1G Crossmember missing? Are these needed?

[Uncle Jacks Hands]

So it looks like I am missing one if not two pieces that come off of the front crossmember, I am assuming that these are needed, or am I wrong. And are there supposed to be two? If you have a pic of the proper setup it would be much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[fastnysix]

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[Uncle Jacks Hands]

Perfect thank you. Luckily I just picked a spare set up recently. Are they needed, I'm a little baffled as to why they are completely missing from when I purchased the car.

 

[NOSLO2PT0]

Someone might have dropped the motor out from the bottom maybe?

 

[Galipso]

The crossmember has a rear trans mount on it. It often gets in the way when configuring either a custom exhaust or intercooler piping or when taking the trans or engine out. Any one could be the reason your missing it, if the previous owner thought it was in the way and just removed it, I'd get one and add it back on unless someone disagrees.

 

[Uncle Jacks Hands]

Ok awesome, thank you both for the response. If anyone disagrees with adding back in or if this is something worth investing into an upgrade please let me know.

 

[motomattx]

Just a side note, you should not be jacking the car up or supporting it from where that jack is in that picture, that area is not strong enough and you will fold it.

 

[XC92]

Just a side note, you should not be jacking the car up or supporting it from where that jack is in that picture, that area is not strong enough and you will fold it.

I assume you mean so long as both cross members are missing, right? Because that's the FSM recommended jack front for the front end and the one I've been using on my '92 AWD w/o issue.

 

[motomattx]

I assume you mean so long as both cross members are missing, right? Because that's the FSM recommended jack front for the front end and the one I've been using on my '92 AWD w/o issue.

I still would not recommend picking them up right there, these cars are mostly rusted in those areas and prone to bending.

 

[XC92]

If they're too rusty to lift then wouldn't they be too rusty to drive, especially over roads that aren't in the best condition, risking front end collapse?

 

[97egl]

If they're too rusty to lift then wouldn't they be too rusty to drive, especially over roads that aren't in the best condition, risking front end collapse?

I believe he is talking about jacking it up by the radiator saddle where the red jack is. At first i thought he was talking about the blue jack stand but looked at the picture again and saw the red jack. Blue jack stand is properly placed under the control arm bushing "cap" which nicely fits on a jack stand. If the car where to bend there from rust then you have serious issues.

The radiator saddles are not very structural to the car. Mostly just there to hold the radiator, they may provide some minimal support between the frame horns (side to side) but the force you are apply upwards by jacking the car up from there is not a force that part of the car was designed to take.

 

[XC92]

I was referring to the front crossmember, which is a structural part of the car to which the left and right centermembers are attached (on an AWD like mine and this one), not anything forward of this that holds the radiator. It's specifically cited in the FSM as the jack point if you're raising the entire front end and not just one or the other side where you'd do it between the notch points on the pinch weld. That's where the red floor jack is positioned. But, again, this assumes that the two centermembers are still properly attached and structurally sound. If any of these isn't structurally sound, I assume you need to have that looked at and dealt with before you drive the car. I would.

 

[pauleyman]

Xc92 is right. This is a factory jack point and part of the entire front cradle. It isn't just a radiator support.

 

[motomattx]

I glanced at that picture and thought that it was a 2g and he was picking it up by the core support, thats why I said its not a good idea, I have seen guys pick them up there, on a 1g thats the cradle and that would be ok in that case.

 

[XC92]

It's how I've been raising the front end of my 1G. I put a piece of 2x4 on the jack saddle to protect the jack point, but it works fine. The only way it's not a good lift point is if it or the centermembers are badly rusted, in which case as someone wrote above you've got more serious problems. But the OP really should find replacement centermembers before driving his car again. These are structural parts.

 

[99gst_racer]

Perfect thank you. Luckily I just picked a spare set up recently. Are they needed, I'm a little baffled as to why they are completely missing from when I purchased the car.

To answer this question; I wouldn't recommend running without the two parallel bars for most applications. They are often removed for weight reduction or other reasons. For drag-specific race cars, it's not an issue. But I'd recommend against it for most street or other racing applications. If you notice, these parallel bars tie the lower position of the k-member together, front to rear. Without them in place, the k-member is prone to flex where the control arm bolts up and in time, this could promote cracking.

 

[XC92]

I think the OP said that they found 2 replacement members so they're good. I personally wouldn't think of driving the car without both.

 

[Uncle Jacks Hands]

Thank you all for the replies. I will locate some bolts and get the crossmember supports installed asap. I appreciate the help.

 

[XC92]

Ironically, for me at least, I'm about to take one of them off, the right one, so I can drop the trans. It's actually pretty rusty (but not to the point of being structurally unsound), so I needed to take it off anyway. I've been on a derusting, cleaning and painting mission of late. 28 years of driving in rainy and snowy climates does that to a car. Good luck with your "restoration" project.

Btw, I'm finding it a bit hard to find the right nuts and bolts for my Talon. Many are no longer available from dealers, at least under their catalog #. Where do you get yours? Some of them are very specific since they're structural, especially suspension frame-related ones.

 

[Uncle Jacks Hands]

So I'm not quite sure yet where I am going to get them from, I'll be checking my local hardware stores and comb through the internet if I need to. I found the crossmember bolt sizes on this page here if that is what you are looking for. https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/1g-crossmember-bolt-sizes.518671/ If you find anywhere to get these before I do let me know.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Try Fastenal. You will need to know your bolt size and thread pitch but they are my go to source, and luckily, we have one here in town.

 

[XC92]

Mine are still on so I'll just use the existing bolts/nuts. Make sure that whichever you buy are the correct grade and torque then per spec. Last thing you want is for one of these to pop off at highway speed.