Is this a big problem? How to repair?

[ianc]

Hey there,

I noticed (again) this cracking yesterday when I was doing my CV's. I've noticed it in the past and it doesn't seem to be getting any worse, but I have no idea of the underlying structure here. Could this have come from someone using that bolt to raise the car with a jack?

How serious is this? How would you approach the repair? Thanks for any suggestions.

[ianc]

Crap, forgot pics. The reddish line in the upper pic is not cracking, I just scraped a little of the dirt off with a screwdriver to see if it was propagating, but it's not



ianc

[Rick Lee]

I'm guessing that's the spring plate cover, right? If so, you have nothing to worry about until you remove the plate. If the weld is breaking, it just means you'll have a hard time getting that bolt out, since the welded nut will keep spinning. I wouldn't worry about it. When you go to redo your bushings, you may need to have shop redo that weld, which shouldn't cost much at all.

[ianc]

Thanks for the response Rick; that is a bit of a relief.

How do you know I haven't done the bushings already?

ianc