I wanted to see if anyone could give me a rough idea of how much it will cost me to get my core support replaced. I already have the new support, just need to have the old one cut and the new one welded in. It will prolly be a couple weeks befoe I can get her to a body shop for an estimate. TIA
-Bryan

Correct me if im wrong but isnt the 2gnt front core support like 3 pieces?

After working in a body shop and seeing what kind of work is done and then seeing a buddy of mine do it. It can be done outside of a body shop. if you have the time and patience, find a buddy or someone who can weld and there ya go!




2gnt (period)

Ok, well I looked it up in caps, and i guess it is several peices, however i got the entire core support as one unit, and I need to have it installed. I want a shop to do it so that it will be done right. Just looking for an idea on what to expect for labor.

eventhough caps and the parts show it as "pieces" its actuallly a part that is welded to the frame. the part # is there for primary assembly or repair work.
its not an "unscrew thes bolts and replace" thing
for shop prices your looking at a couple bills especially if you want it done right.
it might be cheaper if the WHOLE front of the car is striped down first so the welder can just get in and start cutting welds. any time you make a shop take off pieces they up the price. (think paint pricing, most of the cost is setup time the actually "work" dosent take that long)

Labor will eat your wallet. I'll tell ya how I got this done. First, I removed the fenders, bumper, & headlights. I then drilled out all of the factory welds with a 1/4" drill bit. You can easily see them, they are little round welds and there are a bunch of them.

After drilling, I had to get behind some of the welds with a hammer and chisel to break them loose. After I got the old support completely off, I started fitting the new one. If you have one of those aftermarket supports like what you see on ebay, then your most likely going to have to do a little bit more fitting than if you were to have an oem one.

After fitting everything and making sure everything sits like it's supposed to, I then drove the car down to the weld shop and they tacked the new one on and only charged me 1/3 hour which was a total of $20.

ok...I did happen to buy one off of ebay, and I have already removed my front bumper, headlights, and fenders, and my ac is out too. I don't feel comfortable messing with removal of it, so i wanted to have a shop cut the old one out, and then weld in the new one, that way it would be straight, since they have the equipment to do so. Or i was gonna see if they could just straighten the old one out and then i would have a core support just sittin around. So, what am i looking at, maybe an hour or 2 of labor?

First go to a good autobody supply store and buy a spot weld removal bit. Just ask and they will know what you need. It is used in a drill and works awesome. If you can do the tear down yourself it will save a ton of money. I have already replaced mine and it is easy to do. Just find all the spot welds and drill through the piece you are replacing not the side it gets welded to. Make sure to take measurements before to get front of car close to the same. Just take a pad of paper, tape measure and go to town. I would do this wherever you have access to a welder so you don't have to drive it. If you can find someone with a handheld spot welder its even better. They are easy to use as long as your welding surfaces are clean. The actual process of removal and welding is short. The fitting and measuring is the important part. Just don't be in a hurry and if someone else does it make sure they aren't a bunch of hacks.