5.15am, on my way for a round of golf, going around a corner on an unlit road with on coming traffic with main beam headlights, I find an abandoned tractor trailor (india is like the phillipines in this respect) awaiting a wheel change. Swerve to avoid, hit pavement, bounce into divider, and back into pavement. Passenger side wheel takes imapact and buckles wing. drivers side front okay except for bent bumper and scuffed wheel.
Lower suspension arms are bent and replaced along with steering rods etc and car placed on jig. A chassis bend of 24mm (around lower suspension arm mount) has been found so car dismantled in order to be pulled into shape. Would appreciate inputs on
1: whether such a bend can be straightened successfully ?
2: Can a slight bend be tolerated ? If so what would be the acceptable tolerance
3: Should I repair the car and get rid of it ?
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1: Yes, all chassis bends can be straigthened successfully but its depends a lot on the skill/experience of the jig operator and the equipment that he has at his disposal to use in order to rectify the damage.
2: Generally speaking a slight bend in a chassis at a mounting point can be tolerated but this tolerance is only about 1-2mm. As for this instance, it is where you lower suspension arm mounts, so you need it to be pretty much spot on. If it isn't you will really struggle to get the front wheel ever to align exactly where it should be again. This is in regards to the castor angle, the camber angle and the front wheel alignment (tracking). If it is not right the biggest problem will be uneven and possibly rapid tyre wear at that corner.
3: If the job is done 100% then the car will be perfectly fine. If it isn't then I would be tempted to get rid of it, as long as your conscience can live with it becoming someone elses problem. But it all depends on how much you trust the guy doing the repair to get it spot on.
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Thanks Simon
Car is at Honda dealer. Since my original post, the car front end was dismantled and they used a proper jig ssystem and pulled it into shape. Front chassis crossmember needed to be replaced although not apparent. Alignment is wihin 0 although they need to complete assembly and retest.
Will update shortly
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Got my car back and it drives as if nothing had happened. They had reassembled the car, found another bend cause by the front centre chassis member, dismantled the front end, replaced and put everything back together. Front is a bit soggy as the bushes were replaced with stock ones. Something to do for the weekend!
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Well thats good news about your car and its nice to hear about the outcome of something that had been posted/discussed on here, especially something that you have contibuted too. Hopefully it didn't cost you a fortune to get it fixed and you should have a few more years of use from your Honda now it is fully repaired to your satisfaction.
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