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I should go out and do a UT TONIGHT.........
I wonder if they have a thickness issue in this area of the frame being these are hydroformed. Of course they UT a random sampling to assure quality....
Or I can MT with 110 volts.
I have found many subsurface indications with 110 or 220......
Sticking powder applied and read correctly does not lie:eek:
I wonder if they can see the heat effected zone from inside the frame rail with a boroscope?
Thats a good way to see visually if you have a good heat effected zone for blind weld penetrations!
I have inspected many Nuc pipe welds this way because they were 10' away down stream! YOU GET A REAL GOOD VIEW, but magnified greatly.
I did look at my welds today..........1/2 are machine, 1/2 manual operator.
Big difference in the visual workmanship!
Question for BatMobile - Do you know how the car was shipped into Nassau? did the car come into Nassau on a roll on roll off ship or was it off loaded from the ship's deck with a crane? Having dealt with Shipping Ports in the Carribean, those dock workers sometimes like to see how far a car will bounce from a dead drop, especially a nice car. Just a thought.
Good Luck with the fix
The car was containerized in Palm Beach, shipped over in a 20 foot container and unloaded here in Nassau.
I am willing to sign a letter/email to GM stating my great concern as a Corvette owner. Also, I would like GM to explain what actions it’s going to take in order to first find the cause and second fix it. There are enough owners here to show that this is a big concern and demand an explanation on why it happened and what is GM doing to insure that our cars are safe. I also have no problem signing and sending a similar letter to every Corvette magazine explaining this case if GM is uncooperative.
Hopefully, we might be able to put some pressure on GM so that you get prompt and proper attention while at the same time find out if others have cars with this “defect”.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE higher an attorney RIGHT NOW!! GET THE BEST one you can find. DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO THE CAR as far as sending it for repairs. AS many have suggested, FORCE gm to send a rep to inspect as they can get an airline ticket for next to nothing. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY issue, and they had BETTER respond QUICK for a two year old car with 20k on it. THESE are just my opinions. I am very sorry to hear about this crap you are going through. I had a shop wreck my engine so I know how this stuff feels, I just had my day in court last week (many told me not to waste my time) and I was rewarded with TOTAL VICTORY :D :D :D :D DON'T let the GENERAL off on this one. You have lots of evidence. Your case appears clear. They need to give you a brand new C5 (buy back your old one and pay for any aftermarket parts you added) this is a very unusual case and as you said it could have cost you your life depending on the situation. PLEASE keep us posted. Good luck...
From: What I know, is dwarfed by what I pretend to know
Cruise-In 5-6-7-8 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
Re: ***[WARNING] BROKEN SUSPENSION!!*** (Hex29A)
I am willing to sign a letter/email to GM stating my great concern as a Corvette owner. Also, I would like GM to explain what actions it’s going to take in order to first find the cause and second fix it. There are enough owners here to show that this is a big concern and demand an explanation on why it happened and what is GM doing to insure that our cars are safe. I also have no problem signing and sending a similar letter to every Corvette magazine explaining this case if GM is uncooperative.
Hopefully, we might be able to put some pressure on GM so that you get prompt and proper attention while at the same time find out if others have cars with this “defect”.
Sorry to hear about your mishap. If you did not hit anything or customize your suspention we may have a problem at hand. You can see by your detailed photos that the welds apper to be "cold" and this would effect more than your car. Please post your VIN# and call GM ASAP. You can see the upper right hand weld was good but failed under stress as it has ripped through the frame. This is a type weld you want, it was "One" with the frame. The other portion was just sitting on the frame looking good. This would be caused by faulty welding in the assembly line equipment (Low on gases or temp). If this was the case it would effect more than people than you. From past years of welding exp. i would be concerned. some of GM's robots weld down one side of the car and some rotate around the frame (most frames are shipped in from another location i belive) if the rotating system was used you may have a smillar effect on the other side. Best of luck, the repair should realitivly simple if proformed by a profesional welder. and be no cause of future concerns. :(
Bat,
E-mail me if you need a sounding board for a second opinion...........
Always love to help the DAVID against GOLIATH when the right thing is not done!
ms083@email.sae.org
I am in negotiations with MR. Jack Smith Jr. as we speak on my own issue with GM...........
Neill,
Stay out of the casinos or just drink and don't gamble. I thought I had bad luck but yours is NTH Degree bad luck. I just now saw this. Wow, and I looked you up to see how the rear fascia came out. Guess that not really a lerge concern now. Good Luck and I mean it! You deserve some good luck for a change! :D :cheers: :flag
This is a pic of the weld people have described as cold...it did not bond with the chassis at all, and is suspected of causing the chain reaction through the remaining of the 4 welds...The 'blob' at the end is actually about 1/4 of an inch thick and raised up over the rest of the weld...compare that to the next pic.
This weld ripped a chunk clean out of the chassis. It was fully bonded to the chassis, but just couldn't take the stress and finally gave out. The blob looking part at the end is actually flat in comparision with the rest of the weld, and you can see how the weld looks a lot more 'professional'.
These welds would lead me to believe that the brackets are welded manually. I have a hard time believing a computer weld would go perfectly on part and total crap on the next.
Here are a few more shots of the welds from underneath. You can see the one weld just didn't bond at all...two of the others cracked within the weld itself and the fourth took a chunk of the frame with it...
Unbelievable. Looks like the top weld in the second post is totally contaminated. You're right...its gotta be a manual process with this kind of variance. Hard to believe they would let a car leave the factory in this condition. They need to get you a totally new car Neill.
Got the official call from GM, I now have a point of contact. The service manager for the local GM dealer is coming in to inspect and verify the damage, even though they say the pictures are pretty conclusive. He will then arrange for a welder to come around and do a temporary patch weld so the car is more mobile and can move around under it's own power for loading onto and off of containers and flatbeds, and then she is going to Florida.
Transport fees are still up for grabs, hasn't been fully discussed yet. The rail will be sectioned out and a new rail put in its place.
I will most likely go ahead and renew my tag and insurance so I can have the car over there for the Cruise-in. At least try to make some good come of it.
Details are sketchy at this point, it's a Thursday before a holiday weekend, people are taking vacations here and there, so I will have to fill you in as we progress into the details.
No more news til Tuesday of next week. Sit tight for the ongoing saga of the BatMobile.