yorab Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 It may be the end for my 85 GL. I took it for PA inspection this week. They found that the frame is rusted through near the front DS wheel. I never even noticed it in the past. This was quite a shock. I bought the car about 3 or 4 years ago and I have done a LOT of work to it. I loved tinkering with it. I knew nothing about Subaru then, but because of this car and this forum, I now know the car inside and out. Except for the frame. I never even noticed it. Now that it has been pointed out to me, I see that somebody in the past has made some kind of bracket rig to stiffen the frame. The car is in great running condition and I hate to get rid of it but I don't know how much it will cost to fix this frame issue to get it to pass inspection. Is it worth fixing? Any ideas as to cost? What would be involved? I've never posted pics, but I'll give it a shot so everybody can see the damage and the bracket rig. SubaruRust 001.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorab Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 Well, I got one pic to go through. How can I make the file size smaller so that I can send more than one pic? The rust in that pic is completely through the frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertsubaru Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Say goodbye to that car because that is a bad spot for rust. It could be fixed but the cost would be to great to bother with. Keep it for parts and find another sube to take its place. Sorry to tell you this but I live in PA and if you dont keep on top of the rust it kills the car real fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorab Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 I forgot to mention that I have a buddy who once ran his own shop. He now works on river dredging equipment, but he still works in his garage once in a blue moon. A few bucks and all the beer he can drink is now his fee for friends' vehicles. I may be able to talk him into working on it if there isn't too much involved. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Any body man/gal worth their salt could fix that.. We deal with that alot here too. Don't know if I could do the repair myself, but I've done some work like that, just not my cup o' tea..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reveeen Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 You know, if you made a lift kit for your car, as seen here: http://www.subarubrat.com/PICS/frontlift4.JPG From: http://www.subarubrat.com/ You could dummy that rust up with just about anything and not worry one bit about lost strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaru_dude Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 i had an '87 with rust in the same spot worse than that, got in a wreck and that spot didn't show any warpage or anything of the sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldDiggerRoo Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 It should be no big deal to make and weld on a cap for that, undercoat it and you'll never know it was there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 It should be no big deal to make and weld on a cap for that, undercoat it and you'll never know it was there. I agree, get some sheet steel not thinner than 16 guage (about 1/16") and no thicker then 1/8" so you can work with it. Cut out three pieces, one for each side, and one for the bottom making sure it meets the contours of the underbody. Extend past the rusty area by 6 inches or so too. Cut or grind all the bad rusty metal out, but also leave as mush as you can to retain strength, prime and paint it, then weld in each of your pieces. Clean up the welds to hide them a bit, then undercoat it. There used to be a company selling body parts thet made a frame cap for that area that you weld in, but I can't remember who that was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 your buddy has a welder, right? It will take some welding to repair, but shouldnt be majorly difficult for someone who owns his own welder.. (by ownership, I assume he knows how to use his machine, too...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 And if your only worried about getting passed inspection, use thin sheet metal and rivet it on. Clean up the entire underbody, then spray rubberized undercoating over everything so the underbody looks uniform. Then later on, take the sheet metal off and do it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 I have had an '86 GL-10 with WAAAYYY worse rust in that spot. on both sides. That box section is totally gone. I never tried to fix it because here in Wisconsin there is no inspection and they just salt the roads to destroy your car anyway. They want to make you buy a new one.(there is a Chrysler plant 6 blocks from my house, conspiricy?) I sold that car to a friend and he still drives it. I used to take it on some pretty nasty trails and it did flex a little much but it still seems really solid overall. Salted roads + mandatory vehicle inspections = Scam to make you buy a new car(and pay the sales tax) . to put it very nice. Ever thought of moving? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorab Posted January 7, 2007 Author Share Posted January 7, 2007 Some of you are certainly giving me hope. I will call my buddy to see if he has time to help me out with a band aid. I wish I could post the pics of the brackets (one on each side) that somebody has already put in. It looks like the bracket on the PS might be enough to stiffen the frame because it extends from solid frame to solid frame past the small rust hole. But of course the inspection stations won't pass it. I agree with the conspiracy theory on this one. The bracket on the DS looks like it just needs to be extended a bit to get to solid frame. By the way, one post mentioned a little bit of flex. How safe will a band aid be? I'm okay with the band aid and a little bit of flex, but if this is extremely hazardous, I don't want anybody else with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 If you use thick enough steel, as thick or thicker as the frame is now, the repair will be just as strong if not stronger than it was when new. Just make sure you pull the carpet back before you weld, or weld a little at a time and allow the metal to cool before starting again so you don't set the car on fire!! Keep a fire extinguisher nearby just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgd73 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 I just fixed mine today, did have one worse than that- the car was so rusted it bent in the middle, and we still recovered it. Yours is quite fixable. The routine seems to be drivers side, that very spot. I didn't have time to grind or make pretty or even undercoat, but its the idea of repair anyway. Be careful of the sides more than the bottom for hot weld. The sides are pathetically weak and do not like it, even on a 110v welder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 it all comes down to how much time and effort you want to put into it, and how much your love the vehicle, a guy about a mile down the road has done a miraculous restore on an 83 brat, rear frame was rusted out so bad that the driveshaft was banging suspension, he drive it every day now, he's the only reason i haven't sent my current brat to the crusher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorab Posted January 9, 2007 Author Share Posted January 9, 2007 I think that you can view the pics of the brackets at this url: http://photos.yahoo.com/yorab Again, I think that the PS should be okay, but it wouldn't pass. You can see that the brackets are bolted in place. I wonder if it would pass if the brackets were welded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 I just fixed mine today, did have one worse than that- the car was so rusted it bent in the middle, and we still recovered it. Yours is quite fixable. The routine seems to be drivers side, that very spot. I didn't have time to grind or make pretty or even undercoat, but its the idea of repair anyway. Be careful of the sides more than the bottom for hot weld. The sides are pathetically weak and do not like it, even on a 110v welder. HOLY CRAP! What did you use, a 110V bubble gum machine!!! You better put a grinder on that! I say this because I HAVE done worse ............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellets Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 My dl has a similar problem. Gona have to fix it. I have a mig welder but it and I aren't on the same page yet. Gona have to practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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