Geo suspension Welding / Rebuilding

[JanGeo]

Well about 3 hours of moving it closer to the welder and jacking it up with 3 jacks and a turnbuckle to pull it into alignment, a small bracket of steel has been welded into place to support the front edge of the swingarm. Almost all of the bottom of the wheel well tower that the a-arm pin bolts to was rusted away. Took a bunch of photos before, during and after. The left side looks ok but we will sealing it up with cosmoline to prevent further damage. Apparently the support is hollow and fills with water and does not drain. Was really weird driving so low to the ground and the clutch was grabbing way at the bottom of the travel. No power steering felt a little weird too. Anyone know if there is a source of tower sections to replace the rusted area?


Left side looking rearward

Right side from under tranny looking at oil pand and jack behind right front tire

Right side looking in wheel well above steering arm

Closeup of left side solid

Closeup of right side ripped apart

On the trailer

After welding a small bracket

Closeup of bracket repair on leading edge of frame just above front A arm bushing

[XFi]

You stated "Apparently the support is hollow and fills with water and does not drain."
My suspension mounts are almost totally rust free. Do you think it would be worth while (now, since I am planning on keeping this car) to remove the A-arms and coat with 'rust proofing' type of paint. Also, will have to look, but maybe I can drill a drain hole. Though, this may provide water a way in. What do you think?

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by MetroXFi

maybe I can drill a drain hole. Though, this may provide water a way in. What do you think?

XFI, if you're really serious, i would say drill 2 holes - one drain, and one higher up that you can use to squirt oil into it to "rust proof" it. you don't have to remove the control arm itself to do any of this.

excellent pics jangeo. thanks for starting this thread. it's going to be a real help when i go to do mine.

question: how do you know you got the front of the control arm back into stock specs in terms of alignment? do you have an OEM measurement between the two forward control arm bolts?

and to answer your question: my mechanic says you can buy replacement cuts of the area that rusts out. (he called it a "horn", since it's kind of shaped like one). said it was about a hundred bucks, and said it's easier and faster to splice a new "horn" in, instead of fabricating/rebuilding the old one.

but, we'll probably rebuild too.... time or money. choose one.

[JanGeo]

Yeah two holes and you may be able to get the oil in from above - I didn't check when the hollow starts. Make the drain hole in the rear not the front. Photo taken with my Olympus C3030 1024x768 cropped to 400x300 I think I have taken about 17,000 photos with the same NiMh cells in that camera. Both front fenders lower quarters were full of leaves and mulch and rused out but the rocker panels under them were solid. Passenger door was rusting away from teh inside also.

Get me the name of the horn supplier because there is no way we can rebuild the bottom end and get the holes good enough for proper wheel alignment - the pivot pin for the swing arm has shims to properly position it off the frame as well as some adjustment probably with the two bolts holding it in place. There is nothing left of the bottom section almost an inch missing and the bottom face is all rust.

Old Geo moving to the barn on trailer and New xB on the right

Front view showing exactly what broke

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

Is that a Ford Falcon in the background? I love that car! When I was on the receiving end of a hit and run in my Sentra I seriously searched for a Ford Falcon/Fairlane for a while. Such cool cars.

Actually, that looks more like a Volvo the more I look at it. It's still a cool car.

[JanGeo]

Hey I just remembered and I should ask you guys this - I had a left front caliper drag and over heat the wheel bearings and I need to replace them on my Geo - something that I have been trying to do for about 3 years now - so has anyone replaced a wheel bearing in the front of a Geo? I hear it takes a special tool but I know a garage that has one. Damn rumbling sound when I turn right.

[MetroMPG]

i changed the left one on my accord - but i also drove it for 8000 km while it was making noise i'd probably never do that now that i'm so focused on the mpg.

you need a press to get the old bearing out and the new one in. so i did the bulk of the labour myself (took the hub off the car) and had a shop do the bearing re/re part.

so does that mean the car is all welded up & ready to go again?

[JanGeo]

Welded ? Hell NO! :jawdrop: This is motorcycle fixing season - my brother is flat out at the bike shop. He has been going to bed at 9pm exhosted. But the good news is that his buddy that rents the garage and house where my Geo is is coming back from a 3 week trip today so maybe things will get moving again. This is going to probably have to happen soon because he is moving to Kentucky and everything has to go including my Geo out of there.

[MetroMPG]

talked to my mechanic today - he said the "suspension horn" part came off a wrecked car - it wasn't a NEW piece. he didn't do the job, he just saw it afterwards.

so looks like you have to get yourself a milwaukee sawzall and head to the boneyard...

[JanGeo]

Thanks that's what I figured and the bone yards are not going to have anything usable unless you get really lucky - espically around here where the cars rot out really fast. Looks like the old Geo is heading for the bone yard sniff sniff!