radiator support removal

[JpZero]

i have a 97 eclipse rs and i need to remove the radiator support in order to replace it ive searched on how to do it but none of the forums show how to remove it only that you do and replace it. i dont know how to properly remove it can anyone shed some light or show me a site that can show me how to do it? thanks.

 

[4UH8ERS]

i have a 97 eclipse rs and i need to remove the radiator support in order to replace it ive searched on how to do it but none of the forums show how to remove it only that you do and replace it. i dont know how to properly remove it can anyone shed some light or show me a site that can show me how to do it? thanks.

To remove the radiator support you have to drill out the spot welds, and a chizzle would be helpful here as well. You Will then need to spot-weld or mig weld the new support on. Not a fun job.

 

[JpZero]

sweet thanks i knew that i had to drill out the spot welds but is there like a specific thing i need to do or can i just drill them out? and how deep can i go? and do i have to spot weld it in the same places as before?

 

[2gAWDTalon]

Dude, I just did it on my turbo 2G... eeryone said it would be a bi***, blah, blah, blah, blah! It was not that bad.
1. Take your headlights out
2.Remove your fenders
3. Support your hood with somthing else as the hood support is mounted to the thing you are removing.
4. remove anything attached to the upper radiator support tie bar
5. remove the radiator
6. Start drilling out the spot welds. You can see them, they look like little circles... I used a regular drill bit just a tad larger the the spot weld, I just drilled all the way through untill there was a hole there. Some of them had a little weld still atached on the sides and I just stuck the drill bit back in and reamed the hole out.
7. Weld the new upper tie bar back in. I did not have access to a spot welding gun so I just Mig stich welded it in at the seams where it is under the fenders. I also added some weld here and there to reinforce it, like where the head light frames go under the support and where the AC condensor mounts to the top bolts.
Reassamble, it was easier then I thought it was going to be when I ####ed it up and relized what I had to do.

 

[totaleclipse_05]

Definitely use a chisel and hammer. Will make things a lot easier.

You do not need to add more welds to it. Should only need to put them where the stock locations are at from the spot welds. You can do a MIG plug weld and then grind the top flat. If you start adding more welds than stock and you ever get into a front end accident, it can not crumple up like it should. ALWAYS use the same amount of welds that it uses originally.

 

[4UH8ERS]

Yes, do use the same amount of welds in the original locations. You do not want to effect the crinkle zones.

 

[2gAWDTalon]

Definitely use a chisel and hammer. Will make things a lot easier.

You do not need to add more welds to it. Should only need to put them where the stock locations are at from the spot welds. You can do a MIG plug weld and then grind the top flat. If you start adding more welds than stock and you ever get into a front end accident, it can not crumple up like it should. ALWAYS use the same amount of welds that it uses originally.

Yes, do use the same amount of welds in the original locations. You do not want to effect the crinkle zones.

It is really not that big ofa deal, the Radiator Support upper tie bar is a very flimsy piece of metal, just put it in there right and attach it securely by welds. I could bend that piece with my hand if I wanted to so it is not like it wouldn't bend in a accedent.

Definitely use a chisel and hammer. Will make things a lot easier.

It took less the 15 minutes to drill them all out with a power drill and a brill bit, cant get much easier then that. I would think a hammer and a chizel would be harder, seeing that it would be powered by you and not electric.




I just did the project this guy is doing less then 2 weeks ago, so it is pretty fresh.

 

[totaleclipse_05]

It is really not that big ofa deal, the Radiator Support upper tie bar is a very flimsy piece of metal, just put it in there right and attach it securely by welds. I could bend that piece with my hand if I wanted to so it is not like it wouldn't bend in a accedent.

I don't see why you think it is necessary to "beef up" the front support. Replicate the same exact amount of spot welds with plug welds on the new piece. I went to school for auto collision repair and they stress this a lot. It was put in there a specific way. It is suppose to bend. If you beef it up and it doesn't bend like it's suppose to anymore, you have affected the way it is suppose to crumple as 4UH8ERS said. By doing this, you can even affect the way the airbags are deployed in the case of a collision. They are very sensitve sensors and rely on the way the car is put together. OP, use the same amount of welds as the original did.

It took less the 15 minutes to drill them all out with a power drill and a brill bit, cant get much easier then that. I would think a hammer and a chizel would be harder, seeing that it would be powered by you and not electric.

You don't necessarily want to make the holes bigger by drilling them out completely. Then you just have to make bigger plug welds, which for some people, can be a chore to get a nice, clean one. Drill through the spot weld and then take a chisel in between the two pieces and hit it. Comes out nice and easily if you do it right. I've done this numerous times with quarter panels, supports, etc. and this is the "right" way to do it.

 

[4UH8ERS]

It is really not that big ofa deal, the Radiator Support upper tie bar is a very flimsy piece of metal, just put it in there right and attach it securely by welds. I could bend that piece with my hand if I wanted to so it is not like it wouldn't bend in a accedent.

It took less the 15 minutes to drill them all out with a power drill and a brill bit, cant get much easier then that. I would think a hammer and a chizel would be harder, seeing that it would be powered by you and not electric.

I just did the project this guy is doing less then 2 weeks ago, so it is pretty fresh.

Uhhh...What are you doing? Nobody is arguing with you, it's your car do as you wish. We are just giving correct information based on standard procedure to best benefit the original poster.

The hammer and chisel is not to remove the welds. They make air powered and electrical air chisels as well. They are very common. You apparently don't understand.
The hammer and chisel is to break apart the small pieces of weld that are still attached after drilling. So we don't have to "waller out" the hole any larger than it needs to be like you did. It is not any more difficult or time consuming.

