# Help! radiator support in bad shape



## DSGSTX (Jun 23, 2010)

I have a 99 Maxima GLE V6 and I went to change the oil today. I bumped one of the plastic shrouds that is under the radiator core support trying to reach the drain plug and it made a squeaking sound. I took it off and the middle of the core support is rusted out and cracked everywhere. The crossmember that goes under the engine to the support is barely being held up right now. How many motor mounts are there for this engine besides the front one that I saw? I'm worried about having anyone drive the car because it doesn't look safe to me. Also, is it true these cars have electronic motor mounts? If they do, why? Please help and let me know what I can do. Thanks in advance, I'm new here.


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## 4thGenTinkerer (Nov 1, 2009)

Welcome to the Forum. The cross member you are referring to has two motor mounts, the one you saw in the front and the one in the back (firewall) side. In addition you have a trans. mount on the driver side below the airbox and one on the passenger side. Yes, these cars have some sort of electronic motor mounts for the automatic. Im thinking the electronic mounts just sense if they are worn out. I guess its possible they could somehow determine electronically the needed stiffness and adjust accordingly. They are what the FSM refers to as "fluid" type. Im sure some searching in this forum would provide the answers as to how these fluid MMs work and what their purpose is. 
As far as your rusty cross member goes, if you could post some pics or a video we could try to determine how bad it is and what you need to do to bring it back up to your standards. One thing i would like to point out is that when you put the car in drive and hit the gas, the engine is going to pitch towards the passenger compartment. Obviously reverse will put torque on that crossmember in the oppisite direction. This means you could drive the car in forward gears...easy....and no reverse doughnuts. Reverse doughnuts would not be somthing i would recommend. If the engine torques hard toward the front of the car it could result in the crossmember failing. I.E. go easy in reverse untill it can be fixed. Post some pics or video and we will come up with some ideas. 
Hope this helps, Good Luck.


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## DSGSTX (Jun 23, 2010)

Thanks for the reply. The whole front end is torn apart right now and I have the new radiator support getting welded in tomorrow. I ended up finding the support and a passenger front fender for my car and paid only $70. Everything should be perfect after that.


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## 4thGenTinkerer (Nov 1, 2009)

Cool. I would really like to see how the new radiator support is welded in. Im looking down the barrel of a simular procedure, just wondering how you went about it. I.E. cut out just the bad spot and cut and paste, or yank the whole thing. You mentioned getting a new fender so i can only assume you replaced the whole nine yards.


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## DSGSTX (Jun 23, 2010)

The core support was all one piece for the whole front. I replaced the whole thing and I got a new fender because the old one was rusted out at the bottom behind the bumper. I wanted to replace the fender before I even found this mess. We used an air chisel to pop the spot welds that held the old one in. The welder couldn't fit it in yesterday so he's doing it tonight. I did find out yesterday when I went to a dealer to get the bushings and bolts for the engine crossmember that the bottom piece of the radiator core support can be bought without buying the whole assembly. I wouldn't have gone that route anyway because I wanted the whole thing to be new and not have to worry about it again. They sell the bottom because the bottoms rust out, go figure. Just the bottom piece would cost $180 from the dealer.


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## 4thGenTinkerer (Nov 1, 2009)

Cool. I have a bit of a cancer spot in the same place, where the cross member bolts to the front under the rad supports. Its not terrible but i dont like knowing its there. Good to hear it worked out.


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## DSGSTX (Jun 23, 2010)

Finished putting the car back together yesterday afternoon. Everything worked out great and went back together with very minor adjustments. The welder did an excellent job also. We weren't sure how easy it was going to be for him and neither did he. We did have to pull hard on some spots so he could clamp them so holes would line up for the fenders, etc. He welded the piece in for $50, which was more than reasonable because it was a high-school friend of my boss's. I sanded the whole support piece and all the welds and painted it with a black engine enamel for protection. Someday the fender will be painted and so will the hood, other fender and driver's side rear door. I just needed to get the car back together because I only have 2 vehicles, the Nissan and my F150. So while the car was down, my brother had to drive my truck to work and I had to get a ride from my boss for a couple days. Good luck whenever you do yours. It looks like a lot of work but think about how much a body shop would charge, because a regular mechanic wouldn't do it.


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## 4thGenTinkerer (Nov 1, 2009)

I just aquired a sweet parts car for $500. Its a 97 cali spec with 117k on it. Smashed on the drivers side rear so the rear fender is FUBAR but the rest of the car is sweet. Im swapping the seats and other interior stuff. Also came with a spare engine and 5speed trans from an i30. Dont know what year or how many miles the i30 stuff has, but im looking into the trans swap. The front of the car is super nice, also its the SAME color as my 96. I was really stoked to find one the same color. Anyway glad to hear your project worked out. How does the car drive after the surgery?


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## DSGSTX (Jun 23, 2010)

Car drives just fine. All I have to do is put the wheel well plastic back in as well as the underbody plastic shrouds, this weekend's project. While I was putting stuff back together I decided to go to Pull-A-Part and get a passenger headlight because the old one was broken and shimmed/glued back together. Never noticed it before. Only bad thing is the light is from a 96 and I have a 99. The lens is different because my old lights have a smooth lens and the 96s have a lens with lines throughout. Oh well, still lights up the road and that's all I need for now. Maybe someday I'll get the other 96 light so they will match.


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