Help needed regarding car Chassis leg

[microways85]

I recently had a front end damage repaired . I noticed that the chasssis leg which was pulled out is kinked .

This is normal as with all bent metal when pulled straight they will be kinked were the initial bend is.

I took it back to the body shop and they want to cut off the kinked section and replace by welding another piece .

Is this acceptable can a piece of a chassis leg be simply replaced by cutting off the kinked area and replacing this ?

Is this a botched way to do it , please any advise will be well appreciated

[microways85]

Crafty_ said:

Replacing a chassis leg is the proper way to do it, looks like they tried to shortcut the repair by leaving it like that.

What they should do is buy a new chassis leg, remove the old one fro where it fits other pieces and re-attach as it was in the factory.

This is a very different car, but was the first hit on google, see how the new leg is re-attached with plug welds as it was in the factory
http://www.cliosport.net/threads/this-may-interest...

Thanks, I did see this also when I researched. My car is a 2012 BMW 3 series which is much more complex to bring the engine out. As it has sensors and all bit concerned about having the engine removed to replace the chassis leg.

[microways85]

steveo3002 said:

its normal to weld in a new bit , but first you need to stretch that leg back to where it ought to be as the kink would make it too short

Thanks, the body shop want cut it jus before the kink and weld in new chassis front. So should this not have any impact on whether it is stretched out or not.

Or would it be better to just isolate the kink area although this appears to be on the 2 sides of the chassis leg.

[microways85]

E-bmw said:

If they have already "repaired it" and it looks like that, I would be very concerned!

Firstly, in the act of "repairing it" I would have expected them to return the dimensions to factory spec.

Secondly, if they have done this and left the leg kinked (shortened) then they must have stretched something else.

The stretched area is at least as much weakened as the kinked area, and as I don't see you mentioning that, then I am wondering where is it hidden?

The structural strength of the car is severely weakened in the area that it has been damaged & that makes me wonder if I would wand to be driving it!

I did ask the body shop and the only answer that I got was they pulled it out. I guess the dilenma at the moment is to make sure that the chassis leg is straight .

According to the laser wheeel alignment carried out it is straight but not perfect straight. The body shop does not have a Body joi think they only have the Porta power puller. This I saw them use.

Is it impossible to repair this sort of damage without a Jig.

[microways85]

steveo3002 said:

is it the same place that sent it out like that? id not want them working on the car anymore

by trade im a car painter , but ive seen plenty of work like that over the years and they always pull the damage out first regardless of if theyre fitting a new panel or repairing it , ought to be measured on a jig too to ensure all the mounting points are where they should be

Yes it is the same place, I took the car to a BMW specialist for servicing and they pointed out the chassis leg to me as a concern. I then took it back to the body shop with the advisories on the chassis leg from the BMW specialist.

From your experience when they pull the leg out do they do a better job thn this ? Is the Kink normally visible ? I don't think the bodyshop has a jig sadly .

I wasn't aware of this when I had the car delivered to the bodyshop . It wasn't driveable when I got it.

[microways85]

Yes it was a salvage repair job . Would have gone to the dealer if it was an insurance job . But this would have defeated the whole point of getting a Cat D to have it repaired . In all fairness this has been a terrible idea as I have spent a lot already which is enough to get me a normal one with no Cat. Just absolutely gutted . The body shop that I took it to deal with so many salvage cars which are even more expensive than what I have . So shocked that they botched this .

[microways85]

roofer said:

microways85 said:

It wasn't driveable when I got it.

Hmmm, sounds like a bit of salvage repair then.

Yes it is

[microways85]

Osinjak said:

You're not the bloke who's also looking for a new gearbox are you?

No and how is that relevant to this.

[microways85]

With an insurance approved body shop such as BMW it won't be pragmatic to buy a cat D and repair.