***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!***
Drifting
Joined: May 1999
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From: Herndon Va
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (TTRotary)
I really think this car needs to go back to GM without being touched, but of course it's not my car
This is a little scarey for all of us.
I hope GM gets back to you with a satisfactory resolution that both fixes your problem (replacement C5) and they take a serious look at what happened.
Please keep us informed on what GM says. Maybe one of the forum guys (Troy) could give Mr. Hill a heads up and get him or some other engineer involved.
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From: I know when the doggie he piss onna ma leg...
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St. Jude Donor '14
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (TTRotary)
Well, I checked my frame over and everything looks to be fine. FYI, the upper shock mounts are both spot welded and bead welded. LOTS of welds hold that puppy on. I still can't imagine how Bat's control arm mounting perch broke. Those things are welded on pretty good, with lots of weld area. Yeow! :eek: Hope you get satisfaction from GM, Neill. They really do need to get a look at that car.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2000
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From: Seattle WA
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (BatMobile)
F&ck-that-s&it! ! !. Warranty or no warranty.......I'd be bringing that piece of crap back to where you bought from!!! :mad.
Who knows what else is wrong with it!!!.
[Modified by Loaded45, 1:12 AM 3/23/2002]
[Modified by Loaded45, 1:13 AM 3/23/2002]
Who knows what else is wrong with it!!!.
[Modified by Loaded45, 1:12 AM 3/23/2002]
[Modified by Loaded45, 1:13 AM 3/23/2002]
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From: Nassau NP
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St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'10-'11
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (Loaded45)
At this point, I am not averse to spending the 2,000+K on shipping the car to and from Florida if Chevy wants a good look at it...
I love the car dearly, and would LOVE to have it back in satisfactory condition.
Neill
I love the car dearly, and would LOVE to have it back in satisfactory condition.
Neill
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St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'10-'11
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (TTRotary)
Bat, did the crack occur on a hydroformed (non-welded) part of the frame, or did it occur on any of the reinforcement plates that have been welded to the frame in various places? I wonder what came first...the cracked mount or the cracked frame. the two are obviously related. I really think this car needs to go back to GM without being touched, but of course it's not my car and I'm not there to experience your frustration. Sorry for your troubles, Bat
The car is still 'unmodified'. I have cleaned the bracket and the mounting point and taken some before and after pics for the record. I have had this rattle for the past couple of months, bearing in mind hat the car hs been OFF the road with miscellaneous failures here and there. My gut instinct says that the weld failed, started the 'rattle' and my continued driving caused the added stress to the frame rail and the frame rail cracked...
I can only imagine if I kept pushing the car near its limits that the entire upper control arm assembly would have failed and the tire pancaked... :eek:
I am all ears for what GM wants to do here...scary as hell is all I can say!!
Neill
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From: I know when the doggie he piss onna ma leg...
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St. Jude Donor '14
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (ShanMan14)
Here's a shot of the same suspension parts on my car, just as a reference point... 
[Modified by 2manycars, 2:27 AM 3/25/2002]
[Modified by 2manycars, 2:27 AM 3/25/2002]
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2000
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From: God Bless America
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (2manycars)
Neill...you really should pursue this with utmost urgency...and in reference to your earlier post, you should NOT be the one to pay the shipping for your car so Sheeby can look at it...let them pay to see if they have a production problem:yesnod: ...
I think this is something that needs to be explored, for all 150,000 of us on the road :cheers:
Good luck, my friend...and I hope everythiong turns out OK :yesnod:
(But the suggestions of a replacement Vette might not be totally out of line :confused: ;) ) :cheers:
I think this is something that needs to be explored, for all 150,000 of us on the road :cheers:
Good luck, my friend...and I hope everythiong turns out OK :yesnod:
(But the suggestions of a replacement Vette might not be totally out of line :confused: ;) ) :cheers:
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2000
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From: Sindelfingen Germany
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (SloRvette)
DO NOT STICK WELD THE BRACKET. The rear frame section on the car is a High Strength Low Alloy steel. Stick welding will put too much heat into the area weakening the steel at the intersection of the heat affected zone (red hot heat basicly turns HSLA steel into mild steel by changing the grain structure). Proper weld in the area is MIG as recommmended by GM. TIG welding would also be proper. The frame rail and the bracket are both basicly a thick guage sheet metal. A 175 amp MIG welder can blow holes in it. Clean the area throughly grind off any remaining weld on both the frame and the bracket and reweld. Then have the car realigned. Have you got a dealer there ? That should be a warranty issue.
Frederik
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St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'10-'11
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (BatMobile)
Obviously waiting to hear back from GM...but in the meantime, I'll ask you all.
My brother-in-law came in this morning after seeing the crack and started talking about fish-plating. Basically putting a reinforcement plate over the crack and working it from there.
Not saying this is what I am going to do, just wanted to hear from you all on the subject of fishplating.
Hopefully that will NOT be recommended.
Neill
My brother-in-law came in this morning after seeing the crack and started talking about fish-plating. Basically putting a reinforcement plate over the crack and working it from there.
Not saying this is what I am going to do, just wanted to hear from you all on the subject of fishplating.
Hopefully that will NOT be recommended.
Neill
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From: Florida Gators! 3 National Championships back to back!!!
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (BatMobile)
I think a fishplate would require you to re-engineer the bracket to compensate for the thickness of the plate or else the geometry of the suspension will be messed up.
Might be time to trade it in for a new 2003 ;)
Might be time to trade it in for a new 2003 ;)
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From: Nassau NP
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St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'10-'11
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (Johnsrx7)
I think a fishplate would require you to re-engineer the bracket to compensate for the thickness of the plate or else the geometry of the suspension will be messed up.
