QuestionQUESTION: Hello,
I just bought a 95 Nissan maxima and after putting a new clutch in noticed that the rust on my Radiator support running from the left to right that accepts the two bolts for the the front engine support bar is rusted worse then I thought. I have ordered the part to replace this. I went with a higher quality after market part(not OEM)it is supposed to be with-in specs. I am running tight on money and have learned that the support is spot welded as well as bolted in to the unibody frame at the top and maybe at the bottom. I can take the front end off, and put it back together, thats not a problem. I can also rent a small wire welder to do the work. I have spot welded back about 15 years ago, but I do not have welding experience. I believe the process would be to first gain access to the support and then drill the spot welds out and separate the radiator support from the unibody. My Question is, when i take this support out, can it widen the frame of the unibody. I really would like to do this job myself but I want to make sure i do it right. Do you have any advice that you can give me on this. I have had est. done and they were from 675.00 to 1,100.00 dollars. The welder will cost me $45 a day and the radiator support was $100 dollars. I think I can do this if the frame does not move, which i don't believe it will, But thats why I'm here, asking you.
Thank you for your time,
Sincerely
Winston
ANSWER: The frame won't move, as long as you don't support the vehicle by the front frame rails. You sure you want to try this? Messing with the unibody is taking your life into your own hands. You can't spot weld it in, it needs plug welded with a wire welder. Your spot welder is not capable of the job, and will make the vehicle a total hazard, especially if the engine is bolted to it. You need to at least find a buddy who can weld, a unibody i s no place to learn how to weld on. Be sure to disconnect the neg. battery cable, or risk frying th computer. Bill
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QUESTION: Hey Bill,
First off thank you for your advice. I got the support put back in and it isn't the best weld job, but i believe it will hold. The only problem i had was that i either welded it back together at the top about 1/2 inch to far back, or the radiator support that i got was bent back a 1/2 an inch were the hood latch is. I had to pry it out alittle to get the latch to close right. The lines on the car seem to match up pretty good though. The second thing is after replacing the rear main seal on the tranny side, and then adjust the clutch pedal free play, the clutch started to slip almost right away after driving it. The spec's in the books say to set the hight at 6 5/8 to 6 7/8, but i can not get that. The best i can get is 6 1/2 inchs. I thought maybe it was a misprint so i adjusted the hight to 5 7/8. When i did this the clutch felt great at first, but then started to slip. then the clutch pedel got really hard like it was binding. I re adjusted it to 6 1/2 inchs pedal hight and am tring to get the free play adjustment to work out. It has about a 1/2 inch to 3/4 free play right now before you can feel it stiffen up. The manual calls for no more then a 1/8 of an inch in free play. the clutch pedal now feels a little soft, but it is no longer slipping. I am assuming that at 5 7/8 pedal hight and no free play was causing the pressure plate to stay part engaged and over 5 or 15 min. was over heating the clutch and causing it to slip. Does this sound right? Thanks for any advice you can give bill. It would be great.
Thank you,
Winston
AnswerI'm not a mechanic Winston, but it sounds like you didn't assemble something right, or the fact you didn't weld the support in place correctly is causing some binding. I bet the engine is setting at a different angle than it was from the factory, and that it why you can't get the correct pedal height. That is assuming you have a manual, and not a hydraulic, clutch. Other than that, this is outside of my expertise. Bill
