Frame rust ..... help!

[muleskinner]

My 89' Festiva is at a mechanic and he put brakes on it. After he installed the front and back brakes he noticed bad rust up and around the right rear strut & in the front also, which someone, he said, tried to repair. He says the back end is about to break apart and informed me it's a dangerous car to drive and that I should sell this as a parts car and find another. I have not seen it yet.

I asked him if there was any way that can be fixed. He said probably not. Nobody would want to fix that for liability issues!

Has anyone had this problem? Is it fixable? Or is it time for the scrap yard for this 89 Festiva?

Well, I hope not! I know a good welder who I'm gonna take it to on Saturday to see if he can do anything with it. Otherwise if he can't and if any of you say its not repairable, then I'm selling it as a parts car or I'll scrap it.

Thanks in advance.

[cway1319]

Find a guy that does at home welding is your best bet.

[Powerstiva]

I had to have a friend with a torch at his house that would weld my radiator support back together where the cross-member bolts to it because nobody would do it for liability reasons. I guess its pretty hard to talk a shop into welding a uni-body frames since it changes the structural integrity of the car.

[Festiva_Fred]

Anything is repairable, just depends on how much work or $ you are willing to spend. Post pics of the rust, can can either fab up new pieces out of sheetmetal to weld in once you cut the rust out. Or the better route would be to find a parts car and take off the peices needed, drill out the spot welds, fit then weld it back on where you drilled it out at..

We do rust repair occasionallly at the bodyshop I work at, mainly on trucks.. Bedsides and rockers, cab corners most the time.

[TorqueEffect]

I would have to see some pictures or see it myself to really be able to tell if it is repairable or not.

The most common thing that kills these car structurally is where the rear axle beam attaches to body, that was why that one I had seen abandoned out of I675 was left there, it had completely rusted through on the drivers side. and the passenger side was really bad as well.

I got lucky with mine considering how much rust is on the body I didn't check for axle mount rust while searching it over before buying it.
I was too fueled up with adrenaline, I was too excited about buying my first car. Luckily when looking it over closer, I only found some scale on the passenger side mounting point.

[zoom zoom]

Post some pics, post it FS here before you sell it off to a crusher if you have to go that route. It's hard to tell if it's fixable without pics.

[muleskinner]

Anything is repairable, just depends on how much work or $ you are willing to spend. Post pics of the rust, can can either fab up new pieces out of sheetmetal to weld in once you cut the rust out. Or the better route would be to find a parts car and take off the peices needed, drill out the spot welds, fit then weld it back on where you drilled it out at..

We do rust repair occasionallly at the bodyshop I work at, mainly on trucks.. Bedsides and rockers, cab corners most the time.

This welder I know is independent. He has his own shop and his daughter helps him. He has done work for people on farm equipment, tractors exc. He's welded the deck on my riding lawn mower a couple of times. I don't know if he's ever worked on cars before. I call him "The mexican guy."

[muleskinner]

Post some pics, post it FS here before you sell it off to a crusher if you have to go that route. It's hard to tell if it's fixable without pics.

I will not have pics till Friday or Saturday. The car is not with me right now until then.

[TorqueEffect]

If worse comes to worst, see if the one with the valve clatter is still available, then have your mechanic pull the head on the current one then sell the rest for parts.
So if the one with valve clatter happens to be something major, you can just have the heads swapped.

[muleskinner]

If worse comes to worst, see if the one with the valve clatter is still available, then have your mechanic pull the head on the current one then sell the rest for parts.
So if the one with valve clatter happens to be something major, you can just have the heads swapped.

Good idea BUT he is over 400 miles away.

Someone told me to find one in a salvage with a blown engine, look to see if everything is ok body and frame wise and buy that. Then swap out engines and trans.

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/3670827013.html

Here's one someone is selling close to us!

[TorqueEffect]

Good idea BUT he is over 400 miles away.

Someone told me to find one in a salvage with a blown engine, look to see if everything is ok body and frame wise and buy that. Then swap out engines and trans.

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/3670827013.html

Here's one someone is selling close to us!

Yeah I saw that, I wonder what they want for it.

There is also this one up near Columbus. Just has a bad fuel pump, and from what I can see, a rusty hood. Pictures are way too small, so I can't see if there is any wheel arch rust.
They want $550 for it, but I bet you can knock them down quite a bit since they just want it out of their driveway.

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/3694038616.html

[muleskinner]

There is also this one up near Columbus. Just has a bad fuel pump, and from what I can see, a rusty hood. Pictures are way too small, so I can't see if there is any wheel arch rust.
They want $550 for it, but I bet you can knock them down quite a bit since they just want it out of their driveway.
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/3694038616.html

With all the rust, I bet that has the same problem mine has.

[Movin]

The way you guys talk corvettes , fieros and saturns would rust out back there.

[muleskinner]

Here are pictures of the underneath right side where the mechanic I had working on it said it's unsafe to drive the car. Its where the axle mount meets the frame of the car. He says the frame of the car is rusted bad at the mount and it could break at anytime you hit a bump.








So, is it that bad? With some welding is it repairable? ...... it looks it to me. I will find out later today or tomorrow.

Thanks in advance, Mike

[neanderpaul]