crack in chassis tube (now with pic)

[dc5ian]

just found a crack in the chassis, near the drivers side (uk car) engine mount.

is this a common problem?

whats the best fix?

thanks guys

[meladdo]

Could do with some pictures of this - cant comment without. Interesting though - what is the cars history and its main uses? Mainly track, Road?

[dc5ian]

for some reason my photo bucket account is not working so i cant upload the pic.

i can email it to someone.

last owner of the car just used it as a track toy.

ive been told by two people in the trade just to weld it up.

[John Scherrer]

No - Don't get it welded down the road, contact the factory first for advice and guidance !

It happens but rarely ...

See Track Boy's post Reply #35
http://www.atomclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,14203.msg253898.html#msg253898

The Atom 3.5 has additional chassis bracing at the back to partly address this ..

[ChuckUK]

Crack in the chassis  then the newer model has more bracing, in normal car land isn't that a recall ?

[julian]

What's the mileage & year? How long have you had it and do the factory know it's history?

Contact Ariel, don't just get it patched up in some back street garage.

This is not the first time it's happened which is a bit of a worry.

Julian

[dc5ian]

car is 2006, 245. done 17k miles

[dc5ian]

spoke to ariel they said two options, 1 is 2 weld it up and the other is to get that tube replaced.

[julian]

Do Ariel know the car, and what will they charge to fix? That would be my route, at least they can then vouch for it plus put anything else right.

[speedmachine]

on the Sector 111 blog they state the Atom chassis is so easy, because it is easy to fix in most cases of small damages without any harm for the strength. So I guess if it's a little crack on the weld or tube, you can just weld it up, paint it and don't think back about it

have a look at this link, they swap an enitre piece, so I think you'll be ok!
http://sector111.blogspot.nl/2013/03/atom-chassis-repair-quick-easy.html

[dc5ian]

£2500 to replace that tube, engine out jobby.

ariel know part of the cars history, its been looked after but its had a hard life.

[speedmachine]

2500 is a lot of money, not sure about your skills, but I would take the engine out myself and have Ariel replace the tube, that job alone can't be more expensive than about 3-400 pounds I would say..it's just a tube.
Or just have it welded, it's not rocket science, if they replace the tube, there is gonna be some welding involved either way. If the crack actually is ón the tube and not in the old weld, than it could break again right next to the weld, the weld is than the stiffest/hardest point.

This will only happen though if this point is a weakspot of the chassis, but there are just a couple of cars with the issue, so I would try and weld it first, easy job for a proper welder.

[julian]

£2,500 wow, depending on when they last saw it they will find other issues. I really hope it doesnt turn into a false economy buying cheap.

I bought my first one, very clean with low mileage, took it to Ariel for safety check and came away a couple of thousand lighter in the pocket which I hadn't accounted for.

Good luck with repairs etc.

[speedmachine]

[quote="julian"]
£2,500 wow, depending on when they last saw it they will find other issues. I really hope it doesnt turn into a false economy buying cheap.

I bought my first one, very clean with low mileage, took it to Ariel for safety check and came away a couple of thousand lighter in the pocket which I hadn't accounted for.

Good luck with repairs etc.
[/quote]

Just curious, but what did the factory find, worth a couple of thousands, what you weren't able to find out by a thorough inspection yourself and a proper testdrive before buying?! They aren't highly advanced cars, what you see is what you get...

Or did you have play on some bearings and did the engine need a rebuild 

[julian]

From memory it was rod ends, upgrade on cooling system. Car was a very clean example, 3-4 years old when I bought it. It had been well serviced but not by Ariel who hadn't seen it since delivery so it needed retrospective upgrades to bring it up to scratch. I am not mechanically minded but I know Ariel like any main dealer are not cheap but the service you get is second to none. Take it in for a service and by the time other issues are rectified it will cost you £600- £800 It proved to be a good car with no issues for the 2-3 years I had it, hardly tracked which will be part reason why a crack has appeared in the one on topic.

By having the work done by Ariel made it easier to sell and Ariel gave it's stamp of approval. Incidentally, when I bought it it was the only one for sale in the UK and I was desperate to own one, probably over paid, now look at how many are for sale, sign of the times!

Julian