WTF is up with GM rusted crap suspension

[samson_420]

So, I decided to tear into my front end to replace the springs and struts.

First, I find that the strut nut is so rusted I have to cut it in half to get the spring perch off, WTF.

Second, my upper and lower A arms are so fucking rusted, it's not even funny. They look like a boat anchor from the bottom of a lake.

Nothing else on my car is rusted. . . What gives? What did GM use to make these out of?

On top off all this my rubber is all crusty as hell (upper ball joints, lower ball joints, tie rod ends, bushings).

My car only had 65k when I got it and ever since it's been sitting in my garage.

[BlackScreaminMachine]

Wow, I did not know that Narnia had such bad winters....

Anyways, my car cam from Boston and I owned it since 30k (now has 46k), the A arms, and Front sway had rust as well as some spots near the rear on the underside of the car. I guess it depends on how/where it was driven.

[AChotrod]

I just took mine apart and it was super clean!!!! Anyways Im putting on strange DA do i reuse the bottom plastic spring cup thing?

[SPEED#1]

Some come off with no probs and other come off with probs. I have worked on cars that had never seen rust and need to cut the shock nuts off. Then there are other cars with rust and come apart just fine. But its always a good idea to spray some pb on the threads and/or try to use a little bit of heat to break em loose. But if your gonna throw away the shocks anyway then who cares if they break.

[samson_420]

My car was in Utah for the first 5 years and Arizona for the rest. The shit was rusted so bad I could not see the threads on my strut. POS

[SparkyJJO]

If you think that's bad, don't look at one that's been a northern car all its life THAT was fun!

[leadfoot4]

Originally Posted by samson_420

My car was in Utah for the first 5 years and Arizona for the rest. The shit was rusted so bad I could not see the threads on my strut. POS

It may have been driven in a lot of rain, and the water sat in the crevices, creating rust.

I've been living in the "snow belt" most of my life. I used to have a '77 Trans Am that I bought brand new, and NEVER drove in the winter. However, it wasn't stored in a heated garage, and when I sold it in 2001, it had a fair amount of surface rust on the underside of the hood and in one of the rear quarters. The car had only 44,000 miles on it when I sold it.

Rust never sleeps..........

[gopherit98]

I just did mine today I feel ya man! I'm from SC and my car was rusted to hell on top of the struts and the pos thread kept spinning inside the strut lol

[samson_420]

What a pain. . . . . . I tore apart 80% of my front end. Hit everything with a grinder and a wire wheels. Then sprayed it with some black paint. . . . . I don't know if I would call it a 100% like new, but it looks much better.

It's so odd that it just rusted there. . . . Oh yeah, and my rear axle also apparently has been at the bottom of a lake for a bit. . . . lol

[therealcreeper]

my car is pretty spiffy down below considering it's 9 years old with 100k miles on it. came from florida right before i bought it. now it's in new jersey, being driven through winters, in an area that oversalts the roads worse than a newb at mcdonalds does french fries. i'd rather drive in snow than on that much salt sometimes. so far it's not too bad though.

[litch2004]

so it looked like this then? The part where the bolt comes through the perch was filled to the top with rust. I turned it over and it just poured out.

[samson_420]

Just like it one side was worse then the next. . . I could not even tell there were ever threads on the stock deCrapons. . . .

[litch2004]

mine either. I hammered on a socket trying to get it off for an hour. I said screw it and went and bought brand new ones and was done with it. I havent even taken off the drivers side yet. I was too pissed off from doing the passengers side. But it think it was worth it:

[samson_420]

Nice, coil over struts + Tube A arms. . . . . . You gonna paint the rest of that shit up, right?

[litch2004]

ya. Im bring everything to get it powder coated black. I just put it all in today just to get a look at it. It didnt take long so

[4150]

Mine was pretty bad too, my car spent the first 5 years of its life in Wisconsin so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. After grinding off what was left of a nut so I could seperate everything both upper shock mounts ripped since they were fused to the shock shaft.



This wasn't looking much better, this was just after I started grinding



All done, I ended up swapping on C5 calipers about a week after this since my originals were pretty badly spread.

[99Bluz28]

With my second set of upper mounts I coated everything in my upper mounts with a layer of waterproof super grease(the same stuff used on urethane bushings).

[XtremeDime]

Mines been in Alaska all its life, it wasnt that bad when I did my struts today. Surprised me actually

[samson_420]

Yeah, I am painting all the pieces one by one. . . . It looks pretty decent. But, you can still tell where it was rusted to shit. I ground it all down, but. . . . .

I wish I could afford all new components, but yeah . . no. . .

It will looks way decent when I am done.

[4150]

Originally Posted by 99Bluz28

With my second set of upper mounts I coated everything in my upper mounts with a layer of waterproof super grease(the same stuff used on urethane bushings).

I did the same, I also put on a bead of black silicon where the upper shock mount mounts to the wheel well to keep anything out. Oh yeah I used a stainless nut for the shock shaft too, I dont think I'll have any problem pulling everything apart next time.