Thorough inspection results: Good news and bad news

[nicktheviking]

I took my few free hours this morning to get the spider up on jackstands and take off the wheels to do a thorough inspection.

GOOD NEWS first:
* Guibo looks fine. I wonder if it was replaced recently.
* Crossmember looks fine--no cracks.
* No broken/warped/destroyed suspension components. No irregular play in any components.
* Wheel liners are gone, cleaned out a bunch of dried leaves and spiders.

Now the BAD NEWS:
* Almost every suspension bushing is shot. Control arms, sway bar, tie rods.
* The tie rods look pretty tired. Need to be replaced soon.
* The brakes are dragging pretty bad... I have new components on the way.

MIXED NEWS:
* This is a glass half full/half empty thing. I discovered more rust, but now I know where all the exterior rust is. I knocked out a thumb sized chunk in between the shock tower and the chassis mounting bolt. Thankfully, it looks like it has yet to spread to either one of those. So it looks like the only rust on my vehicle, besides a few spots on the hood and trunk lid, are the driver's side floorpan (needs to be replaced) and the thumb sized hole in the driver's side wheel well.

I'm not sure whether to be depressed or relieved!

[baltobernie]

I'll vote "relieved".

Unless extensive, it sounds like most of your rust is not on exterior (appearance) surfaces, which are tricky to weld, because the sheet metal is quite thin. The other stuff you can do yourself with a little practice; the appearance of your welds will go unnoticed, and the metal is thicker. Don't forget the seam sealer after metalwork. I like the "hard" consistency for this application.

Tie rod ends and other front suspension pieces are incredibly inexpensive. How does $16 sound?! Of course you know the old trick of marking the amount of thread showing on each tie rod, so you can obtain a reasonably close toe spec; close enough to drive the car to an alignment shop when finished. Bushings require some specific coil spring compressors and a healthy caution, that's all.

Go for it!

[rlux4]

Definately could be worse Nick. It's not like you have to do it all at once. Part of the fun of owning these cars is that they are a hobby. The projects you'll be working on will keep you busy, and out of trouble.
It does make me wonder where the car spent a lot of it's life though. Sounds like someone without garage space owned it for a good while.
We are fortunate that suspension components are not all that expensive.
Ron

[ga.spyder]

Nick ,you are going through what all of us experienced.It is a little overwhelming when you inspect closely,and see the little issues.Unless you have a lot of ready cash and time...prioritize.Make a list and work through it as money and time permit.Get it running right and stopping first. If the ball joints are good and its just bushings ,put that later on the list.That way you can enjoy the car while you wrench!I have had mine for 1 1/2 years,and I am still working through my list ,and will be doing that a year from now.
Craig