Broken lower radiator support bracket
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 1
From: Hudson Valley Area New York
Broken lower radiator support bracket
When turning or going over a high spot in road I hear metal scraping underneath drivers side. I looked underneath and there is something metal all scraped up. The dealer said it was a metal strap and they "put it back up". What is this metal piece and does the lower radiator support bracket hold this in place ? I was told by someone else the lower radiator support bracket is broke. The dealer didnt see this they just put back the metal strap !
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 11,864
Likes: 107
From: God's Country, ID
When turning or going over a high spot in road I hear metal scraping underneath drivers side. I looked underneath and there is something metal all scraped up. The dealer said it was a metal strap and they "put it back up". What is this metal piece and does the lower radiator support bracket hold this in place ? I was told by someone else the lower radiator support bracket is broke. The dealer didnt see this they just put back the metal strap !
Driving with a broken rad support, especially on the passenger side, can cause the radiator to drop just enough and rest on the lower tranny fluid line that routes to the radiator for cooling (if so equipped). This often results in a cracked line, leaking tranny fluid and possibly tranny damage (no low tranny fluid message will display on dic btw). Least case, it's a huge pia changing the hard line.
Post a pic or get someone knowlegable to look at it.
2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
I just ran into the same issue, only thing is, I just bought the car, first corvette and only second car I’ve ever owned. And learned a valuable lesson. Luckily I like tinkering with cars and there’s YouTube, was able to remove and took to a busy to have welded. As soon as paint dry sill reinstall.
Pro
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 547
Likes: 27
When turning or going over a high spot in road I hear metal scraping underneath drivers side. I looked underneath and there is something metal all scraped up. The dealer said it was a metal strap and they "put it back up". What is this metal piece and does the lower radiator support bracket hold this in place ? I was told by someone else the lower radiator support bracket is broke. The dealer didnt see this they just put back the metal strap !
If so, the lower radiator support is raped.
It's made out of aluminum for weight purposes so it is very weak.
Option 1, slightly damaged, have an aluminum brazer fix it. $1-300.
Option 2, beyond recovery, replace support $300-600.
I replaced mine myself, found one for ~$300.
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