Unibody
- Thread starter Will0051
- Start date
calamaridog
Expedition Leader
I would say very uncommon if I had to guess.
I have bent several, but only in accidents. The Cherokee is likely the most prevalent example of a unibody vehicle used off road, and while the single most frequent problem is cracking of the frame at stress points, they also do bend. The unibody uses stressed sheet metal to achieve a rigid structure. Crease, dent, or over-stress that sheet metal, and the structure looses integrity. Once bent, they are hard to get right again.
Sorry I was not more specific. I have a 2000 Pathfinder, what is the likly hood that I could bend it under mild off roading. If you havent figurer out by now I very new to off roading. I am taking my daily drver vehicle and tring to make it more off road worthy. And just worried about my Pathy, cause the last thing I need is to bend my frame. Thanks for the response.
nissandoms47
New member
you wont bend the body with mild offroading. The body might flex but it wont bend and stay bent.
98sr5
Observer
this may be off topic but in my old kia sportage i bent one of the door hinges when i completely flexed out the truck the rear tire was off the ground a couple inched and i opened the passenger door cause i was stuck and it hasnt closed right since it was bent or something and this is the old sportage with the frame and solid rear axle.
As suggested earlier, unibody construction uses stressed sheet metal to achieve a rigid structure. Unlike a body on frame arrangement where the frame provides the overwhelming balance of structural rigidity, in the unibody, the entire body structure (not just the bottom part of the car) provides this rigidity. By the "entire body" I mean the obvious parts of the body, the doors, and even the glass, particularly the windshield. If you take out the doors and the glass, a unibody flexes like wet pasta. You can get an idea of just how flexy a unibody can be with the doors open by jacking up one corner of your vehicle, as if you were going to change a tire, then open one of the doors on the lifted side. You should see a degree of misalignment between door and door frame. Flex the body hard, as in crawling over rocks, and the stress is quite high. Pop open a door at this point and you likely won't get it shut again until the vehicle is level, and under some circumstances, you might do permanent damage to the door frame by taking the door out of the equation while under stress.
Traditionally not the best arrangement for off roading, carrying heavy loads, and so on, unibody vehicles are still very durable and can take mild to rigorous use off road if you keep in mind that there are limits to the abuse you can dish out without damage to the vehicle. Flex is okay if you take it slow. If you combine high stress with high G-loads, you will probably damage the body.
Traditionally not the best arrangement for off roading, carrying heavy loads, and so on, unibody vehicles are still very durable and can take mild to rigorous use off road if you keep in mind that there are limits to the abuse you can dish out without damage to the vehicle. Flex is okay if you take it slow. If you combine high stress with high G-loads, you will probably damage the body.
winterhk said:
Visually check the fit between doors and body. If one of them seems to have a lot of gap, check the switch probe on that door and see if you can tell how far the probe is being depressed by closing the door. Resetting the door might be a serious project, but adjusting the switch probe should be simple enough, assuming that yours are adjustable. Sounds like what is happening is that turning a corner flexes a door, lifting the door off the probe. Adjust the probe out a bit further and the phantom light should go away.
If the problem is that the door does not seat deeply enough when closed (stands out from the body, not tightly sealed), this can sometimes be corrected by loosening the door striker and moving it back to latch the door more firmly. [Warning: adjusting door strikers is one of those simple to do and not simple to do right things. It needs one or two special tools to get the retaining bolt loose and to re-tighten it, and sometimes, depending on design and what is going on, it may be necessary to move the striker OUT to achieve a tighter fit, but only if the door is currently latching on the safety catch, and not the full lock position. It is counter-intuitive I know, but you just have to fool with it sometimes to get it right.]
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