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The Bitch is Back!


Myotis1134

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Resurrected my car today. Despite an engine mount from NAPA that didn't quite fit, sub-frame bolts from the Chevy dealership that weren't quite long enough, and the many, many trips to Home Depot, CSK Auto, Fred Meyer, and Auto Zone, I got everything put back together, and it runs just like it did before. Slightly disappointing.

 

Upon closer examination, I discerned that my OEM sub-frame hadn't rusted through at both mounts on the passenger side (as I originally thought), but it looks like the bushings themselves failed. First the rear passenger, which caused the front passenger to break.

 

So you all got to see the new/used sub-frame I picked up after I ground it clean, but then I wanted to de-grease it in a dunk-tank, but nobody does that in AK anymore, so I had to build my own. I'm putting up pics of the process, and the finished product (POR-15 coating).

 

As a disclaimer, I absolutely do NOT recommend that anyone do this project. Not only was it a pain in the ass, but I could have bought a kiddy-pool and enough solution to fill it for what it cost me to do this. Still, it was definitely a learning process.

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Wow, that's some nice work. I didn't even notice that you were in AK, I bet things are way tougher to get up there as far as these parts and stuff?

 

That's a fine looking subframe

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It turned out that doing a POR-15 coating was my cheapest option. I priced out getting the thing sandblasted and then powdercoated, but sandblasting alone started out at $299/hr, so I said "hell no" to that. I built the tank because I wanted to clean and coat the insides of the new frame, and nobody here does anything like that. The POR-15 process is 3-stepped- degrease/clean the object with Marine Clean (an all natural degreaser that leaves no residue), etch the surface of the object with Metal Ready (which also neutralizes any rust, and leaves an alkaline finish on the surface for the POR-15 to stick to), and apply multiple light coatings of the POR-15 paint. It's some tough shit, but it's sensitive to UV. Not that it mattered, being under the car and all.

 

The trick to cleaning out the insides really good was to mix near-boiling water with the marine clean. Apparently the thermal-action of the hot mixture encouraged the crud to come off easier, although it was a gamble since I didn't know how much heat the plexiglass and silicone could take.

 

So for the degreasing, I soaked it. For the metal prep, I got one of those 2 gallon weed-sprayers and hosed it down. For both of those steps I had to rinse everything off (thus the valve which was the only thing that leaked).

 

After the prep was done, most of the tank went in the dumpster out in the parking lot, and I used the table under it for the painting part.

 

To anyone who decides to POR-15 anything (and there are a lot of auto parts that it would work on), I recommend that when you get to the actual painting, you put on very, very light coats. I went a little heavy in some places, and it ran like a bastard.

Edited by Myotis1134
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Holy crap! That's a helluva lot of work for a W-body subframe. I can't imagine going to that much trouble for... anything! Not even if it were a classic car worth $100k. Amazing work! I wish I had that kind of drive and initiative. :thumbsup:

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I could not really get the inside the frame, but I actually took it into the bathroom and stuck it in the shower and did a maximum scrub out of everything I could.

 

If you had a wife, she would have killed you for doing that. :lol:

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Wow! Someone as psychotically detail oriented as me!! I know it took a lot of time and money, but the results were phenomenal, so it would be worth it to me.

 

 

 

supposedly, you can paint right over rust with it and it will still work?

 

I thought that was the whole point of POR-15. Stops rust right on the spot by simply painting over it. I know they have several products/versions, but that was the main sales pitch originally for the product (and from people I've talked to over the years who have used it, it's true).

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