What's the broken part? There's only four big bolts holding the cradle in. Those bolts should be marked with spray paint before removing them because it is critical for proper handling that the cradle be reinstalled in exactly the same location as it is now. Shifting it sideways will move the lower control arms and change "camber" on both front wheels. That's the direction they're leaning on top. Camber can be corrected with a basic alignment but it will not address the change in steering axis inclination, (SAI). That will lead to darting in different directions on bumpy roads, brake pulls, and just a miserable car to drive. More experienced alignment mechanics will always check SAI on GM front-wheel-drive cars, but less-experienced mechanics only check when they're told the cradle was recently removed. There is no spec given for SAI. All that is important is it must be nearly identical on both sides. This is only a GM issue. Other car brands have their cross members either welded in place or have locating methods that don't allow the cross member to be installed out-of-place.
SPONSORED LINKS
Sunday, February 26th, 2012 AT 10:13 PM
