Hello friends, I've searched and found no applicable information for this issue and hope to get some advise from those that have experienced a rotted front frame section.

I live in a road salt state, and the front frame section of my Max is rotted away. Please advise of a method to fix this in detail.

The car has 193K miles and I dont want to replace it anytime soon... It still has a long way to go mechanically and the body is fine. The only rust under the car is in the front and the rear bumber support is getting crusty too.

Its assumed that the old rusted section will be cut off and a new section welded it, probably of angle iron, with holes drilled to fasten the front engine mount.

Thank you in advance

~ Gary

 

Pics?

u can do as u suggested but thats the cheap and dirty way.

www.courtesyparts.com has the OEM radiator support.

U can get the part from ebay, but its not the same quality. Make sure u weld the seams and coat it with rust inhibitor

 

Hey thanks for the heads up on Courtesy Nissan.. I'll give them a call.

Would you have any links as to an item on ebay?

 

you must not have searched well, especially seeing how this topic was just discussed again earlier this week.

The radiator support is an item that is HIGHLY recommended to be an OEM piece. There have been a number of threads where people purchased the ebay support and within a few months they were having to have that replaced because the ebay junk support is very thin and will rust and split apart.

This should be what you need (not sure since there are no pictures of the damage).
http://www.courtesyparts.com/62530m-...-p-126547.html

 

You want to AVOID the one from ebay.

Here's a how to with PICs from 95Nasta.

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ment-pics.html

DW

 

Thanks for the input, tsdude and DW...

I intend to take pics of whats up with my car this weekend and post them for better reference.. It seems the section that connects to the front engine mount is rotted, not just the radiator support.

 

This is DEFINITELY one of those parts that by going with the cheap replacement, it will end up costing you more. This is why:

The aftermarket radiator core supports are made out of thinner metal that may seem like a bargain (cost-wise, as less material means lower production & shipping costs) but that is actually where you get screwed. Our core supports require the thicker, more well constructed material, as it is a part of the vehicles structure. Not only will it twist when you do things such as turning onto elevated streets/driveways, but you also have the engine sub-frame crossmember that bolts to the bottom center of the radiator cs. This is one of the reasons that that very spot is prone to rusting out in the first place. Not only is it fighting a lot of torque and strain, but when you add in road salt, it just cannot handle it.

If the cheap one doesn't start tearing away from the crossmember (as mine did approx 2-3 weeks later) it will begin to rust quite rapidly, especially living where you do.

Do yourself a favor and save a huge headache now, and the one you will have in a matter of days/weeks down the road when you are essentially back at square one.

 

Yea eBay rad supports are garbage. There like tin. Honestly best bet replace lower support going across with angle iron