madAd

Has anyone ever replaced their radiator core support? Some a-hole smashed my front right corner, I've gotten fenders,hood, and headlight, but I need to replace either the whole front piece, about $160 from Majestic, or at least the top bar that the hood latch is mounted to and the headlight pocket, first. These are all spot welded together so I don't know if I should have someone do it, or if someone here has a cheaper idea. Thanks

brandon21g

Sure you can do it yourself. Of course you would need a mig welder. Some sort of tram gauge for measurement. Those can be pricey though, mine cost me almost $500. Spec sheet for the measurements. Spot weld drill bits or just grind the welds till you just go threw. Vise grips, self tapping screws, and weld threw zinc primer. Try to pull or just beat the damage out with a large hammer before cutting the old one out. Use the tram to make sure you don't have frame damage of any sort. Score lines where ever you can before you cut the old one out.

Two other important things to think about. Don't buy a aftermarket core support and expect things to fit well. If I were you after you clamp down everything use a bunch of self taping screws to hold it in so you can take off all the vise grips and put all your parts on and make sure everything fits well.

That doesn't exactly cover everything but most of the basics. It's not really hard on the 01-05 civics it's just the cost of all the tools that are required to accomplish the task. Hope this helps out.

madAd

Yeah, I wasn't going to buy aftermarket, strictly genuine Honda. Majestic Honda has them for pretty cheap. Do you think it would be easier to replace the whole core support as one piece?, or would it be just as easy to replace the top brace and headlight pocket? This is the only part that has damage on the core support. I'm pretty sure I don't have frame damage. It wasn't a real high speed accident, and my driver-side wheel took most of the hit. Bent the control arm. So I've already replaced that and the knuckle 'cause it looked like that may have gotten tweaked. I've been driving it since May, the alignment seems fine, the wheel didn't get bent, just a little rash on the edge.

But yeah, all that sounds a little more involved than I can do, I've hammered and pulled out as much as I can. But I might have a friend of a friend that can do it for cheap. Even though I think I could cobble it together, I don't want the body lines/gaps all shitty looking.

Thanks for replying though man, I didn't think I'd ever get an answer on this.
You're not from Michigan or near by are you? Sounds like you would be able to do it, if you were up for it?

brandon21g

Yeah sorry man, I'm down in Atlanta. Pretty long drive. Replacing just those few pieces would work out fine as long as the adjacent parts are in good shape. As far as learning body repair goes, replacing core supports is probably one of the easiest things to learn. It's just a matter of getting the old part cut out without tearing up the adjacent panels, making sure all the measurements are accurate, making sure the welds have good fusion, and corrosion protection.

If you had a little money to invest in the equipment, you could learn how to do this and have the knowledge and tools for future use instead of paying for a bunch of labor. You could go cheap on the tools and equipment, you wouldn't need commercial grade for home use. I can try and help you threw the process if you needed it. As far as the gaps and stuff go, all you would need to do is test fit all your parts before you weld the support in.

Do you have any equipment already or would you be starting from scratch?

madAd

Well, I don't have a MIG welder, my father -in-law does. I do know how to use one. I don't have a tram gauge or anything. The side support that welds to the core support is a little bent, but I think it could be straightened out. I noticed the tabs that the fenders bolt to are pretty flexible so you can kind of manipulate your body lines by bending those. I just don't know if I should just buy the top cross-bar, or the whole front core support welded together already.

Thanks a lot for your input man.

madAd

I tried mounting my new hood and fender, just how it is right now, and the driver's side headlight is just a little inward, and I think high. But I think replacing the support and that headlight pocket, and straightening out the adjacent side support would put that back in the right place.

Hopefully I can get full-coverage back on it after I fix it so I don't have to go through this if it happens again.

speedfoos

iTrader: (17)

This is an easy thing to do. Once I got the front of the car disassembled, I think it took me about two hours to removed the old one and weld the new one back in to place. Definitely doable for a DIY if you have access to the aforementioned MIG welder.

madAd

Thanks guys, I think I might try it.

Did you replace the whole front support, or just the top beam? That's all that's really damaged on mine, but I don't know if it'd be easier to just do the whole assembly because then it's all tacked together, I'd just have to join it at the corners.

speedfoos

iTrader: (17)

The whole front support. I did an 01-03 to 04-05 conversion. Post a pic of the damage. That steel is pretty flimsy and you can probably massage it back into shape with a hammer and a set of vice grips and then weld a piece of 3/4" strap steel to the back for a little reinforcement.

madAd

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/a...7&d=1250116576

Here's a pic with it put together. I'll have to take one later where you can see the underbody.
I did quite a bit of hammering an pulling to get the pocket opened up enough to get the headlight in.