Had a short off-road adventure today (unscheduled).
After it was all said and done, I got off pretty lucky besides having to re-hang the exhaust on the middle brackets and this dent in the subframe crossmember where it meets the frame rails (I think that’s the vocabulary, I have very little experience with body jargon).
Here’s what it looks like…
The indent is probably half an inch deep and two inches across. Is this something that could degrade the integrity of the frame or is it cosmetic?
Thanks in advance for any comments.
I don’t think it’s going to affect the structural integrity of the frame, but I would take it in and have the alignment checked soon.
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Don’t worry about it.
You can cause that type of damage with a floor jack lifting the car at that position.
It’s not a hard spot.
And it’s done all the time.
Tester
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Thank you both! That puts my mind at ease.
I would put som primer and paint on it so it won’t rust.
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It’s an impact hit so I agree that the car needs to have the alignment checked.
Rust prevention may be the main concern, either prime and paint it or cover with an ablative (not hardening) type of undercoating, especially if you drive where road salt is used or near the ocean. Not a bad idea to check wheel well areas for chipping while you’re at it.
I’m pretty sure that subframe is alloy and not steel.
