Jim bailey - 928 International

How many of you have the folded sheet metal floor rails bent ( it looks like an extention of the front frame rails under the front seats visible under the car ) ? typically bends if lifted by a jack . Do you consider it "insignificant" . I would like to get comments from many of you ...thanks . Perhaps a second question has anyone ever seen a straight one ?

Drewster67

Just checked, mine are straight.

Randy V

Just a little dent in mine.

Are you asking if the bend itself is 'insignificant', or the negative effect(s) it may have upon the car?

Jim bailey - 928 International

the issue is should it be considered "frame damage" and "compromises the structure of the vehicle" ....

SteveG

Jim: If you mean did some mechanic lift the car at a point aft of the original concave thingy the emergency jack fits into and cause the rail to deform, yes, on one side only think. Of course it isn't limited to Pcars. I've seen a similar situation on other cars and it turns into a break and then rust and the rail is completely compromised. It this where you are going? If that isn't it, Never mind. (Emily Litella)

Brent 89-GT

Both sides on my GT are dented in several places. My 951 was the same way. If I were competing in Concours events I would be concerned. I don't, and I have not noticed any problems. I have also seen this on a variety of cars. The bends in my 928 are not bad enough to have broken the undercoating/paint. I have jacked the car using these but only with a 18" 2x4 underneath. It helps when you want to use the factory jack point for a jack stand. They don't get all bent up if you spread the force out with the board.

I guess I wouldn't consider it an issue unless there was a hole, or tear in the metal. Or, if it was something caused by an accident, I would avoid the car.

WallyP

Both of my cars have dented/bent rails, and I don't consider moderate denting/bending to be a structural concern.

If one of the rail were bent totally flat at some point, I might be concerned about the loss of stiffness at that point.

I believe that the rails could be straightened and repaired if it were necessary. Drilling holes, inserting the screw tip on a slide hammer, and pulling the dents out would get it pretty close from a structural viewpoint. If you wnated them perfect from an appearance standpoint, you could then fill the holes and minor dents and repaint.

Bryan

Mine are dented a little too. Probably from the dorks who do the state inspections. The dents are pretty small - nothing acute enough to affect the strength of the material. Steel can be deformed a little bit and not lose any strength.

Bryan

tresamore

Both of mine have assorted jack dents, a 944 I owned had them also. Why do you ask Jim, do you have someone trying to tell you its major so they can $teal a deal from you??

Jim V

I've seen this on hundreds of uni-body cars including my 928s, never had a car split it half yet!

If you are going to fix them, there are several holes in the top (under the sound-deadning) that may give enough access to pop em out.

Jim bailey - 928 International

A well known midwest retailer of Porsche cars bought an 87 s-4 at wholesale auction for $8,500 a low milage (under 70,000 mi)automatic . They are claiming "frame damage" due to jack dents on the seat rails .

4MIDLIF

If he doesn't want it...

(BTW, mine are dented, too.)

Chris

On my 87 one of the rails has some lift damage ... nothing that concerns me ... yet.

87 Autos are probably one of the worst 928's to shift on a lot (unless it is really special, low mileage doesn't count). Sounds to me like he is looking fro a way out of the deal.

Chris

User 4221

Both of mine are dented and the car aligns well within factory specs time after time.

I'm with Wally, in the grand scheme of things, this has minimal impact on the car's structural integrity.

HTH,
Scott

tresamore

There going to have a tough time with that one. If thats frame damage, then I'd say about 85% of unibody cars are driving around totalled.