Drain holes in subframe connector

[Vinnie]

Howdo folks,

My homemade subframe connectors are on my car but I was thinking (there comes trouble) that since they are completely closed except for inside the front frame rails, any water that comes in will flow down towards the rear with no exit holes. The situation looks like this:



Would it be a good idea to drill a half inch sized hole at the tip of both arrows to let water out? Or would it be bad for the connectors? Any thoughts on this?

Cheers,

Vincent.

 

[Kilgon]

Howdo folks,

My homemade subframe connectors are on my car but I was thinking (there comes trouble) that since they are completely closed except for inside the front frame rails, any water that comes in will flow down towards the rear with no exit holes. The situation looks like this:

View attachment 70001

Would it be a good idea to drill a half inch sized hole at the tip of both arrows to let water out? Or would it be bad for the connectors? Any thoughts on this?

Cheers,

Vincent.

Nice looking work. There shouldn't be any problem drilling a hole in the bottom there. Unless you used thin tubing neither the vertical nor horizonal loads will be a factor when it comes to the placement. I would drill only an 1/8" or 1/4" just so there are less chances of getting debris and water in them.

 

[Sheriff41]

Agree with Kilgon. If you want a drain hole then no more than 1/4" should be fine. You will want to use some internal frame coating similar to what Eastwood sells <https://www.eastwood.com/internal-frame-coating-aerosol-black-14oz.html> to prevent rust.

 

[Hemikiller]

Agree with Kilgon, keep them small. Maybe a 1/4" hole in each back corner.

 

[Vinnie]

Agree with Kilgon. If you want a drain hole then no more than 1/4" should be fine. You will want to use some internal frame coating similar to what Eastwood sells <https://www.eastwood.com/internal-frame-coating-aerosol-black-14oz.html> to prevent rust.

Thanks for everybody's replies. I'll put in a 1/4" hole then.

Regarding the inside: the car will get dipped so every cavity will be coated

 

[Lazarus]

Probably pretty obvious but I would maybe try a few ways to determine where the lowest point is the the connectors when the car is level. That’s roughly where you would want the hole, otherwise I would think water could go in the hole and pool. You could maybe spray them lightly with water mist outside and see where the water tends to drip from or something like that.

As I said, that may be fairly obvious but I figured I’d chime in.

 

[Vinnie]

Probably pretty obvious but I would maybe try a few ways to determine where the lowest point is the the connectors when the car is level. That’s roughly where you would want the hole, otherwise I would think water could go in the hole and pool. You could maybe spray them lightly with water mist outside and see where the water tends to drip from or something like that.

As I said, that may be fairly obvious but I figured I’d chime in.

Sometimes the most obvious gets overlooked so your reply is as welcome as any other mate
Having said that, the lowest point is at the rear as the connectors actually bend down.

 

[Ron Tanzi]

Nice work. I agree with the other guys Re: 1/4' drain holes.

Ron

 

[jowens1126]

great job Vinnie! I was thinking cavity wax for inside the connectors, but you said you were having it dipped. What did you have it dipped with?

 

[user 7951]

Howdo folks,

My homemade subframe connectors are on my car but I was thinking (there comes trouble) that since they are completely closed except for inside the front frame rails, any water that comes in will flow down towards the rear with no exit holes. The situation looks like this:

View attachment 70001

Would it be a good idea to drill a half inch sized hole at the tip of both arrows to let water out? Or would it be bad for the connectors? Any thoughts on this?

Cheers,

Vincent.

if the car has a nose down attitude, I'd put the holes at the front of your connectors.

 

[Vinnie]

great job Vinnie! I was thinking cavity wax for inside the connectors, but you said you were having it dipped. What did you have it dipped with?

It's not dipped yet but it will get dipped in phosforic acid, then cleaned and the base coat is also applied in a bath. The idea is to remove ALL rust and get everything coated