Is this a major structural damage / whats leaking? (Pics)

1236 Views 12 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Luckynumber5, Jan 31, 2007

Aussie_Camry

Discussion Starter · Jan 30, 2007 (Edited)

Needless to say, I am a f**kin spastic. Moving on, well to get a spot to park today, as the beach was packed... I tried to mount the kerb to park on some grass. Now Ive done it before, my car is lowered but not that much. So Ive gone to go up and its bottomed out at the back, causing some prity bad damage! My questions are, based on the first pic, does that look like some major structural damage? (I have no idea tbh). And based on the second pic, what would be leaking here? Im guessing 100% its brake fluid... so Im really pissed off now, although the brake fluid level hasnt move.... the leak isnt major I spose, although when braking shouldnt it piss out?

Any help GREATLY appreciated, helping me out of this stupid mistake :thumbup:

EDIT : Im thinking this is really bad now... I looked at where the damage is compared to the inside of my car, and it LOOKS like under my left seat is bulging up abit more :ugh3:

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bigbird

· #2 · Jan 30, 2007 (Edited)

well theres an easy way to figure out if its break fluid. pump the brakes when the car is running and if u hear/or see bubbling or see fluid shooting out then thats it. the the brake fluid is highly presurized so any leak should be pretty easy to detect. it dont smell like gas does it. cuz that would be bad too.

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Aussie_Camry

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 30, 2007 (Edited)

^

Yeah I did what you said just after I posted... and its 100% brake fluid :thumbdown . What about the structural part, is what Ive done REALLY bad? Its that rail that goes from the front to back, I think your meant to put the scissor jack on it when jacking up a car for a tyre change, its obviously in a bad state now, but is that a structural part of the car? ie by weakening it, my car is now impossible to get rid of or worse re-register!!!! If it isnt then I will be very happy, because I dont intend to keep the current body as it has some rust, and was gonna in the LONG TERM once I have money rebuild and transplant my engine into a good body (and one ready to go with a manual trans).

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toyomoho

· #4 · Jan 30, 2007

Not sure I understand where the damage is.

The two channels that hang down and run along the bottom of the cars frame are stiffeners. They form a rectangle box (once the channel is welded to the bottom of the frame) and make the frame more difficult to bend. Kind of like the cars dipstick, bent on one plane it flexes easily, in the other it does not. If you compress (damage) the channel, the cars frame has less resistance to bending loads.

The housing around the brake lines appears to be made of plastic, if so it provides no frame stiffness but may protect the lines against road debris. If the channel is OK, just fix the brake line. If the channel is badly damage, have a shop MIG weld a U-shaped thin metal piece over the damaged area. The jack goes on the outside of the frame where the bottom body panel and rocker panel meet up.

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Aussie_Camry

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 30, 2007 (Edited)

^

Ok thanks ALOT :thumbup:

From your good description, 99.9% its the 'channel' that has been bent! So I have to fix the brake lines and the channel - I hope it isnt excessively expensive!?!!? :disappoin

EDIT : Also, is it dangerous to be driving with it in that condition? Like obviously the brakes lines must be fixed, but with the channel? Its still intact to a certain extent, best way to describe it is that one corner of the rectange has caved in.

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toyomoho

· #6 · Jan 30, 2007

Might be able to pull out the channel. Or cut out the damaged section and replace it with something removed from a junk car. Keep in mind people have cut out whole sections of cars and welded them back together to shorten or extend the car. So, your job is relatively simple.

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nodrogkam

· #7 · Jan 30, 2007

from the photos it doesnt look THAT bad.
but if you could post a photo farther out it may help.

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bigbird

· #8 · Jan 30, 2007

damn, how hard did u hit that? if it bent that metal piece attached to the frame in a way that it cut into the break line u may have to pull out that metal to be able to get to thoes lines.

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Aussie_Camry

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 30, 2007 (Edited)

from the photos it doesnt look THAT bad.
but if you could post a photo farther out it may help.

I cant now because the car is at the mechanic... but it would be difficult to take a pic as well, being lowered, cant get a good angle on the pic to show the extent of the damage. But I said b4, best way to describe it is the channel is rectangle, the damage is that one corner of that rectange has caved in :thumbup:

damn, how hard did u hit that?

Not HEAPS hard... not enough for me to jolt forward or anything, I just think that particular piece of metal isnt that strong, and wasnt designed to have any force applied to it.

if it bent that metal piece attached to the frame in a way that it cut into the break line u may have to pull out that metal to be able to get to thoes lines.

Yeah that worries me. I took it to the mechanic today, he has quoted $200AU for the brake lines (I think thats about right, considering they will have to bleed the brakes etc), albeit he hasnt had it up on the hoist yet to see the full extent of the damage. Although from feeling around, the metal hasnt intruded on the brake lines heaps, and the brake lines themselves must have only just been nicked as fluid doesnt piss out...just a trickle. I think they should be able to force the channel back into line to get to the entire brake line. Intererestingly, he says that I dont really have to get that damage to the channel repaired, so I dont intend to as long as I can regsiter the vehicle (as I mentiond previously, car already has rust... no point pouring money into this particular car body, I will save the pennies and get a body with a manual trans with a dead engine some time in the future - would end up being cheaper then repairing the rust, channel and gettin a manual conversion!!).

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abew330

· #10 · Jan 31, 2007

hope you get it fix.. and doesnt cost you an arm and a leg

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Luckynumber5

· #11 · Jan 31, 2007

Man reminds me of when my friend went to jack up his EVO 8, he misjudged where the jack was and he put a huge bump into his cars passenger side floorboard big enough that your knees would not rest even, fixed it with the good ol engineering stick (hammer)

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Aussie_Camry

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jan 31, 2007 (Edited)

^

Lol yeah, Im thinkin of doin that on mine... the bent peice is still intact, and the mechanic doesnt intend to change it either. An update, here is an interesting twist!!!! The brake line was leaking not because of my crash (although it may hav showed it up) but because the previous owner put a f*ckin bracket in on the floor, putting a screw through one of the lines (Funny to cos i walked into the shop just as they discovered it)!!! Must have sealed itself until now cos fluid level hasnt gone down in the year Ive owned it. Bad news is Im $350AU poorer as they have to drop the fuel tank to do the job!!! :disappoin :sosad: (Price seems excessive, but it is a prity big job I spose)

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Luckynumber5

· #13 · Jan 31, 2007

Man, NOTHING beats the feeling I got when I fixed hix $35k car with a hammer.

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