Fixing Radiator Supports

[nickb21]

I had a run in with a deer a few weeks a go.. fairly minor body damage. So I've finally got cash in hand from my ins company. Pretty easy process, I was very surprised.

 

I'd like to try and fix as much as I can myself - The first thing I'm trying to figure out are the radiator supports, the upper "tie" bar took most of the damage.

 

I've found an breakout of the individual pieces (attached image). Does anyone know what the easiest way to replace at least the upper support is? It looks like everything is welded into one piece..

 

Thanks for the assistance.

--Nick

[lmdew]

How bad is it damaged? Its thin metal you may be able to bend it back. If not, I'd get a used one from the junk yard, just cut it out and then overlap the old one and bolt or rivet the new one in. If you want a professional job so you can sell the car that's a different story.

[idosubaru]

have to decide what kind of job you want done here.

 

you could overlap and bolt in place like larry suggested. or you could weld it in place, that would probably be ideal.

 

the in between solution might be to strip everything down and find someone to weld it in place for you. if you do all the prep work - hand them the car and part with everything removed to get access they probably wouldnt' charge much at all - maybe for mcdonalds if you have a friend who welds?

 

there's a great thread on here of a guy in the past year or two that welded in a front section of his wagon to repair an accident. he had to weld in most of the front clip though, much more work than you, but it's a great thread, great read with excellent pictures. might be nice to read through that if this is your first time doing it. i thought it was a neat thread, don't see too many people doing and documenting that kind of work.

 

be careful of your air bag system - did it go off?

[screwbaru2]

I've done the same thing to one of my soobs past also fixed my wife impreza after she rearended a jeep. I used a spot weld cutter on a 3/8 drill to cut the spot welds out and used sheet metal screws to put it back together. Had zero problems each time. The rad support is in several sections so you can just repalce whats bad. It's pretty easy. If I can do it most anyone can.

[OB99W]

It may not look like much, but on most unibody cars the radiator support is actually a structural member. One of the reasons it's welded is because that provides the necessary rigidity. Both crash-worthiness and body panel alignment can be compromised if the support isn't properly attached. Assuming damage that isn't too significant, a good shop can pull the support back to original shape/position so well that you won't be able to tell it was ever bent.

 

Maybe you can find a shop that will allow you to strip things down to the point where they can deal with only the rad support, and you could then bolt on and otherwise finish the rest of the job.