Yikes. I wonder what yours looks like at the bottom of the quarters and above the rear axle. I've taken to liberty of repainting mine twice now. Still only minor surface rust for me so far
"In Oldskool we trust"
Just swap on a new one. Takes a Saturday afternoon tops.
Takes a saturday afternoon IF everything goes smooth. That doesn't include broken bolts, undoing AC, PS, etc. It takes more than a afternoon.
Y3llowCav wrote:Yikes. I wonder what yours looks like at the bottom of the quarters and above the rear axle. I've taken to liberty of repainting mine twice now. Still only minor surface rust for me so far
Oh yea it's rusting/rotting there too. I know exactly where you mean.
Undo a/c and PS? A/C doesn't get touched and the rack can stay in the car. There are two bolts holding the subframe to the power steering rack. After that it's only 6 bolts holding it to the chassis, a few clips on the brake lines, pop your ball joints and let the knuckles hang, and drop down the frame with a-arms attached. done.
Trust me, only takes an afternoon. It really isn't as bad as what people make it out to be.
Mine looks almost like that, but not as bad.
Getting bad over the rear axle for me as well. Also coming through the quarters.
Tis why I'm car shopping.
mrgto wrote:Takes a saturday afternoon IF everything goes smooth. That doesn't include broken bolts, undoing AC, PS, etc. It takes more than a afternoon.
Why would you have to undo your AC and PS? Unbolt the rack before you drop the K-frame. There are no engine supports on these, just the dogbone that helps keep the engine from rotating under torque.
Like EVILution says, unbolt the ball joints, unclip the brake lined from the K-frame, and drop the whole thing with control arms and all. It's really not a huge job.
It wouldn't hurt to do your control arm bushings and ball joints while you've got it all dropped out, though.
Just make sure you get the thing aligned afterward.
I have lost one cradle on my Red Z24. I plan On replacing mine on the teal Z soon. It is is much better shape than this though.
PRND321 Till I DIE
Old Motor: 160whp & 152ft/lbs, 1/4 Mile 15.4 @88.2
M45 + LD9 + 4T40-E, GO GO GO
Mr. Quick wrote:mrgto wrote:Takes a saturday afternoon IF everything goes smooth. That doesn't include broken bolts, undoing AC, PS, etc. It takes more than a afternoon.
Why would you have to undo your AC and PS? Unbolt the rack before you drop the K-frame. There are no engine supports on these, just the dogbone that helps keep the engine from rotating under torque.
Like EVILution says, unbolt the ball joints, unclip the brake lined from the K-frame, and drop the whole thing with control arms and all. It's really not a huge job.
It wouldn't hurt to do your control arm bushings and ball joints while you've got it all dropped out, though.
Just make sure you get the thing aligned afterward.
^^ This.
I swapped a K-Frame for a friend of mine this past summer that looked similar to yours bust worst. Took about 6+7 hours on my own, and his was rusted right through.
Agreed, Good time to replace all your bushing and any other rusted out components if your K-Frame was never looked after.
If it's a 2.2L You have to unbolt the exhaust header, if its a 2.4L You're in the clear. (for anyone else who reads this)
Oil can be your best friend.
Just Sayn.....For a weekend job and a little bit of sand blasting/paint.. you can prevent issues like this.
I grabbed spare k frame from the junkyard, had it powder coated, swapping it in last year. My old one wasnt bad at all and the swap only took an afternoon. It is helpful to have an extra pair of hands to get the first few bolts started.
