Crack in chassis. Game over?

As part of my fix up of my 93 Cabby I had the steering rack replaced. I had this done by a mechanic as I felt it was a little too big for me. He discovered a crack in the chassis, near the driver side floor pan and running up the firewall that was flexing and upsetting the wheel alignment.

I know it's hard to answer, but how screwed am I? Is this a write off?

The good news, if any, is that the crack isnt wide and isn't rusty.

This is such a shame. I bought this car for $900AUD 3 years ago from a guy who had it sitting in his shed for years. I was rust free, but barely running. Over the years I slowly pieced things back together and learnt sh*t loads about cars in the process (and with many thanks to the people here). Today - getting the steering rack done - was the last big thing to be done. Then engine runs smooth, it's got a brand new roof, original paint polished up, suspension set up great…and now this.

Sorry if I'm going on. It feels like a family pet is dying.

first thing is clean the underseal away and see just how bad the crack is. if there is a load of corrosion around it then you might want to think hard about scrapping it, but it could still be savable just comes down to time and/or money.

does it have the oem K bar stiffener underneath? if not try to get one, or at least a lower strut bar. get the front in the air and remove both wishbones, then try to get the bar on there making note of the key measurements in the files 'jig - mk1 xxx' and jig - scirocco 2.pdf'

once thats all bolted together and measurements check out have another look at the crack, see what you think

rubjonny said

first thing is clean the underseal away and see just how bad the crack is. if there is a load of corrosion around it then you might want to think hard about scrapping it, but it could still be savable just comes down to time and/or money.

does it have the oem K bar stiffener underneath? if not try to get one, or at least a lower strut bar. get the front in the air and remove both wishbones, then try to get the bar on there making note of the key measurements in the files 'jig - mk1 xxx' and jig - scirocco 2.pdf'

once thats all bolted together and measurements check out have another look at the crack, see what you think

Thanks John,

Forgive my ignorance, but are you suggesting a lower bar and/or lower strut brace could increase the life of the car by, in a way, holding things together (yes I'm grasping at straws)?

I feel the crack is small - the mechanic missed it the first time he installed the rack and only picked it up when I took it back (he'd done it wrongly) and someone was shining a light down from above.

well VW fitted a K shaped bar to some of the cabrio and scirocco, but I'm not sure if/when it was standard. these are the best ones if you can find as they tie the wishbones and roll bar mounts together

it was more a case of hold it all together and/or close up the crack so everything is in the right place before welding it up kind of deal, I certainly wouldn't drive it any further

the rack mounts are also worth a look while you're there as these can be prone to crack as well

no that can be fixed if its not bent in other areas, I had one with the exact same crack. it is not a huge job to replace that triangular panel if you can find a donor car. probably only 20 spot welds to drill out and 3 lines of weld to grind away. although it could be difficult to drill the spot welds with the gearbox fitted so might need a lot to be removed.

 the other option is to weld the crack up which would be easier and the addition of a lower brace would strengthen it

have a good look about to see if there are any more cracks in the area also look in the engine bay, bulkhead and panel that the wishbone mounts on to  

Well, she's saved!

I installed a lower strut brace, which aligned everything together. The strut brace it's self prevented the flex issue and closed the crack up as much as possible.

I also removed the front passenger seat, carpet and sound proofing to check if the crack had reached the floor pan, but all was fine.

Not having the space, knowledge or tools to weld, I then took it to a smash repair shop who removed the brakelines, welded the crack up and welded some sheet steel over the trouble area, and resealed it.

All in all it was expensive - almost $1,000AUD (580GBP) including the brace, but that's still less than a new car.

Thanks to Rubjonny and sporttrucker for giving me these ideas.

Cheers