I' m in process of getting my damn crack fixed and i been searching pic for hours but could not find anything yet.

Does anyones have a pic of the problem area?(before of after or both)

I've seen lost of post from people with the same problem.I'f someone can share their experience,it would be apreciated.

Cause now im so down,i think i will get rid of it.

My problem is not welding the crack,it's findind someone how is willing to take responsability for the work.Haven't find nobody yet,they just runaway when they see that.

It's been 2 years now the car is siting in my driway,cause of that.Most of the restauration is over,but i'm block to that point now.Never had a feeling of driving the beast,it's starting to be hard to take...

 

No one anywhere is ever going to give you a written gaurantee that any fab work is going to 100% gauranteed. You are putting people on the spot and asking way to much by issisting that gaurantee for a $100 job that will fix that problem.

To explain this better, no aftermarket parts company will give you a 100% gaurantee on any suspension parts to be completely reouble free for use.

Just find a welding shop and flip them $100 to fix it to the best of their abilities and you are good to go.

 

this is the only way to act, you will never get a guarentee on that fix, but find a good welding shop and you should be fine

 

Thanks for ur help!

My problem is that here,the inspection process require a guarantee.Otherwise,i would go to the welding shop next street
and pay 100$.Since nobody around here is wiling to sing up,i found a place 1h away that is willing to sing.But a what price

 

what do they have to guarentee? it broke from the factory, so it should be as good as new after it's welded. the whole guarentee things seems pretty crazy to me.

 

Where are you? I never heard of ever needing anything like that.

Mine cracked last year. Pulled the steering box, cleaned everything up and had a friend weld some plate steel over it. Been fine ever since. Got my own welder now, cracks, rust ect be dammed.

 

im from the montreal region.The inspection is so crazy around here i can't belive it.To put matter worse,they called the towing to ship back the car cause of that.Now i can't drive the car until it's fixed so i have to town again of i could get big time ticket.

The previous owner tried to weld the frame i can see some weld holding it.So it's not that bad,dosen't even pop yet,it's drivable.

Beside the frame problem,everything is fixed and the car runs great!

 

I have done a lot of looking at this problem because I have a 1977 GMC truck that broke the frame right at the steering box. If you do a Google search for frame repair chevy (or some similar combination) you'll find a couple of good articles talking about the problem in 4wd (where it is a MAJOR problem). Off Road Designs offers some nice reapir kits, but I don't think they fit the Camaros - it WILL give you some ideas of what's involved though.

The prior suggestion to remove the steering box and weld on some plate steel is essentially correct. It's a real hassle, but doable. If your car is at all rough, you MIGHT want to think about just looking for something new, but this is a fixable problem if you're willing to do the work (or spend the money on a frame shop!)

Best of luck to you!

Jonathan

 

ok, heres what you do.

don't take it to a welding/fab shop. no offense to anyone or anything, but they probly arn't your best option. Find a Pipeline welder who needs some side work. They've had to be certified and would probly write you a note gaurenteeing it. like I said, no offense intended, but most generally pipeline welders can outweld fab shop welders. Just 2 cents from a certified welder.

 

You are probably right Rebel,steel pipe welder are usuly qualified welders.Don't know about body shop but i welded gas pipe and pressure lines and it is not a easy task least to say.Pressure test and x-ray to check for full penetration are daily for them.I failed to pass the welding certificat myself and i can weld mostly anything.That why this whole inspection process start to get on my nervs.It would of be so easy to rent a welder and do the job myself.The car would be burning the steet a long time ago.

I will talk to a friend where i worked maybe he can help.

Thanks for the imput everyone,good to know that some peaple care

 

Having to have a certificate for the welding is a bit overkill, but i suppose they have their reasons.
I have done a lot of these repairs over the years, admittedly mostly to rusty british cars, but a steering box repair is the same worldwide.
Years ago it was gas welding, now its mig, and steering boxes are rare these days, except on a few vehicles. Our MOT test used to allow metal to be tack welded, now it has to be seam welded all the way round, which in a steering box area i would agree with. In other areas it throws up other problems i wont get into.
I would agree with all thats been said, and add grind all previous repairs off, see what your dealing with, and clean up as much as you can yourself. Welding as you know is like body-work, its mainly preparation.
Dont forget your welder might not be a mechanic as well, and probably wont be too keen on stripping off all the bits and pieces.
Makes me laugh when people say once its welded its never as good, how do they think the car was made?
Ok so its not "original" but it can be made stronger than the original.

 

good point r1uk, i didn't even mention the preperation.

And ron, you say you could easily do the job yourself, what would happen if you did it yourself, and garunteed it yourself, would the inspection office take that?

 

It's dosen't make sense but they keep the car ''major defect'' until
i get somebody to sing up for my work(kind of like electricity job).

They just don't want anyone to play with chassis problem i think.If ever the weld would breakdown and the car crash they whan to know who failed so they can comeback.

Inspection guys knows that old car are prone to rust around here cause of salt in winter.I've seen lots of camaro in winter 10-15 years ago.Most of them where v6.

Could i save a few buck if everything was grinded up and ready to go?

