I have a 1993 LS400 ...Well my front cross-member split in two... I need to know what i should remove to get new one in., Any help will help.... do i need any specific tools to do the job...thanks My part will be here in two days so any and all info would be useful.

 

here is pic....

 

how the heck did that happen?

 

Did you go off of a jump?!

 

no i didnt.... i was parking and i heard noise and i took that pic to see what it was... I need any help i can get ....

 

have no idea i was thinking there was a defect... i did bottom out a long time ago . it must of cracked and now finally broke... i got the part just have no idea where to start on taking it all apart...

 

Clean your lower control arms and mark the camber bolts and washers. Actually I suggest when it's back together you get it aligned.

You might be able to remove and reinstall it with 10mm to 19mm sockets, ratchets, and wrenches. I strongly recommend an engine lift and torque wrench. And while you're at it, now would be a perfect oppurtunity to replace engine mounts.

I might be missing details but this should be enough to go off of.

Support car on jack stands. Remove steering damper. Remove steering rack and support it. Turn steering wheel to one side and remove camber adjuster from the lower control arm on that side. Repeat with the other side. Do something to support the engine. This is where an engine lift is handy. There should be six nuts - two for the lower engine mounts, two on the left side of the crossmember, two on the right side of the crossmember. All six nuts on the bottom. Remove these and you should be able to remove the crossmember.

Replace crossmember and reinstall in reverse of removal. I forgot to note remove any engine under cover first.

Check for damage - pinched or broken feuel, brake and vacuum lines. Or even damaged wires.

And don't forget to get an alignment.

I'm going off memory. Be careful.

 

that will get me started... so i dont need to take out the shocks in the front?

 

Maybe. it will depend on how much clearanceyou get by disconnecting the lower control arms from the crossmember.

 

I had a few drinks so now I'm thinking normal. You might have an easier time with removal because the member is in two pieces. I recommend you check out www.lexls.com specifically tutorials -> suspension and axles. He made write ups with pictures and lists of tools needed to remove most suspension arms. I suggest you read through those tutoriaks before starting to get an idea of what's involved to put it all back together.

 

I have seen LS/SC chassis take 3ft jumps and 8+" potholes and not damage the solid aluminum subframe that badly. wow.

make sure to support the motor, UCA/LCA and everything else that mike described earlier has to come out and get transferred to the new subframe.

 

Something's fishy here. The metal in the split is fresh. that doesn't look like it slowly happened over time. I'm very curious how this happened.

 

given that both ribs failed i'm 95% sure that's an impact fracture...