ok, so i was doing some front end repairs on my 85 camaro. i replaced an idler arm and drag link, and also a power steering pump. so when i was laying under the car to see how the steering was operating, i noticed that when the wheel was turned far left, that the frame on the left side would move. then i noticed that there had been some welding done (seemingly from a repair after an accident, before I got the car) on the frame, along the bottom of the frame, approximately were the gear box mounts to the side of the frame. question is, is this movement or the so called repair something to worry about? would it be difficult or expensive to replace this section of the frame?

 

A broken frame rail by the steering box is common. What it takes to fix it though I can't say.

 

1. go buy a wonderbar. stock, Addon, or home made it dont matter you just need one.

2. take it to a shop with a good reputation and a wire feed welder. have them take the box loose move it to the side and Clean, drill the end of the crack and weld it.

3. install wonderbar

4. forget it ever cracked.

I did all of that but the STB 2 times and it still broke, its now been 6 months beating on the car and it shows no signs of cracking again.

 

A Steering Brace (aka Wonderbar) will strengthen the front end and help prevent the damage you describe. If yours is cracked at the gear box mount you'll need to get it reinforced and welded. Once you've done that the Steering Brace will help prevent it from happening again.

Lon

 

can this part of the frame be sectioned out or replaced easily, or would it be wise to just look into getting it reinforce and welded?

 

just get it welded and install a wonderbar. it would be one hell of a hard job to try to replace the whole section plus it wouldnt be any stronger cause you would have to weld it as well.

 

where, exactly, does a wonderbar mount to? does anyone have pics?

 

it mounts to the swaybar bushing mounts. holds that part of the frame still and dont allow it to twist which is what breaks the frame, this prevents future cracks. plus it is a good performance upgrade cause the only other connection between the front frame rails is just a couple of peices of flimsy sheet metal that hold the rad support on. no real strength there.

 

alright, thanks for the info.