1998 Grand Am SE Coupe.. Body Cracking

The body of this car is cracking from the front pillar between the door and the side window. It cracking right in the bend.

Has anyone seen this before?

I bought the car new and it is has never been in an accident... Are those pillars fiberglass or something.

Don't tell me that this one is flexing like my 1995 GMC Sierra did.. I sold that after getting it fixed 6 times in the first 2 months. The back window kept falling out. Sure it was under warranty, but it was still a nuisance to get fixed.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeffrae
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The body is steel with the exception of any ground effects the car might have. Two vehicles that the body is flexing and cracking on? What kind of re\oads do you drive on?

nospam

Reply to
NoSpam

I've seen it on unibody construction but not until about 200k miles.

Reply to
=?x-user-defined?Q?=AB?= Paul =?x-user-defined?Q?=BB?=

The GMC did not ever Crack... Window just kept popping out... My 94 Grand Prix never cracked. I had that until 195K miles..

My 98 Grand Am just has that little inch long crack that I just noticed at

80k miles.. The body is beautifull shape otherwise.. No Rust.... Some chips in the hood from driving the interstate... Rock chips and so on..

It will probably be ok.. Mostly interstate driving for me.

Jeff

Reply to
jeffrae

Has someone been playing Dukes Of Hazzard with your car?

Perhaps the car was banged up before you purchased it and were not informed about it.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~_~279, 000 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

Reply to
Harry Face

Paul wrote :: I've seen it on unibody construction but not until 200K miles.

Uh Oh ! I'm 79,000 past due.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~_~279, 000 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

Reply to
Harry Face

Look carefully around the B pillar.

(That Imports spam site crashes my Netscape also.)

Reply to
=?x-user-defined?Q?=AB?= Paul =?x-user-defined?Q?=BB?=

What you have is a stress crack. Which means your car has seen, and is seeing Extreme Flex.

Stress Cracks are common on all 82 to 92 F-bodies (Camaro, Firebird, Trans Am) where the B-pillar meets the roof. F-body cars Flex, and Twist under normal driving conditions. They are the Extreme in GM flex-I-fliers. All GM Uni-body cars will flex, trust me, owning a lift proves this. Lift a GM Uni-body car by the factory lift points, not the emergency jacking points, and it's a 50/50 gamble if the doors will open.

Yet for a Grand Am to exhibit such flex on the road as to crack the A-Pillar, you have a serious issue. The Pillars are some of the strongest parts of the body. They have to be able to hold the weight of the car from crushing the roof in, during low speed roll overs. When you think about the weight of a car, compared to the size of the pillars, and the fact that they will hold. You get an idea of how ridged they are. On that note, if the pillar keeps cracking, you will have a cracked, if not crunched windshield.

You car should be inspected right away. Not by a dealer, but by a body shop that specializes in frame collision work. Don't give them any stories, don't mention any thing about suing the manufacture, ect ect. Just get an un-biased report of the cause, and how extensive it is.

As for the truck you had, to lose 1 back glass meant a serious problem. To lose 6, and not have the dimensions checked, was moronic on someone's part at the service center. Truck cab's don't flex. Lose two body mounts, and they don't flex. They shake. They do not normally even distort around the remaining mounts. Only under extreme duress do they, normally by then the driver would be dead.

They will buckle inwards from impacts. So unless someone had dropped enough of a load on the roof of the truck to deform it, pushed in on the car sides, and the bed wall. The window should not have popped out unless the panels were not joined in alignment and measurements. This would have also shown in the door gaps, and the fender to door gaps.

Charles

Reply to
Charles Bendig

Nah. Turns out the owner lives close to me... Talked to the dude.. He traded it in for a Dodge Truck. All he ever did was replace the alternator..

Reply to
Jeffrae

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