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Re: Crossmember woes :-\



At 23:17 5/17/96 -0700, you wrote:
>How about for people who want to strengthen up the crossmember before
>any bad things start to happen.  My 16V has just had the front mount
>replaced with a poly mount, and I don't want to crack or bend anything
>important.  Is there some way that I can reinforce the crossmember? 
>Thanks.
>
>jason
>87 16V

A first step would be to get some fairly heavy sheetmetal and form up a
second layer across the area where the mount bolts on. The small added
thickness won't hurt how the mount sits but if its welded in properly, it
will spread the stress out over a larger area. Another idea would be to weld
a section of angle across the mount area, under or above the mount itself so
as to stiffen where the mount sits. This needs some thought as to how long
the angle should be and where the welds go, so you don't cause stress
concentrations. Of course, fit any parts liek that with the engine mount in
to make sure you don't create problems with getting things apart later. MIG
welding, properly done, is the preferred way to handle any job like this, as
it will not draw the temper out of the rest of the sheet metal.

Somebody out there has got to have done this one before. Anyone??

Chuck Kuecker

ckuecker@mcs.net

'83 Scirocco (single wiper!!)
'58 Ghia Convert
'75 Bug (painted!)
'67 Bug
'63 Bug (*still* for sale)
'91 Vanagon


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