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Chevrolet Tahoe Frame Swap Goes Horribly Wrong

Performing a frame swap on any vehicle is no easy task, but a hulking SUV like the Chevrolet Tahoe doesn’t make matters any simpler. Unfortunately for this Tahoe, it’s best days are now behind it.

According to photos posted by Wickedautovideos on Facebook, the customer brought his Chevrolet Tahoe in for a frame shop after his insurance company deemed the procedure necessary. While the body was successfully dropped onto the new frame, the mechanic reportedly inserted the mounting bolts “loosely” before lifting the SUV into the air.

That, ultimately, was not a good call. The Tahoe’s new frame slipped and off the body it came, dragging the SUV’s shell with it. The results are what you see here, and it’s not a pretty picture.  The post says two employees were nearly crushed, but no one was actually injured.

The owner of the dealership ended up taking the owner out to the new-car lot and let him or her choose a brand new Tahoe after all of the trouble. At least the situation was taken care of accordingly.

Former GM Authority staff writer.

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Comments

  1. What dealership was this?

    Big mess up, yes, but also a a great job taking care of the problem quickly and more than appropriately.

    They deserve positive press.

    secondly, What kind of issues would lead to a frame swap? I’ve never heard of that except on like old rusted out classics. At a car like this it seems more reasonable to just trash it.

    Reply
    1. That’s what I’d like to know! What on Earth was the problem with the original frame?! Rust?

      Reply
      1. I work at a Chevy dealership body shop and we do frames fairly often. Sometimes they’re bent in a wreak where either GM or the insurance or both say “do not repair”. Other times it’s something simple like the lower control arm bolt got tore through the frame requiring replacement. Then there are some insurance companies that would rather total the truck then put a frame under it. We do at least 1 full frame replacement per month, sometimes 2 or 3. A competent tech can have it changed out and driving again in less than 2 days. We also have 3 frame machines to pulling bent rails back straight and sometimes there’s a wait list to use them. This seems like the tech didn’t balance the truck before they lifted it and didn’t bother to check if it was stable before the picked it all the way up.

        Reply
        1. Right now we have 2 trucks getting frame replacements, 3 on the frame machines getting pulled and I have 2 that I need to get on a frame machine. The one truck is a dodge megacub dually that we’ve been waiting 6 weeks for a frame. The other one is a 14 f150 .

          Reply
  2. The frame must have been bent in a wreck. Sometimes they can be straightened sometimes not.

    Reply
  3. My dad had to have a new frame put in his 2011 Yukon XL after a minor accident.

    Reply
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