• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

Strut tower pushed in what’s the best way to do this?

2manyturbos said:
That is a simple fix for a competent frame shop. You are looking at ~ 2 hours of set up and measure time and and 1-2 hours of pull time. I've had damage much worse than that repaired by old time frame masters in less than 4 hours. The problem these days is finding someone that actually knows what they are doing. A fellow Autocrosser ran off course 2 years ago and hit a boulder with their LS1 powered 240SX and has been trying to get it fixed for over a year. It has been to 3 shops already. The first shop was run by some young dumbasses that didn't even know what a datum sheet was, yet, they claimed they were a frame shop. The car has been at a different shop for at least 6 months with zero progress. I saw a Facebook post from the owner saying they were yet again picking the car up because nothing was happening with it. If I still had access to the frame rack I used to have the car would have been done in a long day of set up, making several pulls in different directions while measuring constantly to keep from going to far. Other than the way the car sits, it is hard to tell it is even damaged.

As far as the tower on your 240 is concerned: I pulled one worse than that using a black walnut tree to lock the car down and my 23 hp diesel tractor as the other anchor point since I don't have two trees close enough together. I'm not going to tell you how to do this because without previous experience you will either seriously hurt yourself or mess the car up worse than it is.
Click to expand...

I started in this industry right when analog measuring was going away, but there's no excuse for not knowing how to use the equipment. We use Car-O-Liner racks (they're even made in Sweden), and they have electronic data sheets for all kinds of pretty much every production vehicle since the 60s.

The problem is that any competent body/frame tech is doing insurance work all day, and customer pay jobs like this are a lot of work for not a lot of money.

A body tech needs be doing at least 2x hours to make a decent living and frame work is damn near impossible to make that kinda time, in my experience.
 
2manyturbos said:
You bend the tower you are pushing against doing that. It's physics, pure and simple. The lock down areas have to be much stronger than the area being pulled.
Click to expand...
He used the opposite frame rail and cross member if I'm remembering correctly. Rally repairs, not the best but they do usually work :)
 
Here's a page from the body greenbook with some dimensions so you can see how badly it's bent. I've worked with a frame machine and know how easy it is to bend a unibody car in the wrong place if it's not tied down properly.
Screenshot_20250414_151352_Samsung Notes~2.jpg
 
culberro said:
He used the opposite frame rail and cross member if I'm remembering correctly. Rally repairs, not the best but they do usually work :)
Click to expand...
That would work. That is how the car is locked from moving sideways when doing that kind of a pull. On a rack the frame rail would resist the sideways pull. If the OP wants to park his car on the train tracks after installing a large diameter piece of pipe in between the rails in concrete and then chaining the car down, he could pull the tower himself. He would have to find a siding that isn't in use and has no security. ;)
 
Fwiw, I had a body shop out here in central TX repair the same damage on my 242. Passenger strut tower was bent up from bottoming out the suspension, probably, but it wasn't as noticeable as op's. Cost $950 for 13hr of labor. The shop owner ended up taking a Ford F-350 door as payment. Definitely got myself a deal with that.
 
2manyturbos said:
If it was something like a quarter panel or apron that needed to be pulled back in shape I would help you. You could drag your 240 sideways using the top of the strut tower and it won't return to where it needs to be. So, what are you going to use to lock the car in place, the antenna? ;)
Click to expand...
I was thinking the headrests
 
Is this even turbobricks anymore. Body shop?
Frame alignment machine?

Op. Chain the passenger side of the car to your house. Multiple locations.

Use a come along, tie it to your tree, and then make a plate to bolt it to the strut tower bolts. Ratchet strap it until it's within specs hiperauto posted.

Make a strut tower rod out of some steel laying around. Install it while still under tension. Also install home made gt firewall braces.

Drive car for another 30 years/
 
My kid smashed in the 960 front nose.
I fixed it with a new hood and fender ,a big hammer, some ratchet straps and my eyeballs. The hood now closes better than the original hood
 
spock345 said:
We fixed @Pietercc's car with a pair of random hammers and a 2x4 after the (second?) deer strike.
Click to expand...
I spot weld Drilled out a radiator support cowl at the junkyard because I thought the crushed one was trash. Turns out I just needed to tie the bent one to the garage and go in reverse until it looked " good enough " then pound it with the hammer and some duckbill vicegrips for like 30 minutes

Op has a trash beater car. It just needs to be "straight enough "
 
240 240 said:
Well then just pound the shit out of the master cylinder until it doesn't rub
Click to expand...

IMG_5960.jpegGot my fender to sit somewhat nice after extensive banging in the inner fender. Only thing I’m hoping for now is my hood to fit without overlap on the damaged side as I don’t have a set in of hinges yet. I’m praying I can get away with it but I feel that it would be unlikely for it to go this well. My hood latching system might be a little screwed up too so that could be a factor in not lining up.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top