the axle. do we have something like that?

 

i have no idea. im trying to find some diy infos on installing the beam/axle on our cars but as for adjusting the placement of the axle that is something i dont know but i bet theres a lot of experience ppl on here thats knows what ur talking about t,.one

 

cuz i know in the sentras when you lower the car, the rear beam shifts over to the driver side so the passenger wheel would come in more and the driver side would stick out more. Someone made an adjustable link thing for where that oval is on the rear axle. i wonder if this affects our offset stuff too? Hmm

 

LINK???

 

if you search this forum you will find write ups to center the rear beam on a maxima. But toe and camber are set at the factory and cannot be adjusted on the car.

 

i might sound dumb for asking this but by centering the beam, will that have an affect on the toe and camber for the rear?

 

I don't think so. The toe and camber are controlled and set by the way the mounting plates/points are welded on.

 

+1 there is plenty of discussion on this in the Advanced Suspension sub forum.

 

Wow. This thread needs some clarification. Too much speculation.

Here's the question that needs to be answered.

1. Is your alignment off because you have been in some sort of accident and your trailing arm is tweaked?
-If so, replace your trailing arm.

2. Is your alignment off because you're LOWERED and thus your rear beam is not centered.
-If so, center your beam using the techniques on this forum, and/or buy the adjustable SCOTT-RUSSELL link that the Sentra guys/Maxima guys have started using.

Thread: http://www.b15sentra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=175733

 

i did had an accident, and no i have never lowered my car.
lol i just wanna know what you guys rather do, straightening the beam or buyin a brand new one lol. imma check out the suspension subforums thanks

 

FYI, body shops would replace the beam but straighten the frame of the car.

 

yeah kinda sucks because back then when i got into the accident, the body shop who fix my car and body frame end up taking shortcuts and i just finally realized after 1 year that the beam is bent. or else the insurance would cover for the beam and replace it for free but thats all too late now. i just found one at a salvage yard for 300 dollars today which is cool with me and give me some hope. i wanna replace it myself at home but im not sure if i could do it. how much do u guys think labor will cost if i bring it to a shop??

 

Depends how cool you are with the shop...it's a few hours worth of work.

If you have a new trailing arm and are replacing it anyway, consider replacing the big bushings with energy suspension ones. They make a significant difference.

 

cool thanks for the info about the bushings, djfrestyl.

 

yes that thing. could not find it on TSVB or MSV. Maybe I was just not looking hard enough

 

get a used one from the wreckers if your beam is bent

 

yup i found one from the salvage yard for 300 dollars so yeah tahts cool now the second part is to install it

 

i just skipped reading everything. but my advice and im sure everyone would agree. go to a junkyard. or even craigslist for a parts car and use that. save yourself the headache. itll prob be cheaper if you can do it yourself. shouldnt be hard at all

 

yeah imma try to do it myself with probably a friend. hopefully my alignment could be back to normal and i could stop buying tires. *cross finger* lol

 

hmm do the alignment people check your toe in/out? not the hokie pokie lol!

 

yeah the alignment check my toe in/out and it is way out of spec. they say when i drive i'm just basically forcing my tires to turn because its not straight or even close to being straight. wayy off =(. i spend 4 tires in the past 9 months for my rear passenger side

 

I had my axle bent to 0°. This is much better for turn in if you rally cross. If you dont care about rally cross go with a half a degree toe in.

 

hey tbizzle, um do you mean you went to a frame shop and got it bent to 0 degree, ? as for my toe degree i dont remember what was it, but if i buy a new beam, wouldn't it be 0 - 0.5 degree ?

 

I went through this nightmare myself about a year ago. I had a hydroplaning accident and bent my rear axle which forced me to buy 4 new tires and 2 new rims which were damaged beyond repair. One shop wanted to use junkyard parts and they would have charged me about $1800 for everything. I called my insurance company and had it done by a frame shop that used new parts at a cost of $2100. This shop got me two rims and my insurance company reimbursed me for the money I had already spent for the tires. My insurance went up but only by about $100 for the year, which I have no problem with.

 

labor isnt bad, biggest pain is raising that heavy a$$ beam while trying to line up and put bolts in.. its a little tricky but i pulled mine off, pulled my step bros off his old totaled max, installed his on mine and put mine back on his by myself in a few hours. Its just heavy.
If the beam is bent id replace it. just my .02

 

Agree. It's not difficult or complicated, just big, heavy, and somewhat clumsy. A floor jack helps to hold the weight - if you have two it's even better.

 

oh that good. i guess floor jacks will help then. nothing technical then i guess...its more of a physical thing. man power is all it needs right lol. as long as it bolt on. i dont want to be taking bits of nuts off the beam and assemble it back together. thats all but u guys seem like its just 2 big bolts and lining it up so i guess its cool i give it a try. thanks for all the inputs

 

It's more than 2 bolts. You have to remove the brake assembly, calipers, rotors, dustshield, etc. Depends how complete of a piece you got from the junkyard.

And there are nuts/bolts in the middle of the assembly as well.

 

sorry to hear ur situation, but not trying to be mean, but u dont want to bend suspension parts, it will weakin it and u can get in a lot of trouble because of it, just get it queted to get it replaced, you will be alot happier with it, if u know a way of shipping one off i could send the one on my parts car up to a shop of ur chosing,

 

oh as for removing the brake assembly rotors and dustshield, thats cool with me, not hard. hopefully the beam comes kinda complete like you say djfrestyl. and thanks for the input bds1304, i wont bend it. im gonna get one order from a junkyard near my place for 300 dollars. so yeah only problem now is installing. i've been searching in the suspension sub forums for some diy infos on the beam. but yeah iono i gotta search harder i guess lol