Do us a favor and post your information, which is helpful and dont argue or counter someone elses "good information" based on opinion. The original poster and future readers can negate what parts are not of interest to them. All good information should not be countered with arguments.

(BTW: thanks for posting pics for this thread thats always very helpful)

 

[2gAWDTalon]

Just giving my opinion...
Total eclipse, I did not meant to beef it up... I may have came accross wrong. I did not have a spot welder so I just seam weded it under the fenders and then added a few tacks on the underside where the headlight frames are. If I had to do it again I would try to get access to a spot welder.
Not trying to argue, so sorry if I came accross that way. I just dont think it is a presision thing we are dealing with here.
I was not trying to discredit your statements, so sorry if I came accross that way. You have went to school for this, I have not. I am just a home mechanic that fixes my car when stuff goes wrong, however the repairs I make seem to work very well.

 

[JpZero]

thanks again you guys everything has been a big help and im starting the project this week and hopefully should be done by the weekend depending on money issues and so forth but again this cleared alot up for me and what i need to do

thanks again ill put some pics up of the car with the damage and after when i finish

 

[totaleclipse_05]

Just giving my opinion...
Total eclipse, I did not meant to beef it up... I may have came accross wrong. I did not have a spot welder so I just seam weded it under the fenders and then added a few tacks on the underside where the headlight frames are. If I had to do it again I would try to get access to a spot welder.
Not trying to argue, so sorry if I came accross that way. I just dont think it is a presision thing we are dealing with here.
I was not trying to discredit your statements, so sorry if I came accross that way. You have went to school for this, I have not. I am just a home mechanic that fixes my car when stuff goes wrong, however the repairs I make seem to work very well.

You don't need a spot welder to put on a new piece. You just need a GMA MIG welder for steel and do plug welds in the holes where the spot welds were located. It's ok, you were just trying to help and I understand that. No hard feelings about the info above. I agree with 4UH8ERS about the pics above though, good job.

 

[Project2G]

Dude, I just did it on my turbo 2G... eeryone said it would be a bi***, blah, blah, blah, blah! It was not that bad.
1. Take your headlights out
2.Remove your fenders
3. Support your hood with somthing else as the hood support is mounted to the thing you are removing.
4. remove anything attached to the upper radiator support tie bar
5. remove the radiator
6. Start drilling out the spot welds. You can see them, they look like little circles... I used a regular drill bit just a tad larger the the spot weld, I just drilled all the way through untill there was a hole there. Some of them had a little weld still atached on the sides and I just stuck the drill bit back in and reamed the hole out.
7. Weld the new upper tie bar back in. I did not have access to a spot welding gun so I just Mig stich welded it in at the seams where it is under the fenders. I also added some weld here and there to reinforce it, like where the head light frames go under the support and where the AC condensor mounts to the top bolts.
Reassamble, it was easier then I thought it was going to be when I ####ed it up and relized what I had to do.

Great information. I'm parting out my 2gnt and a few people have been wanting the radiator support but I'm not looking forward to removing it and wondering if it's worth the $80 people have been offering me.

 

[david-b]

Great information. I'm parting out my 2gnt and a few people have been wanting the radiator support but I'm not looking forward to removing it and wondering if it's worth the $80 people have been offering me.

$80 is $80. When I was in my accident I bought one off ebay for like $125 or so. The shop where I got it redone at was going to charge ~$500 just for that piece. The place has great prices but that was a little off the wall even for a shop.

 

[Robb]

Anyone have the pictures for the radiator support again? Missed out on those and will be needing to remove one from a salvage yard Saturday.

 

[david-b]

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[Robb]

er - sorry - I meant pictures of the spot welds... I have to pull one at the junk yard tomorrow.

 

[david-b]

er - sorry - I meant pictures of the spot welds... I have to pull one at the junk yard tomorrow.

My bad. I thought you meant the support itself. I don't have any pics for the welds. Sorry.

 

[Robb]

Alright! I went to the junkyard today, started to remove the radiator support and had them cut out the welds for me since I didn't have a cordless drill with enough balls to do it myself. Now, the issue I have is the rad support on my eclipse... the welds that are on the 1995 GS I grabbed the donor from appear to be placed differently? In fact, I can't find the welds on the 1997 support since it's so bent up and whatnot. Here's a picture for everyone's enjoyment:

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Can anyone point me in the right direction what to drill out?

I also went down to Fredrick, MD today to pick up my crossmember (center) from Best Auto LLC on 4th St... if anyone in the tristate is looking for a part, I highly recommend them... the hour and a half trip was worth it. The crack in my windshield of my daily driver, however, was not.

 

[97gsthatchtj]

hey robb i'm from frederick and i'm in the same situation as you. When purchasing a new support i was told that the turbo models have some different setups then the non turbo so that may be why the welds are not matching up.

 

[pullerfan]

yea i'm pretty sure turbo's have a different set up. that support is pretty messed up, just start drilling at the top welds and make your way down to the bent up part..

 

[dsmdonnie22]

this is prob a stupid question but i dont have access to a welder of any type so can i just drill straigt through and replace with bolts?

 

[RoninEclipse2G]

You can get some self tapping screws, but be careful, they might poke out into areas that they shouldn't. It's not as strong as welds either so consider that too. I've seen people use rivits when welds weren't available

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Bolts with wide washers will probably be stronger than screws, and even rivets. Just make sure to use lock washers... otherwise vibrations from the engine will loosen the nuts over time.

 

[dsmdonnie22]

so just replace the places where the spot welds are with bolts ?