40 replies to this topic

[svvs]

Don't know if I'm being overly concerned about this one, but figured I would throw it out there.

My rear subframe is pretty beat. It was an emergency grab from a junkyard in Brooklyn. Control arms are a bit rusty too.

I have no problem getting to a good alignment.....but should I be concerned with how this guy looks?

[Jim Drago]

I wouldn't be overly concerned. I would leave it in, what until you bend it, then change. If you change now, you will surely bend the replacement right away

While I can't see it close in picture, from what I can see, structurally you should be fine
Jim

[Jim Boemler]

I suppose the chances of it actually failing are small, but I for one would replace it. You might chip off the scale and see how much of the metal is really left. I did that on a Porsche once and found that the paint was the strongest thing holding it together.

[Tom Hampton]

Can't really see well enough to tell if the rust is just "surface rust" or goes deeper. There looks like there is some pitting. I'd strike some of the worse looking parts lightly with a hammer, and see if it sounds solid or not. I'd also probably try and scrape some of the rust off and back to shiny metal.

If it all looks sound...its a good excuse to give it a nice shiny paint job! We were all admiring someone's yellow subframes about a year ago. I've heard rumor of some pink ones, but I'm not sure I'm that manly.

[joeg5982]

Probably the rust was being caused by the exhaust--good warmth breeding ground for corrosion.

If you are ambitious, you could remove all the parts--inclting control arm, half shaft, etc. and hit it with a steel brush or abraisive tool to clean it up real well to see what you have.

If it is still "solid", POR 15 would work well.

[Glenn]

Probably the rust was being caused by the exhaust--good warmth breeding ground for corrosion.

If you are ambitious, you could remove all the parts--inclting control arm, half shaft, etc. and hit it with a steel brush or abraisive tool to clean it up real well to see what you have.

If it is still "solid", POR 15 would work well.

+1 on POR 15

[Glenn]

The bigger issues I see are: are the camber bolts and is sway bar "free"?

[tony senese]

Vick..... you just got married, avoid unnecessary repairs during this honeymoon period, you have lots of years to go when you may need the excuse to spend some "me time" working on the race car!

[svvs]

The bigger issues I see are: are the camber bolts and is sway bar "free"?

Glenn:

camber bolts aren't that old, but yah, probably worth replacing.

what do you mean by sway bar being "free"? As Tony will attest to I'm gradually coming up the mechanical curve.

Tony: luckily she gets it. Date night at least once a week goes a long way.

[davew]

I have seen a lot worse. If the allignment numbers are good, and everything moves freely, why bother.

Only a dog would be sniffing around your rear end!!

Dave

[LarryKing]

what do you mean by sway bar being "free"?

A flat washer under one of the ears of the U bracket does wonders for allowing the sway bar to rotate freely.

[Keith Novak]

While replacing the camber bolts, it's a good time to buy some new long bolts. As Dave W frequently points out, they bend easily. During an overhaul this winter I found that they don't have to bend much before they're hard to remove and cause some binding. A couldn't eyeball it as bent but a straight edge showed a slight bend. New bolts slid right in and freed up the control arms.

[Jim Drago]

what do you mean by sway bar being "free"? As Tony will attest to I'm gradually coming up the mechanical curve.

BY GREASE SMEARS THE BAR IS MOVING QUITE A BIT LEFT TO RIGHT..

I would change bar or put a collar to hold bar in place. If the endlinks are free, but different lengths it will cause bar to shift. Also if the endlinks are bound it will shift and sometimes they just shift The new bars come with a collar on them.

Jim

[davew]

While replacing the camber bolts, it's a good time to buy some new long bolts. As Dave W frequently points out, they bend easily. During an overhaul this winter I found that they don't have to bend much before they're hard to remove and cause some binding. A couldn't eyeball it as bent but a straight edge showed a slight bend. New bolts slid right in and freed up the control arms.

As part of our normal between race prep we check for bent long bolts. Our procedure is to loosen the nut about 2 turns, then spin the bolt while watching the brake rotor. If the rotor wobbles around, the bolt is bent. If you are not sure, bolt the wheel back on and spin the bolt. The larger size of the tire makes small bends more pronounced.

If the bolt is bent, it has probably changed Camber and Toe on that wheel, and will effect the handling of the car.

dave

[Glenn]

As part of our normal between race prep we check for bent long bolts. Our procedure is to loosen the nut about 2 turns, then spin the bolt while watching the brake rotor. If the rotor wobbles around, the bolt is bent. If you are not sure, bolt the wheel back on and spin the bolt. The larger size of the tire makes small bends more pronounced.

If the bolt is bent, it has probably changed Camber and Toe on that wheel, and will effect the handling of the car.

dave

I see you did'nt say you replace these... A little "extra" adjustment maybe

[Alberto]

The subframe on my 180k mile 1990 original Long Island car car looked a lot like that. The lower arms as well.

Since I had to do the diff, I wound up sourcing a used rear subframe ($40 craigslist) out of a 94+ car w/ the tabs for the braces. I wire wheeled it and painted it w/ POR15 - probably shoulda had it powdercoated instead but I'm cheap and didn't want to pay for it since I already had the paint.

I also stumbled upon a set of rear control arms, spindle and hubs assemblies out of a local CA car w/ 20k original miles on them for $100 and wound up replacing that also.

I wound up having/wanting to replace most the nuts and bolts on my suspension b/c some of them were rendered immovable due to rust. Now its all nice and clean and easy to work on. I just haven't needed to work on it so....

[tony senese]

Vick, I'm just saying, after 25 years of marriage.....

[svvs]

OK, I just poked and prodded around back there, and all the rusty spots feel pretty solid. There was some scaling, but it was solid under that.

phew.

I do have those tabs for mounting a cross brace, so I'll think about that. will also do the camber bolts (my setup guy will probably appreciate that), and the long bolts.

Now for the shocks that have been in the car since 2001 or so.....

[Keith Novak]

As part of our normal between race prep we check for bent long bolts. Our procedure is to loosen the nut about 2 turns, then spin the bolt while watching the brake rotor. If the rotor wobbles around, the bolt is bent. If you are not sure, bolt the wheel back on and spin the bolt. The larger size of the tire makes small bends more pronounced.

If the bolt is bent, it has probably changed Camber and Toe on that wheel, and will effect the handling of the car.

dave

Ahhh...I turned the bolt to see if the threaded end wobbled and didn't see anything so that isn't a good test. The straight edge worked but I had to look on multiple sides of the bolt and look very carefully. It really only takes a very slight bend. 2 new ones on the car and 2 new ones in the spares box.

[Bench Racer]

A flat washer under one of the ears of the U bracket does wonders for allowing the sway bar to rotate freely.