Chassis Section Replacement

At some point in my S3's life it has had a hard knock on the front end of the nearside Chassis Section. The front spring hanger is sitting around 20mm lower on the near side than the off side. This didn't concern me until I was underneath and found a kink in the chassis where it has now started to rust badly. I was on the paddocks site and I can get a new section to replace it. So, when I lob the old section off and fit the new section should I fab a sleeve to go up the inside to add a little strength or will the section have a piece that will slip up the chassis section or how would it be best tackled? Has anyone replaced a section of chassis ?

When I replaced the rear quarter section of my chassis it did indeed have a ready made sleeve that was slightly larger than the old chassis so it could slip over. So I dare say your section will too. It has grooves in it which are useful for making good welds down when it is in place. If you are going to do it, dont forget to make extra fish plates - dont rely soley on welding around the edges on the new section. Make sure you make accurate measurements of where everything you go - and dont weld up until you have done a trial fit.

Is the rust just surface rust or is the chassis badly corroded? I had a kink in the front of my chassis where it had been obviously whacked with a hammer to get the leaf bush out and bent the chassis sideways and created a crack - quite annoying! I made a funky tool which I used to straighten it out - welded up problem areas etc - and has stayed that way since.