Shock Tower

bigzeke42 · Post by **bigzeke42** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 3:25 pm

On my 86 Eurocoupe is it common to have rust on the shock towers? And if so how do you fix them and how hard?

Post by **negusm** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:04 pm

Where exactly? Top or bottom?

If the rust is superficial: sanding, rust remover, priming and painting can be done.

If it has gone through. It'll need a patch welded in.

If it's ROTTEN down by the base frame rail...you're looking at some structural repairs and you'll probably need to yank the engine and really have somebody repair that spot correctly.

It is very common for the cars to rot out on the frame rail and it can get pretty devastating (not to mention unsafe).

-Mike

plumkrazy · Post by **plumkrazy** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:00 pm

Shock or Strut tower?

Mike is correct if its the strut "front of the car" if it is the rear not so common.

bigzeke42 · Post by **bigzeke42** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:53 pm

It's the strut tower. The pass. side is the worst. Only one spot has rusted through, but rust all along the tower where it meets the frame rail. Can it be welded from the outside, just inside the wheel well?

capriman86 · Post by **capriman86** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:02 am

Do have anyway of taking some pics?

Sometimes its bad enough that the K member would have to be
taken out to fix

Post by **negusm** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 12:31 pm

capriman86 wrote:Do have anyway of taking some pics?

Sometimes its bad enough that the K member would have to be
taken out to fix

Right, that's what I was referring to as "devastating".

-Mike

bigzeke42 · Post by **bigzeke42** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 2:16 am

capriman86 wrote:Do have anyway of taking some pics?

Sometimes its bad enough that the K member would have to be
taken out to fix

I will try and take some pictures.

capriman86 · Post by **capriman86** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 3:52 am

you don't want to see this

bigzeke42 · Post by **bigzeke42** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:24 pm

Mike, Got two pictures of rust on my strut tower, in my album. It's hard to take the pictures with the engine in it. Hope you can figure out where the rust is. Let me know what you think. No rust on the frame rail.

Post by **negusm** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:11 pm

bigzeke42 · Post by **bigzeke42** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 7:03 pm

Good job Mike.

plumkrazy · Post by **plumkrazy** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 11:55 pm

Thats not good,, I hate to say it but pulling the engine is your best bet if you want to fix it. You may find after pulling the engine that you could weld some steel over it but to Fix like factory will be a BIG job. And may want to find a whole clip. If it was me I would Drive it and not worry or Sale and find a Cleaner car. Sorry! but i think other would agree. I'm going thru that with a 1985 stang right now.

bigzeke42 · Post by **bigzeke42** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 2:08 am

plumkrazy wrote:Thats not good,, I hate to say it but pulling the engine is your best bet if you want to fix it. You may find after pulling the engine that you could weld some steel over it but to Fix like factory will be a BIG job. And may want to find a whole clip. If it was me I would Drive it and not worry or Sale and find a Cleaner car. Sorry! but i think other would agree. I'm going thru that with a 1985 stang right now.

I'm wondering how safe it is to drive and for how long? I just noticed the rust when I had the valve cover gaskets installed.

plumkrazy · Post by **plumkrazy** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 2:33 am

I have seen worse on the road being driving. I would say that a front end impact is the biggest worry and thats becacuse any little hit and the rails will fold.

mandra · Post by **mandra** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 5:49 pm

People often have these issues. 2 Options occur to me. I have seen many have them boxed. They cut out the rusted area, treat the remaining metal and put a nice piece of steel over the rail. If it is done professionally it will last for years without issue and won't look too bad either. The other option is to replace the frame rail. The issue with this is that it is a lot of work and if not done well can be detrimental to your nose alignment.

Best of luck