Hi Guys I'm new and in need of some help from some knowledgeable people

[Matt Kreikamp]

Hi had my grand prix for almost a year paid about 2000 for it. Its a 1999 gt with the gold trim and rims fully loaded. Cars been good to me but living in southern Ontario and be an being a addicted to snowboarding didn't make for the greatest winter to the car and I neglected to undercoat. So anyways now I'm starting to have some small rust problems just starting to show without having to look for it . Which I'm taking care of But the big problem which I need some knowledge on is the that my rear strut mounts are rusting though the sheet metal its welded to I hear a common problem in these car's. Anyways some might argue its not worth fixing but I took it to mechanic and he think's is worth it to put the money into the car. So I bought myself a Lincoln 180 mig (I have some minor welding experience far from professional) instead of paying somebody else to do it and give myself some experience. So my main question on that front is will I have to take apart the entire brake assembly/Drain brakes lines all that? after I remove the strut tower. Also is there anything to watch for when when welding? ...etc... fuel lines anything that can burn

Anyways any help would be greatly aspirated
looks like a great site I'll probably be using quite often as I love this cars and I hate to have to pay a mechanic when I feel like I could fix something myself

[idrivejunk]

Matt... Matt here. I'm a bodyshop guy willing to help but I'll have to get back to you this afternoon, must go work now.

Removing the strut should be all thats needed for access. The PITA is the welding upside-down part and spending a day with your head in a wheelhouse. Expect burns lol. A welding blanket would be a good idea in the trunk while you work. Determine the thickness of the metal there, its probably 14-16 gauge or 1/8" plate. Just be sure to get metal of a like thickness (there are probably two thicknesses involved).

Cars don't rust as much here so I haven't done one of these repairs. I'll stop in again later to see if you have any other q's about the patchwork.

[Matt Kreikamp]

Thanks for the help idrivejunk I disagree with your name though cause that looks like a sweet car. Anyways I do have a couple other questions I Bought 220v welder do you think I should try returning and getting 110v to save money? I thought I'd be welding steel like 1/4 thick should have put more thought into that. And secondly I'm planning on doing all the cutting and cleaning up most of the metal with my disc grinder and cutting disc. Will that work out? or should I spend on somthing better?

[idrivejunk]

Yeah the name is weird and man o man is that car fun!

My username was initially just drivejunk. That was my message to the world at the time: Don't buy a new car, fix your old one and keep driving. Kind of an anti-rich people thing I guess. I ended up with idrivejunk after a fluke on an ancient forum when I needed a new name. I get crashed into a lot and usually drive stuff thats been totalled so it fits anyway.

The 220V MIG would be best, unless you don't plan any other uses for it and won't get hurt too bad returning it. Theres so many uses...

A decent quality 135 series unit with fresh .030 flux core wire would get the job done cheap but with the juice cranked up.

Either way, practice makes perfect. With gas is best. TIG rules. You just need any MIG that works good.

When you say grinder... you using a 4-1/2" angle grinder I'm guessing? Whatever works for you, see what I use, below. Cutoff tools are cheap, and guarded ones are my preference when theres sufficient access.

Home improvement stores sell SOME sheetmetal, you might find what you need there cheap. Or go to a metal getting place. Plain mild steel is fine. Cold rolled doesn't have the tough dark coating on it like a lot of the thicker hot rolled stuff, its just easier to work with. Galvanized or zinc treated is fine but grind all that off around the weld, its poison as smoke or dust but it will hurt your welding.

A metal thickness chart:

http://www.sheetmetalguy.com/sheet_m...auge_chart.htm

You probably have something close to 16 gauge on that tower. Give or take. Plates instead of sheets start at 1/8 thickness I think, leaves off at about 14 gauge. See whats available.

Heres my cut n weld tool pile, all cheap junk. Its about all I need.



One of these $20 Blair spotweld cutters will make it easier. Drill a 1/8" pilot hole in the center of each spot weld then holesaw the top layer off with this puppy-



Don't buy cheapos, they suck-



This is what it does:



Bonus video demo- (click to be redirected to it)



This is a 3M Clean n Strip XT disc. Badass. Something like it will remove less good metal when you clean up rust.



Healthy strut towers on my junk cars- let me know if you want some measurements.







How to shape and attach the patch will be the interesting part. Hope the info is a boost to you. As I said, I haven't done one of these but its right up my alley so ask away if theres anything else.

