Can this K-member be saved??

[willy]

Years ago my car was involved in an accident where it was hit in the passenger side nose. As you can see, the body shop did a wonderful job welding the crack by piling up a weld until it was a pile of dog S!@#$! So I pulled the K-member to check it out. I took some pics. of the underside to see how bad the crack actually was.

My question is: Do you think a weld shop can save this k-member? Would it be structurally safe?

Would it be better/easier to find a different one? This one is original to the car.

If it is savable. How would you pull measurements to ensure its not too tweaked? Thanks everybody for a great forum!!!

[4Cruizn]

I would say YES . . . alot can be done with a welder and some grinding!   

[mopardave]

cut it open a little and weld it up. Do a little grinding, All done.

[Topcat]

While you have it out, its a good opportunity to re-inforce the power steering area.
Here's mine after the re inforcing.

[willy]

Thanks for the comments and the suggestion of beefing up the power steering mount. Is the power steering mount an issue? I have never heard of it being an issue.

Also, would you suggest pulling diagonal measurements or something to make sure it won't cause alignment issues? The car pulled to the right, I just don't know if that was contributing to it. Thanks again to everybody!!

[72bluNblu]

Making sure the K member is within specs is the most important thing. If its straight, there's no reason that crack can't be welded up by a competent welder.

If the car pulled, its most likely some of the suspension components are bent (tie rods, center link, even control arms). You'll need to find what's bent in order to fix the pull. Its also possible that the frame itself, and not just the K member, is bent.

Here are some specs, not sure if you had a Challenger or 'Cuda. The K frame specs are the same, but the overall length is a little different.

[Topcat]

Thanks for the comments and the suggestion of beefing up the power steering mount. Is the power steering mount an issue? I have never heard of it being an issue.

There's been comments I read in the past that you might see the steering hoses moving when the wheels are moving back and forth. This indicated the Power steering box was flexing. I've seen this before happen in other car makes when I was a diagnostic tech. Especially happens once oversize tires are put on. Really not much work added so it certainly will help. Was a popular thing done in Road racing cars also.

[willy]

All I can say is THIS WEBSITE IS GREAT. Thank you to all the members for sharing your advice, expericence and expertise!!!!!!!!!

[344speed]

Anything {almost} can be fixed. This looks like it can be repaired. You just have to weigh the cost. Getting it lined up, welding etc. Like anything else it depends how much of the work you can do and what resources you have. Or you could find another undamged one including shipping for probably 100.00 bucks or less.

[challenger71]

Willy,
   Where are you located? I have one that i am selling out of a 73 chally.

[willy]

Marysville, Wa.