Doh Moment!

[muphy]

Last night was completing the disassembly of the rear suspension and removal of the diff and prop shaft. I had one of those moments where after the fact I had to really ask myself why the hell I did something so stupid.

One of the bolts which mounts the top link to chassis refused to come out. No amount of penetrating fluid or spannering would get it out. So, what did I do, I took to it in a fit of pique with a large hammer. Not only did the bolt still refuse to come out but I managed to put a bend in the chassis.

I'm having trouble showing pictures from flickr at the moment but you can see the crease in the chassis mount here: https://flic.kr/p/mATPJz

In the end I cut the bolt out and whilst the chassis at that point seems strong enough I'm concerned that I may have added some weakness to what is quite an important mount.

I'm thinking that a piece of mild steel cut to the same shape but extending along the chassis further welded into place might be a good idea though I'm also concerned that I may foul bodywork etc! I may just be over worrying as the mount is as strong as the chassis and is two sided.

For those of you who have ventured as far as I, what do you think? And please, I already know how big of a dope I am

Mark

[don.hasi]

Not only did the bolt still refuse to come out but I managed to put a bend in the chassis.

Hello Mark,

I know these sorts of moments very well... and to be honest... the older I get... the more I get the feeling, these moments are growing...

I cannot see what you have bent... but welding a new piece on the chassi should be done from a pro I think... welding might stresses the chassi at some point and you have to consider the galvanic also.

Just a thought.

Good luck!

[Hawaiis0]

Did you this this earlier post? Might still be available.

http://www.lotusexcel.net/phpbb/viewtop ... f=2&t=7569

[fueltheburn]

You are worrying too much

Think old school - how did they make swords and also make them stronger?

An ancient samurai sword gains it's strength from the amount of times it is heated in a forge and folded.
Heated, folded, beaten, heated and rapidly cooled.
Hardening and annealing is simply a case of heating the item up to red hot and letting it cool naturally (soften/anneal) or heating it up to red hot and cooling suddenly I.e submerging in water or oil.
My view would be to heat the area until it is red hot and either beat it back into position with a hammer and dolly or squeeze straight with a clamp to straighten it, then heat again until red hot and drop a bucket of water on the area.

You will have to rust protect this area after doing this as it may remove some of the galvanising and expose fresh metal.

[muphy]

Yeh I think I just had a knee-jerk panic attack.

Bolted upper link back in place and everything seems fine, no lateral movement at all.



I've work to do to clean up the surface rust you can see at the top of the picture, this is where the body bolts to the chassis in the boot and is where I had the fiberglass damage so I'll certainly also consider heating and quenching.

I spent a lot of time last night searching old posts regarding painting the chassis. I know that you did yours Kieran with Hammerite Straight to Galvanise and I've also read quite a bit about Galvafroid so I think a good clean with Bilt Hamber De-Ox (which is amazing) then heat/quench then a spray of Galvafroid and then paint with Hammerite.

Mark

[fueltheburn]

Cleaning was a nightmare and made little impact so we looked for another solution.
Shot blasting or soda blasting is too aggressive, so Brian's painter suggested an alternative.
Save yourself hassle and get the chassis blasted with "walnut shells" - it is less abrasive and leaves the galvanising intact and just removes the surface rust.

The only things you will have to do afterwards is clean off the bits of shells with a compressor and wipe down with a good alcohol or engine de-greaser.
My chassis and all my suspension components were done this way.

In terms of paint - yes mine was done with a Hammerite direct to Galvanising paint but mine is unlikely to ever see a salted road in it's new life. The galvanising was still good on all my parts, the paint is just a visual thing and a primary protection. It took 5 days though to get a few coats on every part as the paint is so thick

Brian's painter has just installed a powder coating booth big enough to fit in a whole chassis, this would be the way I would go with the next project. Cost versus time, this is a more efficient way of spending it.

[muphy]

Yep, balancing cost and time is always going to be a problem. My time is so tight these days, I'm returning to work after another illness (will they never end) and I'm about to embark on the restoration of a BMW E30 M3, for a paying customer this time.

Have a look at these pictures though:

Before De-Ox:


After De-Ox and a good wire brush:


With just a bit more work, these will be good to prime and paint, after the bushes have been replaced. They will get a covering of Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 before primer.

As for the Chassis, I remain a masochist and will do it by hand :-/