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Replacement crossmember (long post)
I had a shop weld on an entire new front end for my '79. So far it looks
like it will work out well....they just finished as of two days ago (6
months after it arrived in shop!). The clip that was welded on from the
other Scirocco was in excellent condition -- the car had been totaled
because it was rear-ended.
Kirsten
At 05:05 PM 3/10/04, Camron D. Crouse wrote:
>Not a bad idea, ...has anyone done this??
>
>
>- Camron from Vancouver, WA USA
> '86.5 Black 16V 2.0L
>
>Mark wrote:
>
>>Another option might be to cut out a piece from a rear-ended Scirocco
>>from a wrecker and weld it in your car...
>>
>>Mark.
>>75
>>80 S
>>81 S 2.0 ABA/JH/4K
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>From: scirocco-l-bounces@scirocco.org [mailto:scirocco-l-
>>> >>bounces@scirocco.org] On Behalf Of Camron D. Crouse
>>>Sent: March 10, 2004 7:32 PM
>>>To: Scirocco List
>>>Subject: Replacement crossmember (long post)
>>>
>>>So a few weeks ago I finally get around to checking my front
>>>
>>crossmember
>>
>>
>>>for cracks.... ho boy its *bad* - the tissue around the motor mount
>>>socket is nearly cracked all around, a mangled punch-through, with
>>>
>>some
>>
>>
>>>additional cracks father away as well. The mount itself, is toast, as
>>>well. So I immediately place an order for an A1 crossmember brace,
>>>
>>from
>>
>>
>>>Eric S Scirocco81... okay, three weeks to delivery, so I start
>>>
>>thinking
>>
>>
>>>about my options, and order some other tune-up items while I'm
>>>
>>waiting.
>>
>>
>>>Well my brace is nearly here, so yesterday I went around to a couple
>>>alignment/underbody and frame shops in town for some repair estimates.
>>>Had a hard time getting actual $ quotes, so am also taking into
>>>
>>account
>>
>>
>>>shops' hourly rate $. (was showing photos from Eric's references
>>>instead of my actual car)
>>>
>>>One full-service frame shop I visited said that welding the
>>>
>>crossmember
>>
>>
>>>back together wasn't really the best option, and that I should
>>>A) have the section replaced with a custom made crossmember, or
>>>B) order a "new" factory crossmember from VW and have it installed.
>>>(presumably with the crossmember installed afterwards)
>>>
>>>WTF?? Order a new crossmember from VW? Isn't that whole section of
>>>
>>the
>>
>>
>>>car like one welded-together piece? Well, sort of, the tech said, but
>>>that that they have done something similar with various cars (they are
>>>
>>a
>>
>>
>>>frame shop, after all). The tech told me to come back later in the
>>>
>>day
>>
>>
>>>to talk to the owner, who was away from the shop for a couple hours,
>>>
>>and
>>
>>
>>>that he would have a better idea of how to proceed, and what it might
>>>cost.
>>>
>>>I was unable to come back later, but out of curiosity I did stop by
>>>
>>the
>>
>>
>>>VW dealership parts shop to find out about this crossmember
>>>
>>replacement
>>
>>
>>>hoo-haw. Well, lo and behold, the crossmember component IS a part
>>>offered by VW, which surprised me, as well as the parts guys looking
>>>
>>it
>>
>>
>>>up. (I showed them a picture of the custom brace, and they were
>>>impressed, and thought it was a great idea... actually it got positive
>>>comments from the repair shops I visited as well.)
>>>"$734.51," he says. Holy smoke, I knew this crossmember would not be
>>>cheap if indeed available, but that is just completely out of my
>>>budget. "Okay, let me see here, " the guy on the computer says, and
>>>after a moment fiddling with some items onscreen, "how about $586.61?
>>>It'll take about 14 days , Our warehouse doesn't have any in stock"
>>>What's this, I can negotiate my price on VW dealership parts???
>>>
>>That's
>>
>>
>>>a first for me.
>>>
>>>Pondering the surprising fact that it is a replaceable part, but still
>>>reeling from the price, I told the guys I'd have to pass, at least for
>>>now. One of them said "Although your welds will end up stronger than
>>>the surrounding metal if you repair what you have, I'd go with a new
>>>piece if it were my car." Although friendly and otherwise
>>>
>>knowledgeable,
>>
>>
>>>they didn't really seem to know much about this being a common problem
>>>with our Sciroccos. I never got the impression they were just trying
>>>
>>to
>>
>>
>>>get my money, I merely think they were trying to offer good advice...
>>>
>>>So after some thought I'm still leaning towards my first plan: welding
>>>up the existing crossmember, having the crossmember brace installed,
>>>
>>and
>>
>>
>>>new motor mount put into place. Welds are strong, right ? ;)
>>>
>>>Replacing with a stock crossmember, aside from the expense of the new
>>>piece itself, presents the additional problem and expense of ( I
>>>
>>would
>>
>>
>>>presume) engine removal and replacement for a complex and lengthy
>>>
>>stock
>>
>>
>>>crossmember installation, (no doubt the factory new crossmember will
>>>
>>be
>>
>>
>>>just as brittle and susceptible to cracking as the the one in my car
>>>now - why spend ~$500 on another piece of junk?)
>>>
>>>A custom made crossmember would be pretty cool, but again, likely out
>>>of my price range. (Seems I read in the Archives someone had this
>>>
>>done
>>
>>
>>>and was pretty happy with the result.) Besides, it would render the
>>>$129 I spent on the custom brace somewhat moot, eh?
>>>
>>>Another thing - this Scirocco has been wrecked, and though I've spent
>>>quite a bit of money and energy on repairing the car back to its
>>>
>>former
>>
>>
>>>glory, I have a have a hard time justifying spending more than I have
>>>to on a car whose frame was at one time compromised. I have been
>>>
>>known
>>
>>
>>>to replace worn-out stock items with aftermarket upgrades, but
>>>
>>hesitate
>>
>>
>>>to upgrade just for the sake of it for this reason.
>>>
>>>If you've made it this far, hey thanks, I appreciate any input or
>>>
>>opinions!
>>
>>
>>>- Camron from Vancouver, WA USA
>>> '86.5 Black 16V 2.0L
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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