SUV GREAT COND. WELL MAINTAINED. 100K MI FRAME RECENTLY BROKE, NOTICED ENTIRE FRAME RUSTED. WELDER OF 30 YRS STATES CAN PUT NEW FRAME ON FOR APPROX 1500.00 I NEED OPINIONS PLEASE?
I’ve been welding for over thirty years, and if the sub-frame failed because of rust, there’s more rust that can’t be seen. And from expeirience, he won’t find a good solid piece of metal to weld to until cuts out all the rusted metal. And on this vehicle, it’s not worth the time, effort, or money. You do this type of thing on a rare/collector type of vehicle.
Tester
I agree with Tester.
This is a Honda Passport (actually a re-badged Isuzu Rodeo), not a Chrysler 300-C, or one of the original Buick Rivieras, or a '57 T-Bird, or a Nash-Healey, or a Rolls Royce.
Time to move on to a newer vehicle, rather than sinking more money into this one.
BRAND NEW TIRES 50 MI…JUST HAD INSPECTION 1 MONTH PRIOR TO BREAK. WOULDNT THEY NOTICE ANY OTHER RUST? I LOOKED UNDER CAR SAW NO OTHER RUST OTHER THAN FRAME THANK YOU.
I think either this guy’s yanking your chain or there’s some sort of miscommunication here. The labor for actually separating the frame from the body, engine, suspension, etc and putting a new frame on alone should be several days at least, and is he proposing to fabricate this new frame as well? If that’s what he’s proposing, you are not going to end up with a safe vehicle.
Since this is a body-on-frame truck as opposed to a unibody, it is theoretically possible to replace the frame with one from a donor vehicle, but paying someone else to do it will be prohibitively expensive-- many times more than what the thing is worth. And, like tester said, it’s impossible that the frame is rusted that badly that the body wouldn’t be as well.
It’s time to start shopping for a new vehicle, unfortunately. Since you’ve got relatively few miles on the drivetrain, one possibility is to try to find another Passport or Isuzu Rodeo with a good body but a bad engine or transmission and swap the drivetrain out of yours in. This will still probably be more expensive than just buying a used one, although you’ll end up with a drivetrain you know the history of at least.
WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS SUV…PARTS? SALVAGE?? I AM 59 YR SINGLE WOMAN. DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO. IDEAS???
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR PROFESSIONAL OPINION REGARDS, SANDY