1992 lumina w body subframe advices>?

[MOTORHEAD]

since my z34's subframe mounts rusted up. affecting the handling and all that, engine shifts from right to left when steer. any idea and where can i find brand new subframe mounts espically not from GM, they r too expensive. they want to charge me 1,220$ for the repair subframe.. any ideas?

[Crazy K]

check with junkyards. iirc, the subframe is compatible from 91-01 gen 1 and gen 1.5 cars.

 

 

or have you considered locating someone who can weld it?

[MOTORHEAD]

whats iirc? is there anywhere i could buy it brandnew?

 

i wouldnt considering to weld it.. i will still need to do one more engine swap and tranny swap again this winter. unless there is a stragerty to swap the engine and tranny out of hood then ill consider welding it but whats the best way to weld it? it prob more likely will need do welding. one of mount's bolt insert s stripped by welding through 2 yrs ago

[meltboy1]

iirc = if i remember correctly

 

it's also not all that hard to pull the motor and tranny from the top either.

[GOT2B GM]

Is it the subframe that's rusted badly and needs replacing ? Or just the subframe bushings that are worn and need replacing?

 

If the subframe is that bad, I'd hate to see the rest of the car.

 

If its just the bushings that are worn (will cause the side to side movement you noted), here's a how to:

 

http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=64130.0

 

 

Bushings can be had for around $250 USD tops for a set brand new from the dealer.

 

 

 

[White93z34]

I agree with what Matt just said. The bushings are fairly cheap, and easy to install.

 

Also your sig says you are parting out a z34, could you use its subframe?

[SrMichi]

same crap happen to my 92 lumina i was making a hard right and the right side and the freaking thing broke and the whole car almost spun out i was able to save it lucky for me i was the only one making the turn or else i would have hit the person on the outside lane. later at work i made a plate for it and it was holding up good but in the end i took it to a mechanic and he was able to weld it up. then after what had happen i realize how rusted it was i sold it.

 

this other time i was in the city and i was breaking the the pedal just hit the floor i almost got hit by a truck the freaking break line broke from been so rusted. i was unable to drive back home so fucking ppl at exxon charged me $120 to replace put put in a new 10 in line

[jerry455]

just installed a 95 regal cradle into my 90 tgp last night. my cradle was rusted through near the engine mount,found this last year when i pulled the motor for rebuild. the regal was from north carolina so it didn't have that thing us michigan people see so often, rust! i also put in new cradle bushings and a 34mm sway bar. wow the sway bar made a very noticeable change for the better.

[Addicted To Boost]

just installed a 95 regal cradle into my 90 tgp last night. my cradle was rusted through near the engine mount,found this last year when i pulled the motor for rebuild. the regal was from north carolina so it didn't have that thing us michigan people see so often, rust! i also put in new cradle bushings and a 34mm sway bar. wow the sway bar made a very noticeable change for the better.

Your frame cradle rusted through?!

[jerry455]

the pocket where the engine mount sits in has some big rust holes through the side of it. this is a michigan car and we use alot of salt up here. when i rebuilt the engine last year, i pulled the engine off the cradle and it was packed with dirt and mud in that pocket all around the mount. it has some drain holes but it looks like they were plugged up by some half-ass rust proofing done probably when the car was new. i got another cradle from a 92 gp and when i removed the cradle bushings the holes were rusted bigger around the bushing, especially the front ones. i did get the 34mm bar off of the 92 gp cradle. then i found this 95 regal that was being scrapped and i got the cradle from it. it looks like new.

[MOTORHEAD]

alright thanks everybody

 

nah there isnt too much rust underneat the Z34.. just the common parts got rusted such as fuel tank rails, small bolts, blah.. whoever owns a car got rust knows what im talking about

 

anyways yeah i never wanted to do the welding, ill buy the brandnew ones. yeah im sure its easy to do but fussy job tho.

 

really, its not that bad taking the engine n tranny out of hood going up? im not sure how that would be done.. i mean the 3.4 dohc is way too tight under the hood.. but explain the idea how its being done if u could? im done with going under the car to get the whole subframe/wheels off the shell haha done that several times, rust is the worst part.

[GutlessSupreme]

When I had my subframe out of my GP I found a lot of rust around the rear mounts and underneath one of the sway bar bushings. My stepdad happens to work next to a place that actually specializes in rust and body/frame repair, so I brought the subframe in for them to have a look.

 

I don't remember if I had just the driver's side or both rear mount areas done, but that together with the area under the sway bar mount cost me only $100 to have repaired. Everything was done very nicely, new steel was welded in and everything was flush, looked brand new. There was a decent amount of steel missing before I brought it in.

 

If you can find such a shop in your area, bring it in and get a quote, could save you a lot of money/hassle. Unfortunately the Cutlass is probably going to need the same repairs, the metal around the rear mounts looks like layers of rock on a cliff face. Very sketchy, hoping it holds up until I have time to yank the frame out.

[GPX]

MOTORHEAD--Sorry we're hijacking your thread all over the place, but I think you are getting your question answered so who cares, but I have one question for you. Looking at your stable of cars, how have you gotten along without us for so long?

this other time i was in the city and i was breaking the the pedal just hit the floor i almost got hit by a truck the freaking break line broke from been so rusted. i was unable to drive back home so fucking ppl at exxon charged me $120 to replace put put in a new 10 in line

I just did my front brakes. Had to replace left caliper. While we were bleeding it, we blew the left rear line out. For the most part, the line was in good shape, but where it joins up with the line that continues back to the rear caliper, there is an "S" bend and it was rusted on both sides of the junction. Trimmed back to good line and spliced in a 51" new one. So glad it was in the driveway.

[MOTORHEAD]

REDCAR-- dont worry about it man, this s getting intersting haha

 

anyways i did a quick stop by with free diagonist check, they said to replace the whole bushing kit for subframe, and they gave me the total... 1,250(with labor)

 

but hell with GM, ill do it myself with discount