Urethane foam injection for increased chassis rigidity...?

tekdeus

Pronounced Tek-DAY-us
Jan 23, 2006
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I figure that most of the flex happens in the rocker panels, between the two halves of the car when the targa is out. Ironically, the JDM Mk3 that was in Randy's shop at the time already had it's rockers filled with foam.
 

NashMan

WTF did he just wright ?
Aug 5, 2005
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one other thing as well is the doors monting

re in froceing were the do striker is is good thing to do


on some other cars that ahve removeable tops there have a 2nd striker to keep the door from wiggleing as well remmber the door is stoung but the latching it what counts

you see them on desoles and other cars to boot

so you may wana look in to that mabye re in froce the stiker area i have yet to see how muhc layer toyota put there
 

tekdeus

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Jan 23, 2006
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On targa Mk3's there is a thick metal flange/tab that fits into a hole in the door jamb near the latch/striker. I think that once the door hinges wear a bit and get some play, this type of chassis reinforcement goes out the window. Can you buy new door hinges from Toyota? It might help a lot.
 

NashMan

WTF did he just wright ?
Aug 5, 2005
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hummm never ever saw this befor on supra mabye just the 89 plsu got it never really looked my self

but yae fi there is one should be down at the rear part of the door

and i bet you can buy them form toyota no reson why not
 

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
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hinges on the MKIII are pretty stout, and yes there is a part that keeps the door where it's supposed to be on the targa cars (dunno how much it really helps flex)

If you haven't already, retorque your subframe bolts! I got rid of a LOT of my targa shimmy by doing that...
 

mirage83

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Mar 21, 2008
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Just wondering if Yannis or anyone else who has foamed their rails or other supporting structures has any long-term reports on how it worked out? I've got my interior pretty much stripped out for carpet replacement, and if I can find someone with some positive first-hand experience I may do mine while it's still cleaned out.

Hope nobody minds me resurrecting a 4 year-old thread, but am hoping for new information on the subject. TIA.
 

destrux

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May 19, 2010
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I did foam injection on my eclipse and it held up for 5 years with no problems. The car did rust out, but it wasn't in the area the foam was in.

I did it to prevent cracking the unibody from driving the car offroad all the time. I had previously cracked the frame rails under the doors. The cracks formed right around the factory spot welds. After those were welded up and the foam was put in I had no further problems with cracks developing.

I'm not doing it on my supra though, I want to be able to easily fix rust in the future, and foam makes it difficult.
 

tekdeus

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Jan 23, 2006
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I did mine in 2008, 12,000 miles ago. No noise, still nice and solid. I estimated about 40lbs using 8lb density foam. We went the extra mile and cut a hole so we could scour the inside of the rails using a couple of different size chimney brushes, vaccuum with a small hose, blow out, etc.
 

IJ.

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Mar 30, 2005
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tekdeus;1748475 said:
I did mine in 2008, 12,000 miles ago. No noise, still nice and solid. I estimated about 40lbs using 8lb density foam. We went the extra mile and cut a hole so we could scour the inside of the rails using a couple of different size chimney brushes, vaccuum with a small hose, blow out, etc.
And there's the difference Brad it had a chance of bonding.
 

mirage83

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Mar 21, 2008
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Hmmm. My '88 is likely to be used as a DD, so there would be a lot more miles, more vibration, more opportunity for the foam breaking loose and making noise than what I'm seeing in these posts. Rattles I can handle to some degree, but squeaking drives me absolutely bugfug crazy, so I'm thinking that IJ might be onto something and this might not be a good thing for me to try.

Oh well, I'll probably just re-torque my subframe, put some sound deadening material on the interior and ride with it. Thanks for the feedback on this guys.
 

mirage83

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Mar 21, 2008
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te72;1748599 said:
You guys are giving me bad ideas...

Discipline you must have young Jedi. Strengthen your chassis you should or endure the Shimmy-Shake of Darth Targa. :evil5:

Seriously though, I'm still kinda sorta thinking about it, but dreading the possibility of a squeak I couldn't get to or fix afterward.