January 5, 200719 yr so i started poking around on the rear fenderwells of my loyale to find that they were not solid. I and some friends have welded in patch pannels now. Sprayed the metal with ruberized undercoating. Im wondering if this happens to many people. You wouldnt think it was rusted out till you go poking at it with a screwdriver or somthing. On one side there is rust on top of the wheel well where the shock/spring is. Im thinking of bending another strip of metal to the wheel well and welding in on top of the exsisting wheel well. Then run bolts and washers thru the mouts into the new metal and tie it all together stronger than before. I know when it gets real bad the spring/strut will bust thru the wheel well and i want to keep that from happening. The rest of the fame wise is solid. Il let some pics speak for themselves.
January 5, 200719 yr One other member (bdg??? in Maine ) just repaired a very similar issue I believe and did a very very good job. Now you guys are making me wonder what lies benieth on Bucky..it'll wait till the XT6 is on the road
January 5, 200719 yr i also have similar issues with my wagon - same location too, but much worse. repaired the passenger side already, but still need to do the drivers side...rear seat does not get used due to seatbelts not being solid!! luckily we dont have kids - except of the four-legged kind, and they dont like seatbelts! I dont think Bucky is going to be anywhere near as bad from the pictures i have seen of him. hopefully you can get Rocky on the road soon and find out for sure tho. catch things early!
January 5, 200719 yr Author well you could pull the covers off the wheel well but you may get scared/nervous/frustrated i know i did. This car has surface rust in places too but its not horrible bad. I will have finished pics soon i hope. I have already sprayed the undercoat so its hard to see the welds now. BTW always wear long sleeves and gloves when you spary undercoat, it does not like to come off the skin.
January 5, 200719 yr I had exact same prob on my sedan- I bet the hole would even mesaure close to size and shape, same side- can't even blame 4wd as the sedan was only 2.. Anything metal works to fix it. The higher grade steel sheet or aluminum is a no regret, galvanized/recycled pot sheet metal looking stuff sucks- electrically and for fast signals. Rivets /welding, sealer its all good. If you bang on stuff you can certainly verify subaru diodn't exactly put anything hefty. I have found all replacaments to be stronger, even just slamming it together without much thought .. (I only did that once in the dead of a cold winter- car just ran too good to give up just yet). Would love to see finished photos. Fixing this has revealed what the body didn't like for stress- it can only get tougher for future rojects, like lifting for 4wd or even a faster engine.
January 6, 200719 yr ... car just ran too good to give up just yet... My sentiments exactly!!! poor ol' Hildy has got rust in a lot of places that would make most folks give her up - but not me!! the major parts (subframe) are still reasonably solid. She still runs and drives great, just not very pretty...
January 6, 200719 yr i also have similar issues with my wagon - same location too, but much worse. repaired the passenger side already, but still need to do the drivers side...rear seat does not get used due to seatbelts not being solid!! luckily we dont have kids - except of the four-legged kind, and they dont like seatbelts! I dont think Bucky is going to be anywhere near as bad from the pictures i have seen of him. hopefully you can get Rocky on the road soon and find out for sure tho. catch things early! This topic got me poking around Bucky today ( after dropping Rocky off at my friend Dougs) I found the same rust holes around the rear seatbelts..Going to toss some sealer on the holes for now to keep anymore water out and when Rocky is back I will fix this on Bucky. Can you believe its January here in CT and its almost 70 degrees!! good day to wash and wax the car...and play with the new pressure washer;)
January 7, 200719 yr Can you believe its January here in CT and its almost 70 degrees!! good day to wash and wax the car...and play with the new pressure washer;) you have GOT to be one of the coolest women on the planet.
January 7, 200719 yr Geesh..you boys are making me blush...But I personally think LeakingOil is the coolest..but get the 2 of us together in the same place at the same time and we are dangerous..just ask anyone who has witnessed it;) Next years wish list...angle grinder ...Girls and thier toys
January 8, 200719 yr hehe, Connie, I already have an angle grinder!! :cool: and lots of air tools and a welder to play with! Hildy is a couple of steps closer to getting back on the road - fixed the mangled exhaust today, and am going to be swapping the old hood for one that is in a lot better shape, will look like brand new after a little bit of work and paint. the glass got replaced on friday so its just a couple of minor things and we are good to go once again. I can hardly wait! (can you tell i miss my car?)
January 8, 200719 yr you have GOT to be one of the coolest women on the planet. this thread rocks my thoughts exactly
January 8, 200719 yr Geesh..you boys are making me blush...But I personally think LeakingOil is the coolest..but get the 2 of us together in the same place at the same time and we are dangerous..just ask anyone who has witnessed it;) Next years wish list...angle grinder ...Girls and thier toys How much would you plan on using an angle grinder? I hate to advocate buying cheap tools, but for an angle grinder Harbor Freight may be the best way to go... clicky to see your options.. sure, it might not last forever, but for 15 or 20 bucks??! why wait till christmas?! LOTS of tools that a professional, or any serious amateur mechanic would NEVER THINK about buying from harbor freight make PERFECT sense to buy, if you will only use it once in a while, and can take care of it. Most power tools are little more than a motor, some gears to get things spinning in the right angle and at the right combination of RPM and torque, and a place to attach a wheel/blade/bit/thingy onto. Add a cord, a handle, and a switch, and boom. Don't get me wrong, i would take my landlords milwauke 9" angle grinder over a $20-30 harbor freight equivalent any day.. except for the day you pay for it As much as I have made harbor freight seem like a great thing, I have to add my disclaimer here. I call them Chinamart. these are lower quality products at this place.. but for ALOT of things the cost quite simply makes the lower quality a convenience issue. Broke an impact socket? that sucks, good thing you bought the set at harbor freight, so you got two sets for half (or less) what a similar craftsman set would cost. However, i will NEVER buy Flare nut wrenches there again.. its a judgment call, which makes having a store nearby very convenient. If you can see and hold the tool in question, its alot easier to decide if you want it or not. Things like certain air tools, power tools, expensive hand tools and drill bit can be had at chinamart for really good prices though.. I buy diamond drill bits, hole saws, and grinding bits there often. five bucks a package, at least three bits in each. The sales are phenomenal, too.
January 9, 200719 yr the angle grinder i have is an IIT (Illinois Industrial Tool) that i paid around $5 for on sale at an Ace hardware store. have had this thing for about 8 years now, still works great and I have put it to the test more than once. Just last year we had to rebuild the main arms on an old skid steer, had to do some serious cutting with it to remove the bad portions, then grind welds smooth, etc. - never failed, even running for 20 mins or more at a crack. the other half purchased one of the same brand, but not as powerful - it fell apart - had plastic gears in the head! I cant say much of anything about the harbour freight ones, but we have purchased many H.F. tools in the past, some good, some not so good.
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now