Cracked Frame

[bedinabox]

So i was getting my suspension checked out yesterday because it was squeaking in the front left of the car. The guy told me that I have a cracked upper frame rail. So should I pay the money to get it fixed or sell it to someone who dosnt know what that means? any help would be great. (and do anyone who read my previous post, I wont ask so many questions)

[hondaman-iac]

hmm i don't really understand your question, plus our cars don't have a frame, they are unibodies. where is it cracked ?

[TheTempest]

Agreed. We dont have frames. And I second his question, where is it cracked?

[aero]

haha.. his fenderwell lining is prolly cracked(the plastic liner). Did you see what is cracked?

[owequitit]

The cars do actually have frames, unit-body or uni-body simply refers to a type of frame construction. On a ladder frame vehicle (such as most trucks), the frame is mostly responsible for rigidity and strength and the body is simply bolted on. In a uni-body vehicle, the entire car is responsible for strength and rigidity, very similar to a semi-monocoque airplane structure.

As for your question. The first step would be to get a second opinion from someone you trust or who is reputable. The odds of an upper frame rail cracking without there being substantial damage somewhere else on the vehicle is slim to none, unless there was a previous repair that you don't know about. Usually if there is damage that bad, you will certainly know about it. In the event that the rail is actually cracked, you will be better off just parking the car and parting it out or sending it to the junk yard. It will be super expensive to have it fixed right, and if there is that much damage, you really don't even want to open that can of worms. Trying to sell it to someone else is not only dishonest, it is also opening you up to severe litigation if anything goes wrong and they can show that you A) knew about it and B) tried to hide it. It's just not worth the risk, especially when you consider that you could probably get almost as much money if you part it out.

Just my $.02

[bedinabox]

thanks guys, ummm im not too sure how to explain where it is. of you look above the tire....on the driver side there is something that looks like this
====/==== that is my technical drawing, that is really really bad and im sorry haha, but i think that the car was in a crash before i got it and the repairs were cheap because the fenders are filled with bondo and the bumer is falling off and all that shit, okay im rambling on ill get a second opinion

[xtremeskier97]

The cars do actually have frames, unit-body or uni-body simply refers to a type of frame construction. On a ladder frame vehicle (such as most trucks), the frame is mostly responsible for rigidity and strength and the body is simply bolted on. In a uni-body vehicle, the entire car is responsible for strength and rigidity, very similar to a monocoque airplane structure.

As for your question. The first step would be to get a second opinion from someone you trust or who is reputable. The odds of an upper frame rail cracking without there being substantial damage somewhere else on the vehicle is slim to none, unless there was a previous repair that you don't know about. Usually if there is damage that bad, you will certainly know about it. In the event that the rail is actually cracked, you will be better off just parking the car and parting it out or sending it to the junk yard. It will be super expensive to have it fixed right, and if there is that much damage, you really don't even want to open that can of worms. Trying to sell it to someone else is not only dishonest, it is also opening you up to severe litigation if anything goes wrong and they can show that you A) knew about it and B) tried to hide it. It's just not worth the risk, especially when you consider that you could probably get almost as much money if you part it out.

Just my $.02

I agree with him. Not only about the damage, but also about the uni-body and frame points he made. Every car has some sort of frame, some are just called other things, like uni-body.

[TypeG]

take a welder and sting it back together. later.