My Almera's lower front crossmember is gradually going the same way as many a Micra crossmember. There's a couple of small (1cm ) holes rusted in it, and one of the drainage holes has gradually been rotting away. The latter is now a ragged hole of about 6 or 7 cm in max diameter, and the surrounding metal is very weak.
Questions:
How bad does is have to be before it goes from pass to advisory to fail? I went through my last MOT fine, though the hole was smaller (about 3 or 4 cm). I've also used underseal on the crossmember to try to slow things.
What are the merits and costs of reconditioning it? I assume this would be by welding a plate over the damaged area. How much would this be for labour?
What about having the crossmember cut out and replaced? Anyone have an idea of how much a new crossmember would cost, and an idea of labour time?
Finally, would it make sense to have the entire front panel replaced? I can find this as a pattern part for about £65 quid. Or does the labour involved mount up dramatically?
Many thanks for reading this.
|
Just get a plate welded across the holed area or depending on the shape it may be as easy to weld a big plate straight across the bottom (assuming it is the underside that has rotted.
Cross member replacement is not difficult but is a little labour intensive as there is a good bit of stripping and fitting to do. Front panel replacement is even more labour intensive and I would guess that the cost would be unjustifiable.
|
|
Thanks for this advice. Would that also be appropriate for the smaller holes on the front?
|
Have you tried the Almeras owner club?
www.almeraownersclub.com/forums.php
|
|
Do not have a plate welded over the corrosion in typical backstreet repair fashion,make sure the damage is cut out and new metal let in,the proper way to do it.The finished repair must be painted before undersealing and,ideally,seamsealer on the welds,again common practice is underseal on bare metal,rust will come straight through.
|
Do not have a plate welded over the corrosion in typical backstreet repair fashion...
I'm not sure that it really requires any more work than this. We are talking about a corrosion repair on an 8 year old car and I think it is fair to say that whatever plate is welded over the top of any corrosion, it is unlikely to become a problem again before the car reaches the end of its life. Why make life harder and more costly than necessary, especially on a repair such as this where it is hidden from normal view.
|
hi mate have a look at what the guy in car mechanics did,its fairley well documented with good pictures,heres the link.
www.kelsey-forums.co.uk/cgi-bin/cmm/YaBB.pl?num=12...7
|
Thanks very much for this link. I've now posted pics of the xmember in their forum, to ask for opinion. It seems to be that it's at the advisory stage, not so far gone as to fail.
If I can, I'll have it patched, given the age and value of the car.
|
|
|
