need part name =/

[thedeadcivic]

some kind of metal support beam that connects to my axel has snapped in half. does anyone know where to find some kind of picture or diagram labeling the parts on the inside of the wheel well? i just need the name of the part.... i would upload a picture of it but my file host isnt working right now... =/
my car is a 1990 Honda Civic Si

i dont know if thats enough information but if someone has any idea what it would be, it would be really helpfull to know.

nick

[Tony]

Support beam that connects to the axle? This the front end we are talking about? The only thing I can think of that even touches the axle is the Spindle where the wheel is and the transmission. I don't think the D16A6 had a half shaft, which would come out the transmission and run behind the block, then bolt to the block and the axle shaft goes into it.

A little better description would help.

[thedeadcivic]

hmmm, well, i sent you an email with the pictures attached. its the front passenger side. the wheel is very easy to move around, and when i was driving it home i noticed it pulled to the right when accelerating, and it pulled to the left when i let off the gas. also, there was a loud grinding noise when i stepped on the brake too quickly. sorry for lack of details in last post. that was dumb.

[Tony]

Its not a problem, pictures are worth a thousand words, especially when your talking car parts. There are so many different names for parts, there can be 10 names for one part. When I started working in a salvage yard, there was a lot of parts that I knew what the part was, but they use a weird name for it....like a "strut rod", come to find out it was a radius arm...nothing to do with the strut.


typed that before I looked at the pictures.....kinda odd that your broken beam happens to be the radius arm. If you call a salvage yard or something and they don't know what a radius arm is #1 they should be shot, #2 just tell them strut rod and maybe they will know that. The rear part of it bolts to your lower control arm with 2 bolts, and the front is bolted to the front crossmember with 1 nut. But I wouldn't drive it if you can get away with it, if you have to try and get a ride to go pick up the new part and replace it real quick, its not a big job really.

[FrodoGT]

Just wondering..how the hell did you snap that baby? And I would think that it wouldnt move at all with that thing broken, I dunno. And Tony, I was thinking the exact same as you, the int. shaft..and then radius arm.

[Tony]

Its a clean snap, I haven't seen one snapped like that at work, seen them bent, but not a clean snap like that.

[thedeadcivic]

yeah im not too sure how it happened. i drove it to work and left it in the parking lot for the day, and when i went to drive home 10 hours later it was broken. oh well... ive got a friend who works at a wrecker and he gives me new parts all the time (mostly outer visual parts) but this is the first important part that has broken on me. thanks a lot for your help i gonna go find it now.

[thedeadcivic]

i got my buddy to look at the wrecker to find the radius arm. also, he says he can get two new ones for under 100$ which sounds better to me. any idea how long it would take to replace one of them? also, can i take it off without disrupting anything else that its attached to?

[Tony]

Its not that hard to replace, just 2 bolts on the lower control arm, get those broken loose but not all the way off. now there is a big nut on the front of the arm on that goes through the crossmember, take that one all the way off, might take a little while, but get it all the way off. Now go take off the 2 nuts on the control arm and pop the arm out of the control arm and then pull the front out of the crossmember, which will probably take a little wiggling, but shouldn't be too bad.

[FrodoGT]

Yeah, only problem is getting to the two bolts on the control arm, just some stuff might get in the way, no biggie but prevents you from efectively getting a ratchet or air tool on it.

[Tony]

Alright, I pulled in a 90 4dr today, looks like your gonna need a 17mm wrench and a 17mm deep socket. I believe you can just take that off and replace it only, but it would be easier with the axle out of the way, then you don't have to resort to the wrench. its 2 17mm bolts on the control arm, and a 17mm nut on the front crossmember.

[thedeadcivic]

yeah i got the two off on the control arm, but the one in the front is a little tricky because the other end of the rod isnt connected to anything. so when you try to turn the bolt, the whole thing spins. ill try again tomorrow though. its raining here now.

[Tony]

Yea, that is why I said don't take the bolts all the way out of the control arm until you get that front one off because it will spin the whole thing.

[thedeadcivic]

the problem was that the rod was snapped in the middle, so it spun no matter what. i just used the biggest adjustable wrench i could find and clamped it. the problem now is that the two bolts on the control arm are not lining up. Still havent been able to fix it. probably just gonna get it fixed at canadian tire... itll cost me about 100 cad. because i already have two strut rods from a wrecker. still seems expensive for the job. i just nothing else is bent out of place. anyone think its possible that anything else is screwed up since the threads dont line up?

[thedeadcivic]

the problem was that the rod was snapped in the middle, so it spun no matter what. i just used the biggest adjustable wrench i could find and clamped it. the problem now is that the two bolts on the control arm are not lining up. Still havent been able to fix it. probably just gonna get it fixed at canadian tire... itll cost me about 100 cad. because i already have two strut rods from a wrecker. still seems expensive for the job. i just hope nothing else is bent out of place. anyone think its possible that anything else is screwed up since the threads dont line up?