Rust Repair

[scottxd45]

1988 Festiva L

My front cross member is rusted out and the cross member that goes under the trans is now resting on the sway bar. Is this front cross member under the radiator replaceable or am I going to have to cut this rusted piece out and weld in a new section I am not a welder. The last time I used a welder was in high school shop class so a permanent bolt on fix would be great. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

This picture shows the transmission mount resting on the sway bar:


This is the rusted/broken hole from inside the engine compartment:


This is how it looks from the top:


Sorry if the pictures aren't very clear I used my phone to take them because my camera wouldn't work.[/img]

[jglutz]

Pictures are ok....that's some serious rust.
That's going to take some creative surgery.
I would get a piece of 3" X 3" X 3/16" Steel angle or 4" X 4" X 3/16" or what ever it takes. Total length of the angle would be about 6 to 8 inches longer than the rusted gap.
I would over lay the gap and give it a full weld all around.
Trick will be repalcing the nuts...possibly...before welding the angle in place... drill thru holes for the tranny bolts and weld the nuts in place like the original.
Not that hard for some one with above average fab and welding skills.

[deathegg]

[quote]I would get a piece of 3" X 3" X 3/16" Steel angle or 4" X 4" X 3/16" or what ever it takes. Total length of the angle would be about 6 to 8 inches longer than the rusted gap.
I would over lay the gap and give it a full weld all around. [quote]

Would it be possible to just BOLT it in place?

[scitzz]

I used to live in FL, now in NC, we salt the roads occasionaly here. After seeing this, I am gonna spray her underside with some more undercoating

[Glease]

I have never seen a poor Festiva s rusted on the bottom like that...

Jglutz, are you talking about covering it with angle iron, and then welding it over the rotted sections?

The fix depends on how long you intend to drive the car, haha.

[Dave G]

Good thing the sway bar is there to catch it!

[jglutz]

Would it be possible to just BOLT it in place?

Yep....will take some finess....must not space the holes to close together (will weaken what metal is left) and to get the nuts and WASHERS in place. The washers will be very critical, they should be a large as possible. Better would be to fab an additional piece of metal with matching holes that will act as one big washer.

[scottxd45]

From what I measured it looks like I will need a piece of angle steel about 2"X 31/4" and about 22" long. If I can find that all I need is someone to weld it. Anybody have any of the rubber bushings for those front two bolts?

[festivaWES]

You know what i would do....drill out all the resistance welds and get a new core support to install back in there. Repaint to match and your done!

[SIBladerunner]

I wouldnt do a bolt on, I would have someone that can weld cut it out completely and weld in a new part. Bolt on might not solve the rust problem, and could even make it worse, so try to find someone to weld it.