A friend of mine has a 97 3.0 CL. She normally has all her work done at the acura dealership, but last week she couldnt get it scheduled with them to get her oil changed before a long trip, so she dropped by my house and I changed the oil that evening. While under the car I noticed the tires where terrible worn only on the inside (to the point of seeing the cords) and I told her she couldnt drive her car again till she got an alignment and some fresh tires on the thing.

She headed up the next week to the dealership and they told her that the problem was her front beam was bent, that the part cost $900 and that in order to get the car back on the road she's looking at about $3000(she also needs a new right CV joint, alignment, four new tires and a brake job). At that point she decided to get rid of the car.

I've turned a few wrenches in my time (mainly 60's muscle cars) so I'm halfway thinking about buying it from her on the cheap and doing the repairs myself then selling it on craigslist or something. My main worry is about this front beam. What the hell is it? and how bad will it be to replace? Is this part interchangeble with other models (accord, or 2.2CL). I havent bought the shop manuals for the car yet (since I dont know if I want to get into this yet) and internet searches for front beam only give me info on headlights.

Any input on this would be welcome. And although off topic I know someone will say it isnt worth it anyway, but the car runs perfectly, only has 100k, just had the timing belt replaced by acura, just had the driver side power seat replaced by acura, has had all the services done on schedule at acura, is fully loaded and I can probably buy it for $500. The only problem is she apparently hit a curb a couple months back and now has serious alignment issues. I'm not worried about replacing a CV, or brakes, and I'll get the alignment and tires done by a nearby garage for a reasonable rate. I'm really only worried about what this beam is and how hard it is to replace.

Thanks

 

I helped a buddy of mine replace a front axle beam on his teg one time, anyway heres the part you need.

http://www.qualityautoparts.com/narr...0Beam%20(Front)

An axle beam (front/rear) is a type of suspension system. It is also called a solid axle. In the axle beam (front/rear), one set of wheels is supported by a single beam or shaft. It also acts as a mounting point for the springs and shock absorbers.

A used axle beam can be of two types – live axle or dead axle beam. A type of beam axle in which the shaft also serves to transmit power to the wheels is called a live axle. On the other hand, a dead axle is one in which the shaft does not additionally transmit the power. However, it is more common to find beam axles at the rear of a vehicle. Typically, one will find either beam axles suspended by leaf springs or coil springs.


At times, the lateral motion of the axle is controlled by a panhard rod or a similar device. Torsion beam axle is another type of axle beam. In this, the beam axle functions as an anti-roll bar. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the car’s chassis. The other end that is mounted perpendicular to the bar terminates in a lever. The bar is attached to the axle of a wheel. This aids in controlling lateral motion of the body

 

Dammn, Now thats a good answer!

 

Thanks swoleCL now I know what the part is, and I've put in a request to see how much the part cost through the link you have provided, but I still would like to know what is involved in changing out the part.

By the description you've provided it seems like its responsible for coupling the driveline to the suspension? While I can understand that in the case of a live beam (or a good ole rear end as I would think of it) that way of thinking fails with a front wheel drive car. What does it look like? Does the whole front suspension need to come out to replace it, what about the motor and tranny? Changing a live beam rear end is no big deal, takes maybe 2 hours if you have the part sitting in the garage, and you count the time it takes to jack the car up, put it on jack stands, take out 12 bolts, put the new rear end in, tighten it back up, check driveline alignment, and drop it back down. What are the steps in changing a front beam?

Thanks
Mark

 

Mark, its somewhat of a pain, on my friends teg, it was a 2 man job due to us not having a lift and what not. I called him up and he said he paid a little over 350 for his (before shipping). he replaced his because he was driving on "heated coilovers" and bottom out real bad and bent the damn thing.

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/Microfiche/t203400.gif Hope that picture provides some insight. in the cliffnotes version its just a stabilizer for the car.. but between me and my buddy, im about 185, hes a good 225, it took all our strength to remove the bolts, and there was no rust, so be prepared for that, other than that its pretty much cookbook. just be wary not to pull the brake lines or anything like that while your down there, if you can get to a shop with a lift it would be100 times easier. Hope this helps you out.