[FooFighter]

Ok my radiator support failed a safety a little while ago so I am planning out what I should do.

I am thinking of just replacing the whole front support area. Not sure to the exact name but it would be this area:

How much would this be worth and where do you recommend I get it?
From Honda I think it will be over $500. From aftermarket sites it is much cheaper, but I am worried about it fitting and about the quality.

Tell me what you think about this?
http://www.partstrain.com/products/AutoBody/Radiator_Support/1990~HONDA~CRX~4~1.6~CRX-SI-002.html

Also what do you think about that site? They seem to have like everything but It can't be as good as it looks...

 

[imgoingforit]

dude as much trouble as your having, it may be worth finding a rust free, accident free shell. It would be to me.

-Chris

 

[bobski]

it may be worth finding a rust free, accident free shell.

Yeah! Then send me your passenger fender! :lol:

 

[FooFighter]

K yea I was thinking that but who besides me would buy my car in it's current state for a price where I wouldn't lose a lot of money?

I think that right now I have two courses to take.

1. Say fuck it and sell off my car to someone and try to at least break even.

2. Pour some more money into it until it is good again.

 

[downest]

Did they actually finally tell you what is wrong with it? If it's the T-bar piece you don't need to spend nearly that much, don't go replacing stuff you don't need to.

 

[FooFighter]

No I am just looking to the future.

I am going tomorrow to talk to the guy who did the inspection.

 

[downest]

Good. Remember, and have him write down EVERYthing he says, and if you have the car make him point it out. Be very clear that you aren't paying that shop to do it, since they won't be getting money out of it they might be a little less critical.

 

[ollie]

If you do need it I know that Majestic sells it for $224 +tax/shipping.
...and thats a OEM piece!
Heres a LINK
Hope that helps you on a decision...

 

[toxiclows]

is there anyone remotly near this fellow who can go and take a look at his car.. .. . i get the feeling that the shop is trying to pull the wool over his eyes. . . . .take some pictures more of these problem areas. . . . so we all can see it up close and personal

Chris

 

[downest]

I talked to him a while ago on MSN. He needs to take some more pics of the car for us, and also get a straight answer from the mechanic. Unfortunately, he is way up in SK, I think baker_jeff is the closest, but it's hours away still.

 

[FooFighter]

Yea I am going to take some pictures/talk to the mechanic tomorrow.

The main problem here is that I know very little about cars. When I joined this forum I didn't know a fuel injector from an air intake. Since then I have learned a lot. Some from reading up on this site and most from just getting hands on with my car and figuring stuff out. What I am saying is that it wouldn't be hard to fuck me around.
I know a really cool mechanic who did the mechanical inspection on my car. He is really honest with me and I can trust him. However I don't know anyone who does structural stuff. From what I have heard pretty much all of the shops that do the structural inspection in my city are untrustworthy.

So tomorrow I am going to go in and say,
"OK I need to know exactly what is wrong with my car. What do I need to do to pass this inspection? I am not going to get you to do ANY of the work so realistically what do I need to fix."

I know that he wants me to get him to fix it because the first thing he said to me when I went in there was "OK well it's going to cost you about $1500 to fix this thing up"

I sure hope he is wrong...

*EDIT*
Yea Baker_Jeff is like 5-6 hours away from me. I wish I lived in NY or something because it seems like all of you guys are in that area.

 

[rex2nr]

If you do need the entire radiator support, I would try to contact the site you listed... find out if the support they offer is CAPA approved. CAPA approved parts are made to exact OEM specs, so they are will fit like OEM. I have CAPA fenders on my car.. they fitment is dead on, and you would never know they aren't stock if it wasn't for a part number stamped in the lip under the hood

 

[Baker]

1. Say [potty mouth] it and sell off my car to someone and try to at least break even.

2. Pour some more money into it until it is good again.

With either one you are losing money, just if you part it out/sell it and try to recoup some of your losses you would not be losing as much.

With all the time you have put into it, and the trouble this car has cost you, along with $, i would cut my losses and start fresh. Def do more research BEFORE you buy a car.

 

[FooFighter]

The one good thing that came out of this is now I am going to be so careful when buying a car. I now know what to look for and what things are worth. So next time I will not get shafted...

Today I am going with camera in hand to check my car and see whats up. Then I will go and have some words with come mechanics. Today will decide the future of my rex.

 

[g0CRXg0]

I dont see how in the hell you could possibly need to replace that much of your front end, unless the car has been in some sort of previous accident and is literally falling apart.

Man, I sure am glad I live in OH, where you dont have any lame smog check, and the only time you get a safety inspection is whenbuyinfrom out of state, and even then its just a 14 yr old

 

[FooFighter]

Well I went over there today to take some pictures of my car for you guys and was faced with my aunt who told me that she had just backed into my car with her Ford Ranger!!!

As if the front end wasn't in enough trouble without her hitting it again!!!

I took a look at it and it wasn't cracked but there was a large hole and then a scrape where you could see how the truck pushed it back, she told me she pushed it almost 6 feet before noticing!!! :x I was pissed because that bumper was brand new!!!

I thought however at at least it was just the skin and that could probably be repaired...
Until I looked at the side of the bumper and saw the truth!

This is what I found beneath:

Like less than a week ago Downest was commenting on how nice my NEW bumper beam looked!!! :x
No matter how truly fucked up this was I decided that it didn't matter cause I would be getting their asses to pay for all of the damage anyways so I dug further to check on the check list that the structural mechanic left me for Christmas.

When I started looking I remembered that he had said to me that he marked all of the "problem" areas with a yellow crayon... So I just searched for the yellow mark of death and took pictures. Here is what I found:

It wasn't hard finding the spots but what was hard was trying to figure what was wrong with them. To my untrained eye I didn't really see anything wrong. So could you guys please give me the bad news...

Also here is a profile picture of my engine bay because I have done a few things since my last picture of it.

 

[downest]

I guess my eye is untrained too? WTF, does he think your motor mount is bent?!

 

[FooFighter]

I have no clue man I don't see anything wrong... Only in the last few pictures there is a bit of bent/rusty metal but that is a area of the car that doesn't do anything...

*edit*
Also after looking over both front quarter panels for like 30 minutes could not even find a hint of a rust hole... The closest thing was a piece of paint that had been chipped off to reveal a small rust spot!

 

[rex2nr]

I'm not seeing too much either. The mount is definitely twisted there though, but that is probably a worn/torn bushing. Some of the seam sealer is cracked, which is why you are seeing rusting along those edges, but I would hope surface rust isn't what is causing the car to fail. On the drivers side, I don't see any thing wrong with those areas from your photos.

 

[g0CRXg0]

I have no clue man I don't see anything wrong...

Im sayin, looks fine to me, a little messy but nowhere near needing replaced
That does suck your aunt backed into your car though