 

Well i would charge someone a lot less for a nice clean area with no underseal, or bits of old weld\metal thats hanging around, likewise any other components that are in the way.
I can understand concerns about welding, here anyone can buy a cheap mig, and get welding, they can stick a piece on, with no penetration, then cover it with goo, and bingo, they get an MOT certificate. Then probably sell it on for someone else to self-destruct in.
After saying that i have seen some very good home-jobs, but i think worldwide the days of just getting any old person to do a repair are numbered.

 

Thanks for ur imput everyone!

Next week i will do the preparation and start to get quotes on the job,so i can hopefully drive the car once before winter

Still searching for a pic of the problem area.If it's a common failiure on 3rdgen,there should be some picture available somewhere....i search for off-road frame repairs sites like kuejo suggest,but couden't fine nothing though.

 

As per Service Bulletin #85-223-2A Section 2A Date: May 1988.

Drill a 1/4" hole at the ends of the crack.
M.I.G. weld the crack using Amercian Welding Society Standard E7056 wire, and 75% Argon, 25% CO2 gas.
ONLY M.I.G. WELDING IS APPROVED.
Dress the weld to accmodate new triangular renforcement bracket (see part numbers below).

1982 Models = Kit P/N 10094841

1983 to 85 Models = Kit P/N 10094842

Auggie

 

Once you've got the area welded/plated or both! Then get yourself a wonderbar (steering brace) too

Mark.

 

im planning on getting one and upgrade both swaybars.SFC are in the way too.Springs,shocks,will be changed.This should take care of the shake,wiggle feeling the car had the few times i droved it.Its not so bad cause everything passed the check up.

I read here that a wonderbar can't do miracle but it help alot.The car was missing those triangular brace that bolt under the crack area.Was this an option on earlier 3rdgen?The holes are there but there is no threads.

 

Took some shot of the problem area.The triangular braket is missing on that side.It looks like someone tried to weld it,but its a crappy job.

 

1

 

sorry my pics are too big

 

you can resize them.

 

Here's what I did a few years back.

Before:

 

After:

 

I took a further look at the frame today.There is a big gap where the cross-member meet the rail,about 1 inch.The sheet metal(body)is actually seperating all along the frame

No sign of rust inside or outside the tower area
Under the steering box area,there is a bent on the frame.

Looks like this car was hit in the front end.

It will probably end up as a part car now,cause with all the cash i will have to spend on it,i can buy my buddy's 86ws6 red T/A for less than that.Too bad i love this model,rebel look of the late 2ndgen.

Nice repair 89iroc

 

There is a mix of sand and grease all over,like someone tried to hide someting

 

Huh… maybe it’s just me, but I’m honestly not sure I’m seeing it in those pics, unless someone has already tried to fix it by doubling up some roughly cut steel over the top of it.

I’ve always wondered about people junking these cars from that tear, it’s no big deal to pull all that off, stitch it together, reinforce it, paint it and reassemble. If you’re really **** retentive and wanted to take a few extra minutes with it you could very easily hide that anything has even been touched in that area (in case you have some sort of **** inspection procedure like it sounds like you’re dealing with).

 

here's another look.

The inspection and repair process is very long and expensive around here.It's cheaper to buy a licenced T/A.In fair condition they go for 1500-2000$can.I have at least 2500$ cost just to pass inspection.They just won't pass anything when its a old sport car.Anything.When you go back there they keep on finding things wrong.It's not the first time i have to deal whit these @!#$

 

Where's this one inch gap at ?

 

My question is how do the inspection folks know the car ever had a cracked frame rail?

Seems it coould be fixed and go through inspection without drawing attention to it.

 

Oupps! the pics diden't show up.Im having trouble resizing them.Maybe this one is gonna work.The one inch gap is not on the pic.I will try to take a shot,and post it.

The seller told me everything that was wrong,beside that.So i fixed the rest and brough it to the inspection like that.I trusted the guy cause i knew him for a long time.

If i knew then,i would of go to the corner welding shop for a quote.Now i'm register as ''Off-road for major default The car must be towed"and now i need some guy to sign for is work.So that hard to find around here.And they charge bigtime.

Been to 3 places in the surronding they all when like sorry dude go somewhere else.

 

I guess I’m going blind or something, because I still don’t really see it, unless you’re talking about the area circled in red in the attached pic. If that’s the case, that’s really odd since that’s basically on the opposite side of where you usually see a problem.

Also, the green circled section looks like someone repaired a frame crack a while back with some booger welds…

 

After putting some money aside,now i find some guy who is ready to do the job for me,for about 300$.I must admit that the crazy procedure ive been through got me discourage a bit.Anyway,the rest of the problem are fixed,so im pumped up and ready to go now.

The only thing is that the welder dosent do mechanics and is reling on me to remove the steering box and sway-bar bushings.He ask me if i knew mechanics,and i said "yeah"(no choise)but in reality im average whit this stuff.I need the procedure of removal,just to make sure im ok.My main concern is the pitman shaft removal.Do i absolutely need a puller to remove it?Is there another easy way to do the job?



Ron

 

Why remove it at all… keep it attached to the box and remove the box

 

so i just swing it out of the way ? If so,great news and it save me lost trouble.Thnks crossfire