grindolf

where is the pick and pull you are thinking of going to near sammamish?

i went ahead and removed everything out of the dash. heater box, control consule etc. what a pain. it was worth it for i found another section directly behind the heater box that is rusted through. gonna try the jb weld patch and then try and put everything back in. all of the metal dash supports are covered with surface rust, and my heater box vent flaps are pretty corroded. this is gonna be fun...

i just discovered a leak on the passenger side of my interior. it ended up being a rusted out whole in the fresh air intake in between the windshield and hood, behind where the wiper arm mounts. i blew out a bunch of old leaves and crap, but don't see how i am going to patch it from the outside. the whole middle section which is up behind my heater case has visible rust. might be able to just take out the case and get in there to weld.

back of my 86 brat behind the bumper is totally rusted out,. was wondering if i could buy the whole panel whatever it is called, and just weld it in place. it has some contours that would be difficult to duplicate with a piece of sheet metal. plus two recessed areas for access plates where the bumper mounts go through. this seems like it would be hard to fabricate on my own. just wanted to see if there is a full panel that i could buy and use before i start trying to patch it up. thanks.

Hello, i am dealing with a loud squaking noise coming from the drivers side front end. it happens while driving and while stationary. If i push down on the front end drivers side it makes the noise. i originally thought it was the strut, and so i replaced the struts, and the noise is the same. i have replaced the lower ball joints, tie rods, drive shafts, and inner and outer wheel bearings on both sides. i am thinking that maybe it is a control arm or leading rod issue. any help will be appreciated. thanks

You guys are great. this info is very helpful. gonna try it soon.. thanks

thanks for the info. so it sounds like it is an off the car job. i will give that a try. i am assuming that the reason for not doing it with the strut assembly on the car is due to the cramped conditions down in the wheel well. any suggestions as for a type of compression tool?

okay. found a compressing type tool at napa for 40 bucks that you use with the strut assembly on the car. i have noticed that other users state that it is faster to take the assembly off of the car to replace the strut. this doensn't seem to make sense to me when dealing with a brat, for i believe one has to disconnect the brake line in order to remove the strut assembly. so if that is the case then bleeding the brakes is added to the task if the assembly is off. or so i have read. are there any brat owners who have replaced front struts with the assembly on the car? thanks

Is it faster to replace thefront struts on an 86 brat with the assembly off the car? my idiot guide states that for my brat, i have to disconnect the brake line and then bleed the brakes afterwards, if i take the assemblies off the car. is there anyone out there that has replaced the struts with them on the car? that was my plan, but now i am not sure. napa sells a compressor for 40 bucks, that is what i was going to try.

Hello, was wondering if there is a thread on replacing the front struts on an 86 brat. any tips, or tricks. gonna rent a tool for (compressing) keeping the springs in place. any advice? did a search but didn't find any threads that walk you through the process. thanks