Vt strut towers cracking advise please

[Logz55]

I've had the car over a year now it has been repairer before bit has had several owners the crash repairer today didn't seemed concerned about it so hopefully it's ok

 

[ConstantVelocity]

Did some googling and looks like the insurance industry is aware of this problem, have a looksee:
http://iagresearch.com.au/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=108

"The concern is that either the owner may notice it or
the repairer after the vehicle has been involved in
a frontal collision and therefore we may have an obligation to rectify the fault. "

So they will probably say it's normal and won't pay... I can't see any evidence of accident damage on mine, the cracking probably just happens from hitting potholes, speedbumps etc over time.

 

[iaydemir]

Did some googling and looks like the insurance industry is aware of this problem, have a looksee:
http://iagresearch.com.au/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=108

"The concern is that either the owner may notice it or
the repairer after the vehicle has been involved in
a frontal collision and therefore we may have an obligation to rectify the fault. "

So they will probably say it's normal and won't pay... I can't see any evidence of accident damage on mine, the cracking probably just happens from hitting potholes, speedbumps etc over time.

^^^ Thats a good find. I wonder when that doco was released?

For the record, im not saying its only caused by an accident. It seems common. Just saying its possibly a way of getting it professionally repaired for free if it was in a recent accident.

Just found the below;
http://forums.justcommodores.com.au...-1997-2002/67298-vt-series-1-strut-tower.html

Looks like it was in an accident in 2003, and he got the cracking fixed by insurance in 2008 lol

 

[ConstantVelocity]

^^^ Thats a good find. I wonder when that doco was released?

For the record, im not saying its only caused by an accident. It seems common. Just saying its possibly a way of getting it professionally repaired for free if it was in a recent accident.

Just found the below;
http://forums.justcommodores.com.au...-1997-2002/67298-vt-series-1-strut-tower.html

Looks like it was in an accident in 2003, and he got the cracking fixed by insurance in 2008 lol

Yep fair enough, would be worth a try. The VT1 in that thread does look pretty badly cracked.

 

[Chard]

I have had Vt's with issues like yours before but not as severe luckily,, they would just be starting at the top which is just a sealant so I clean the cracked section off and re seal it then put a strut brace in but also another thing to note and this is just not vt specific design is to look at this ~

best picture I could manage sorry but those nuts require tightening,, you have that bracket on both sides and all nuts to them should be tightened,, sorry again for the crappy pic ~ hopefully you were able to get what I was trying to point out

 

[Chard]

see if this pic worked ~
picture

 

[ItsJockey1996]

So my vx don't have the holes for a strut brace, how would I go with getting one done, just pre drill holes then go from there or what? Also mines only just starting to crack the sealant, should.i just take the guards off and remove the old sealant and put fresh stuff on it? Never had a commodore that has started to crack, so as you can tell I'm new to this stuff

 

[_R_J_K_]

Most Commodore strut braces just go from tower to tower, and TBH I doubt they do very little for this problem.

IMHO you should get the opinion of a panel beater if you're really worried, (on other cars at least) a lot of the time it's just the top layer of seam sealer and paint has cracked over however many years. It's not something you can knife off and just replace like shower silicon, it's the stuff that bonds the car together and creates a monocoque chassis in addition to the spot welds, it's in between all the panels of the chassis, not just on the outside.

 

[Aus78Formula]

A 10 yr old forum post isn't usually the best place for your first answer. Find a place that does suspension and bodywork, they can install a brace and carry out repairs at same time. And yes, VT-VX require drilling, later models had the studs to install on.

 

[Fu Manchu]

Or just put some new panel sealant on. Sika 227.