[Matt Kreikamp]

2cijx8w.jpg

Hey man again thanks for the help and I'm gonna start digging in this weekend here's a picture of the worse side which I'm gonna start on. Hopfully my angle grinder's got enough juice to do the job. Probably not aiming for perfectly done job just want it to be safe and resellable in the future even its only for a grand. I may try the idea with drilling out the spot welds but I'm trying to do this as cheaply as possible...I'm on a budget and 650 for the welder was a good bite to start out for me.(I just have a crappy low paying factory job atm)

Also I found this video on youtube of the same job not very detailed though but gives more of an idea of what to do. Even though im not sure I could cut a patch like his with an angle grinder.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuSab0MPftY
About the video though he seems really concerned about starting a fire. I'm kind of concerned that all that grease and undercoating and stuff on the car might light when I start welding should I be concerned?

[idrivejunk]

Common sense rules. The danger is in not being able to be in the trunk and under the car at the same time. So something could get away from you. If I were making that vid, I'd mention fire too. Seen that vid before and while it might be an effective fix, it was done pretty crudely and no use or mention of corrosion protection was shown. Keep a blow gun on an air hose at hand while you weld. Flip that mask up and blow the little fires out. Also a spray bottle full of water just in case. Take everything (all that carpet) out of the trunk. Some careful looking and thinking, and mainly cleaning all the burnable stuff off the metal will keep you and the car as safe as possible. Bigass pants are not a good wardrobe selection for the day, lol. They will drop slag on your wang if you squat. Follow normal overhead welding precautions, and disconnect negative battery cable.

I would want to drill off the plate underneath and save that if possible to re-use. Once thats off, then make the patch(es). Nothing wrong with welding a few pieces together for the right shape. Butt-welding and flat grinding both sides is the way to go if you want it to last, overlaps and undressed welds trap condensation on unpainted areas. Paint everything before and after welding, and seal seams before undercoat to make it last.

If you can spend $650 on a welder, a $20 spot weld bit should be a no-brainer. Five times faster (plus a LARGE reduction in fire potential or flying hot debris in eye) than grinding the welds off and you can re-use the weld holes if reinstalling the part.

I still wonder if GM sells a repair panel for this. It couldn't cost a whole lot. But that part probably only comes with some huge part as an assembly or something goofy.

[Matt Kreikamp]

I see what your saying about doing a proper job I was originally thinking just doing it like the youtube video but adding rusted proof paint or fiberglass it in. Doing it proper seems like quite abit more work from were I'm standing right now. But I see the benefits with using the spot welder bit for the life of me though I cant see were the spot welds are on the panel

[Matt Kreikamp]

So I started tearing apart the worse side today since I havent seen any good how to's on this job I'm gonna to my best to make one here's the progess so far
dy5ezn.jpgbefore cut out bad steel
and after removed a space for my patch
used an old pipe to bend the strut mount back down into its orginal postion

Still need to clean it up abit gotta get some more wire brushes from the store tommorw. I was thinking about doing it proper but it seems like I would have to cut alot more metal out and I'm having a real hard time cutting what I did cut out with my bulky angle grinder. ( I dont have air tools) Plus Im nervous with more welding I have to do or a bigger patch.

Anyways once that was all I started cleaning up the edges to weld my patch onto with the angle grinder which didnt reach so great in some spot. I'm hoping to get a a wire brush for the end of my drill I think that should be good to get in spots I cant reach to finish. Then patch it up like the youtube video but clean up the metal more so after around the patch and spray rust proofing stuff I got from canadian tire plus put spray can ash fault foam over for rust protection.

Couple questions though that mount in the picture that side closest to the outside of the car is rusted right through in between the edge and were the strut attaches I was thinking about welding a small patch since I've cleaned it up now and theres about a 2 inch hole. How's that sound? seems sketchy to me that the mounts that rusted even though it seems to be just the one side think that patch idea would be alright do I even need it at all?

And second I pulled a foolish move while removing the strut tower and removed the spring compression bolt. Anyways its decompressed now I assume I need a new one correct? And if so would it be wise to pick up a used one from a salvage yard or should I go new? I am running out of money so cheaper is better If its not to foolish.

[idrivejunk]

I'm thinking you just need a proper spring compressor to reassemble the strut. Rent one from the parts store or borrow?

I say yes, patch the adjacent structure if possible. Rust never sleeps! Bending the mount area back into place with a pipe is about as close as you can get as far as making it precise.

Proud of ya! Now finish...