i do frame work for a living and the only real way to measure the frame is with a measuring system, either electronic or mechanical.

my suggestion to you is to do a little research in your area. find a body/frame shop that has a electronic measuring system. have them measure it for you. will probably be 2 hours of labor. but they will be able to give you a paper printed out with all the measurements and the specs they are supposed to be.

 

Well I'm not trying to have the thing striaghtened. Just a quick check of the front frame rails. Girlfriend was in a bit of a fender bender and it looks like most of the damage is cosmetic but I was just wanting to check where the rebar goes and make sure that it is still good.

Does the mk4 bentley even have that info or am I searching in vain?

 

ttt

 

Bentley hard copy doesn't have this info but eBahn does.
You can try: https://wiki.bentleypublishers.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=1441809
- it'll cost but the subscription is as much as the printed manual.

 

...if you're not trying to have it straitened then why bother even check. If it was only a small accident she's very likely not to have bent the frame.. if the bumper itself shows no signs of being bent then you're probably good. Replace the bumper cover, and whatever else is broken, and you're good.. I work in a collision center and we have an electronic measuring system..85% of the cars we work with don't even need to be measured, chances are you're good.

 

Here's some basic numbers:
Front strut tower center - center (where strut upper rubber bushing sits): 1130 +/- 2.0 mm
Distance between longitudinal (frame) rails (lower small hole to lower small hole on steel plates facing forward): 869 +/- 2.0 mm

These are the same for Jetta & Golf.

Hope this helps.

 

cool. I'll check it out as soon as I get home from work. Thanks!