Might be time to trade it in for a new 2003 ;)
Might be time to trade it in for a new 2003 ;)
If GM wants to trade out this beast for a 2003 anniversary edition, I'd be more then receptive!! ;):D
Neill
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From: I know when the doggie he piss onna ma leg...
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St. Jude Donor '14
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (BatMobile)
I'm into 55-6-7 T'Birds, too. Fishplating has been common on those because the frames are rust-prone. They work OK, and are safe when done properly, but aren't necessarily pretty in the repaired areas. If this frame were fishplated, I'd rather see the rail cut open and reinforced from inside. If there is another plate welded on the outside instead, the front perch for the control arm will be outboard of the rear perch by the thickness of the plate. I don't know how that would affect alignment, etc. It wouldn't surprise me if GM either replaces the car or recommends sectioning the frame. I found documentation from GM on this procedure last week on the web. I'll try to find it again and post the link.
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From: I know when the doggie he piss onna ma leg...
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St. Jude Donor '14
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (2manycars)
I found the frame repair procedure. Here's the link: http://www.gmgoodwrench.com/gmgoodwr...e_Assembly.pdf
Neill, the car is still under warrenty, is it not? It's hard for me to see, but it looks like the upper left weld didn't penetrate enough. Is there corrosion on the remaining welds? Also, it looks like the crack is propagating along the right side of the mounting tab for the brake line. I hate to say it, but I think this car (whether GM takes it back or not, if the car is to survive at all) will need a frame sectioning.
Neill, the car is still under warrenty, is it not? It's hard for me to see, but it looks like the upper left weld didn't penetrate enough. Is there corrosion on the remaining welds? Also, it looks like the crack is propagating along the right side of the mounting tab for the brake line. I hate to say it, but I think this car (whether GM takes it back or not, if the car is to survive at all) will need a frame sectioning.
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St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'10-'11
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (2manycars)
Thanks for the PDF file there.
Looks like sectioning of that portion of the rail is NOT recommended...
Definitely NOT a repair I would even consider over here. GM has a couple options in my book...pay all expenses for the car to be shipped to the US for a proper repair to be done by GM, pay all expenses incurred by shipping it BACK to Nassau. Or, once it is in the US, offer to buy it back. Unfortunately, with every shipping transaction to and from, I need to pay 7% stamp tax on the blue book value of the car. I also HAD to pay 75% duty (82% after you add in the 7%), on the NEW price of the car when I imported it...I seriously doubt that Chevy will be willing to pay me $70,000.00+ on the current insured value of the car. The car cost me right around 90,000.00 all in by the time I got it here to Nassau. So either way, I am out a serious chuck of change for this experiment.
I think in the end, it would be cheaper for them to pay for the shipping charges both ways.
:crazy:
Neill
Looks like sectioning of that portion of the rail is NOT recommended...
Definitely NOT a repair I would even consider over here. GM has a couple options in my book...pay all expenses for the car to be shipped to the US for a proper repair to be done by GM, pay all expenses incurred by shipping it BACK to Nassau. Or, once it is in the US, offer to buy it back. Unfortunately, with every shipping transaction to and from, I need to pay 7% stamp tax on the blue book value of the car. I also HAD to pay 75% duty (82% after you add in the 7%), on the NEW price of the car when I imported it...I seriously doubt that Chevy will be willing to pay me $70,000.00+ on the current insured value of the car. The car cost me right around 90,000.00 all in by the time I got it here to Nassau. So either way, I am out a serious chuck of change for this experiment.
I think in the end, it would be cheaper for them to pay for the shipping charges both ways.
:crazy:
Neill
Melting Slicks
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From: Sindelfingen Germany
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (2manycars)
When I look at the frame, I only see one good weld, the one upper right. All others are very bad, specially that one upper left. The console lifted off on the left, but kept in place by the upper right weld. This weld was so good, that it at last tear out a piece the frame. At this area also the crack in the frame began and moved over to the left.
This is a common problem on MAG/MIG welded bodyparts.
Frederik
This is a common problem on MAG/MIG welded bodyparts.
Frederik
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From: I know when the doggie he piss onna ma leg...
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St. Jude Donor '14
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (BatMobile)
Thanks for the PDF file there.
Looks like sectioning of that portion of the rail is NOT recommended...
Definitely NOT a repair I would even consider over here.
GM has a couple options in my book...pay all expenses for the car to be shipped to the US for a proper repair to be done by GM, pay all expenses incurred by shipping it BACK to Nassau. Or, once it is in the US, offer to buy it back. Unfortunately, with every shipping transaction to and from, I need to pay 7% stamp tax on the blue book value of the car. I also HAD to pay 75% duty (82% after you add in the 7%), on the NEW price of the car when I imported it...I seriously doubt that Chevy will be willing to pay me $70,000.00+ on the current insured value of the car. The car cost me right around 90,000.00 all in by the time I got it here to Nassau. So either way, I am out a serious chuck of change for this experiment.
I think in the end, it would be cheaper for them to pay for the shipping charges both ways.
:crazy:
Neill
I think in the end, it would be cheaper for them to pay for the shipping charges both ways.
:crazy:
Neill
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Sarasota, FL
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (C5 Frederik)
When I look at the frame, I only see one good weld, the one upper right. All others are very bad, specially that one upper left. The console lifted off on the left, but kept in place by the upper right weld. This weld was so good, that it at last tear out a piece the frame. At this area also the crack in the frame began and moved over to the left.
This is a common problem on MAG/MIG welded bodyparts.
Frederik
This is a common problem on MAG/MIG welded bodyparts.
Frederik