ckiesman"s 93 L

[ckiesman]

Ok, so here goes. I wanted to own another Festiva, as i used to kinda own a 1993 L parts car my father bought. The car was way to far gone to save, so that was junked.

Fast forward to today, And in uncle henry's (www.unclehenrys.com, a buy and swap guide from maine) I found a 1993 L, 5 Speed. The guy told me he would take my 11; Boat and 6 HP outboard in trade, so I did. He also said the car could be driven home. He didnt mention it needed a new belt, so that was one day down the drain. (it's about 3 hours one way to this guys place) Next time, i thought we were all set, i went to drive it and noticed no brake pedal. None what so ever. Turns out the lines were junk, as well as the power booster.

Anyways, long story short, it needed to be towed down here, and here's what i've discovered so far....











Rocker panel/floor/axle beam mount rot







And todays work....


It was easier taking the entire column out, just to get to the brake booster nuts


Bumper was gone...I mean gone. The other side mount is worse, but the batteries went flat in the camera

[doylerl]

No offense, but I hope the boat you traded him leaked water, and the outboard lasted just long enough to get him to the middle of the lake before he realized it...

[ckiesman]

well, the outboard was a 1962 Chrysler. Almost impossible to get parts for, lol. It was on it's last leg anyways, thats why i never used it.

[batstiva]

No offense, but I hope the boat you traded him leaked water, and the outboard lasted just long enough to get him to the middle of the lake before he realized it...

X2!! :twisted:

Curious if you've peeled back the carpet and looked at the floor pan? Looks like a fair bit of rust in the pic you've got of the column out. Definitely not the worst I've ever seen. Good luck, and keep us posted.

[ckiesman]

it's not bad there. just discolored paint, and a little rust.the car runs and drives perfect, thats why i snagged it. metal work is easy....**Grabs sheet metal and pop rivet gun and thinks, I can do anything with these**

but, yea, i'll hopefully be posting more pics when i do more on it, hopefully later today. I gotta finish working on my fiancee's yukon first

[ckiesman]

Ok....

I knew the front/rear brakes had to be done. I figured i's start tinkering on the front drivers side, just to get an idea of how things were shaping up.

all nuts and bolts came off with no problem....except the pinch bolt/nut, that one snapped off. Lower ball joint is junk, but i kinda figured as much. tie-rod end is ok, but i got pissed off that it wouldn't come off so i started wailing on it with my 3lb sledge till it came off. the nut was even on there, but it mucked up the threads. If i'm putting everything new here, why not replace that to, lol

But, lookie what i found:


thats prolly why it was making a creaking noise when i was driving it. the car stayed at the same height though, which i dont quite get.

and, here are some more pictures of the rot.


Inner rocker is tender, to the point where there is like, a 1/2" crack and i can see outside.



Floor pan is a-ok, from what i can see at least




And the other side of the rear


Since i have it all ripped apart, i should just do an aspire swap, but, there are fewer aspires around here than festivas, and i have only seen one around here, lol

[freshtiva]

I hate rust !! I have a spring plus other stuff if needed. If you have rust at the rear torsion beam mount it may be terminal rust.

[batstiva]

Whoa, is that spring broken, or two partials up in there? Curious how you got the tie rod end out with the nut still in place?

Before you go after changing the LCA/balljoints, be sure to hit the area where it mounts to the frame liberally with PB/WD40/whatever you have handy. Trust me, it sucks to have that captive nut inside the frame break loose. Been there, done that.

Check that, just hit everything under there with whatever you have on hand.

[freshtiva]

Before you go after changing the LCA/balljoints, be sure to hit the area where it mounts to the frame liberally with PB/WD40/whatever you have handy. Trust me, it sucks to have that captive nut inside the frame break loose. Been there, done that.

You mean this one ?

[ckiesman]

@batstiva: I loosened the nut up, then hit it with a hammer. It worked on my s10, but not so much on this. Instead it wabbed the nut up on the tie-rod end, lol


and when i say pinch nut, i mean where the lower ball joint mounts to the steering knuckle.

and i've already used 2 cans of pb blaster, lol, wd40 is good for lubing up stuff, and only that, imo

and the torsion bar mount is clean, but the outer side of it isn't. the inside is fine

[freshtiva]

and when i say pinch nut, i mean where the lower ball joint mounts to the steering knuckle.

You probably know this but if you take the pinch nut and bolt completely out and then drive a wedge ( cold chisel or something ) into the clamp it will separate slightly enough so the ball joint will come out easier.

[ckiesman]

yea, i still have to pound the bolt off, as the nut snapped.

[batstiva]

You mean this one ?

Yep, that'd be the one. Just had the wonderful experience of having both of my captive nuts break free. Oh Joy!! All better now.

[ckiesman]

I got that bolt out with no problems, now to do the right side....

and anyone know and easy way to get the lower control arm off the stabilizer bar? the bushing is junk and its all expanded and crap

[batstiva]

There are a couple of ways. Number one, if you've got them broke loose at both ends, and the tie rod ends loose, you should be able to tilt the knuckle out of the way, lift up on the outer end of the LCA, while pushing down on the inner end, and work it off the sway bar. Might have to "encourage" them a bit with a hammer.

The other way is to unbolt the sway bar up front, and then just pull the whole thing out of the LCAs on both sides at once, then the LCAs will pretty much just drop out.

Warning, if you are going to use the second method, hit the nuts that hold the sway bar brackets liberally with PB. They are right on the front end of the car, and catch all the crap, if you know what I mean.