You shouldn’t be pulling the crossmember tight against the subframe with the bolts. You should attache it to the tranny and jack it up tight against the subframe.
Then tighten the torque bolts.
Also the crossmember may not be fitting into the solid subframe bushings you’ve installed and it’s pulling the crossmember causing the cracking. Maybe if you grind down a little bit of the crossmember piece that goes into the solid bushing “clearance it” you won’t have this issue.
Just some ideas, but I’m sorry to hear about this. I’ve never really been interested in these solid mounts, I’d probably prefer to just have a little bit stiffer rubber ones…if not just replace with new OEM. The other mounts, which you probably have are the biggest improvement IMHO.
When I removed the front subframe I supported the transmission with the transmission jack from Harbor Freight. I was going to use the engine support bar but couldn’t find any lift points on the engine. I’m not sure if JHM removed them to make room or if I couldn’t see them. Either way I used my jack and a towel to support the engine under the oil pan. At that point I had nothing left so I improvised and used 3 boxes, 1 under each side, to catch the subframe when I removed the bolts. Worked pretty well.
Did the same for the rear subframe which was way heavier but I didn’t need boxes, I just supported the front with my hand, the back with the transmission jack, and then used the impact to remove the bolts. I wouldn’t suggest doing this job without an impact but that’s just me. I also already had the rear diff pulled when I did this just so you know.
So is this issue your having strictly from having the 034 motorsport aluminum bushings (on the front subframe?)
I ask because i was planning on gettting them installed this weekend, but if there is a chance i may break the crossmember before my big trip then i might hold off.
You can also see the indentations left from me bolting them in. The openings in the bushings aren’t big enough to fit the entire nipple(I guess that’s what you’d call it) from the crossmember. That gives it room to swivel and line up all three bolt holes on each side.
Euro also made a great point that it’s not helping when I bolt the crossmember to the transmission and use the bolts to lift the transmission into place. It’s better to bolt the crossmember to the transmission, then jack the transmission up to get the crossmember and subframe flush with he bottom of the car. Then tighten everything.
GAP is shipping out a new crossmember to me today with 2 day shipping. I’m going to install everything that day and I’ll make sure to update the thread. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen again.
Maybe Jimmy will jump in at some point as he installed his without issue as far as I know.
Finally, if you’re paying to get them installed, you’ll at least have the peace of mind that the shop will have to eat the cost of breaking the crossmember
I was looking to drop my rear subframe, but my bolts are on TIGHT, I was going to support the rear subframe under the diff to take tension off the bolts. (sorry to steal your thread)
Yeah you can do that too. You don’t need to remove the rear diff and if you don’t it’ll definitely work for a surface to hold it up while you remove the bolts. You just can’t go down as far if the driveshaft is still connected to it obviously.
I see what you did there Might be an issue when I get the final stage 2 setup. How’s that coming? I want to embarrass some people in the roll race competition I entered in 2 months.
The trick is bolting the crossmember to the transmission and then jacking the transmission all the way up until the crossmember is flush with the bottom of the car.
Appreciate your dedication to solving the issue and getting this completed. Sure you know to torque your control arm bits with suspension loaded. Just a friendly reminder.
Thanks bud and yes sir I do . However now I don’t need to do that with the front uppers and rear uppers thanks to the spherical bearings. Can’t wait to get those for the front lowers, they’re just really fucking expensive and my front lowers are in perfect condition.
