I didn't notice it until yesterday while i was under my car, but a recent trip on the back of a tow truck seems to have resulted in a bit of damage to my engine cradle.
On the driver's side of the car there is a pass-through hole in the bottom of the cradle which provides access to a bolt securing the transmission pad-type mount. Apparently the tow driver hooked a cable to it and ripped a gash from the edge of the hole forward to the front of the car which is nearly two inches long. There's also a little bit of distortion in the metal structure of the cradle surrounding the rip. My question is, will this cause any problems in the future, or should I just get the bent up edges of the tear lined back up and have it patched with a weld?
__________________ Keith C. Adams SPOCWA President
Unless the frame line of the cradle is bent then there should be no misalignement of anything. Next time get a wheel lift tow. Most modern FWD cars do not do well with sling tow tucks.
__________________ A lousy day in Paradise is still a day in Paradise.
I don't think anything is out of alignment. There's just a bit of localised distortion. I think it's mostly cosmetic, but I didn't want to take a chance on it causing trouble later.
They actually moved it with a flatbed truck. It was the act of anchoring the car to the bed by pulling cables taunt front and back that caused the rip.
Anyhoo, thank you for the information. I'll just work the jagged edges back in to place and butt-weld them.
__________________ Keith C. Adams SPOCWA President
ripped up sheetmetal on cradle. How serious? 
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