Bent cross member

[miked]

Had a run in with a landrover towbar today in my t-reg swb and bent the cross member in by about 3-4 inch's. has any one got any good idea's of how to pull it out or replace it. cheers

[pce-hq13]

Years ago i fixed the front cross member of a mk3 ford escort that had done the same thing

I got my 4" grinder out and cut slot in the top, rear and bottom of cross member then got some straps tied to cross member then tied the other end to lamp post and reversed the car SLOWLY until the cross member was straight, then i seam welded the slot and welded a piece of 16 gauge metal about 4" wide over the slot to strenghten it.

Done this as i couldn't afford to get new cross member, also passed M.O.T aswell...

...Paul...

[jay]

any pics??also it may have put the tracking out just a little ..did it do any other damage??..I have had in the past a tranny with a bend in the front crossmember but it wasnt to bad so i left it,as far as i know its still running round like it.

[miked]

no pic's yet, only happened this morning. yeah it do other damage, bonnet dented, grill smashed, n/s head light smashed and radiator splitt, these are all straight forward stuff, it's just the cross member that was making me scratch my head. couldn't believe it thou the land rover had no damage what so ever. i can't really complain thou i payed nothing for the van in the first place and the driver of the landy isn't going to claim for anything, (just goes to show there's still some real genuine nice people out there)

[miked]

Pce-hq13 when you say you cut slots into the cross member, which way did you cut them? front to back or side to side?

[100ps_drw_hicube]

tis a landy tho mate built like a tank

[Guy88]

tis a landy tho mate built like a tank

Yow wnat to see what happens when a tractor meets the back of a low loader trailer on a sprinter

[100ps_drw_hicube]

go on any pics???

[pce-hq13]

Hope this pic explains what i ment earlier...

The black C shape is the cross member, as looking from engine bay...

The red line is the cut slot... which after cross member was pulled straight gets seam welded and ground smooth

and the blue area is the patch (16swg) formed to C profile and seam welded over the now welded slot

...Paul...

[Guy88]

No. I will get one of the repairs on the trailer. the chassis got a bit bent so the doors didnt close. soon had it straight with 2 bits of wood and a teleporter also couldnt get the trailer off as there is a ramp bar under the doors and the towbar was uynder it

[miked]

Right then, bin on the case today, tried pulling it out on a post but started twisting and creasing it, so drilled off all the spot welds on the front plate, removed the front plate, got the hot spanner out and straightened it all up and re-welded the plate back on. job done. thanks for all the good advice.