gran_pann

So I had a flat tire today, was too late to visit the shop and my tires are about shot anyway. I went ahead and plugged the tire and had a look under the chassis. Man this is going to be $$ to fix i think but will be FUN!!!

Im kind of a new member, but not new to being handy. I have already replaced the timing belt/water pump etc with my dad many years ago when it had 119k miles.... now it has 225k miles!!

So here are some pics of what I found:

Rear trailing arm bushing is shot. Same on the other side. Some guy hit my car (see pics) which may have broken them? Everything else looks straight and the impact was higher up/body at an end of an alley/turning into me on the street. Hit and run so bleh..... If you look at the tire there is some uneven wear which makes some lovely road noise. Is this related to the busted bushing? How hard is it to replace? I have a BFH and am wondering if you just unbolt the trailing arm and pop the bushing out? Going to need to buy some jack stands and a floor jack for all this work im going to be doing as well.

So i have been welding for about 2 years. I learned to tig, then stick, then mig weld. I have three different welders but have never done a significant amount of body work. Will be fun to weld on part of the rear quarter panel, and/try out body work. Only cost me $40 for the panel and i cut it out myself.

gran_pann

annnd continuing onnn......

I found a 'mystery leak' under the chassis (see the first two pics) now keep in mind that lots of **** is leaking under there. I think that the oil pan seal and engine to trans seal are the culprits, but they are slow leaks that im not too concerned about right now... these first two pics show where it is.... I have no idea where it would be coming from as it just seems to be there on a low spot.

So next I popped off the front tire to have a look and saw that the power steering rack boot is torn. Power steering fluid is still full and it has been about 45k miles since the last change. I am very tempted to just put on a new boot, but a remanufactured rack may be the best thing to do :-(

so then to top it off the passenger side CV boot appears to be starting to leak and its not too bad. Im thinking i could just somehow replace the boot and repack with grease? I HAVE NEVER DONE THIS so I am looking for advice. I'm intelligent, but just dont know how to go about it.

Thanks for looking and let me know what your thoughts are!

crazyhouse2011

Think its about time to replace that timing belt OP? I think thats the immediate issue here, not this ****.

MisereNoire

Timing belt/Water pump first.Just like stated above.

Trailing arm bushings arent too difficult if youre dropping in after market. just remove the arm, cut out the old rubber, leaving the metal sleeve clean, grease, insert and reinstall. For OEM replacement, not so easy, press out old bushing with sleeve, inspect sleeve area for wear/damage, clean, clock the bushing on mockup for proper alignment/ride height (important!), and then press the new bushing in to proper set depth...I've personally not bothered with oem, i stuck an energy susp. RTA in..simple as pie. If your RTAs are that messed up, you likely need to carefully inspect ALL the other bushings on that car...

Your tire wear is likely due to the messed up suspension/lack of alignment.

If your steering rack is leaking past its seals and you just boot it up, itll work, but the leaks will get worse with time. Eventually the fluid will simply deteriorate your new boot.

On the CV axles...yeah a few options exist.
//1: strip off the old ripped boots, clean and repack the axle and reboot..its cheap, fast, and doesnt always seal (depends on your hands and work to get a good boot seal).
//2: having your axles rebuilt...cost $$
//3: buying remanned axles from a reliable source...more $$ (I've heard a couple of them on these forums, but can't remember them atm. do a search).
//4: Try your luck with VATOZONE or equivalent axles (DO NOT DO THIS!~)

Personally, my axles are in a good enough condition that i reboot when needed (i HAVE messed up my share of boot clamps, spares arent a bad idea), but then again...im a cheap bastard. Tho if i DO ever swap out my SOHC for a B18 or K-series...nice fresh axles will be a must!

this is my personal input and should not be mistaken for a professional's advice (and there ARE pros on these forums, as well as many with FAR more experience than I).

Good luck.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Those RTA bushings are toast, but the impact didn't necessarily kill them. It could have just been from age, especially given how rotted the rest of the car is. Yes, blown RTA bushings will ruin rear tires with a quickness, and will make the back end of your car feel "soft". Poly bushings are an option, but they do require a certain level of maintenance (lubing them every 6 months when you should be waxing your car is enough), and will make your rear end much snappier, whereas OEM replacements (Hard Race is a good option) will keep your OEM driving feel in the rear. You'll want a press to do it properly, though. The shop I take my machine work to uses a 30 ton and makes it a joke of a job, but I've used 5 ton hand presses with a little bit of effort. Regardless of which option you use, make sure they are clocked correctly! If they aren't, you'll just destroy the new ones in a few months.

On the rust...if you're comfortable with welding, go to town, but make sure you properly prime and seal the entire panel afterwards, or you're just going to have more rust to fix again a year or two later.

On the bellows boot (steering rack), if there's no grindy or grainy feel in your steering wheel, and no clicking noises when turning, just replace the boot. You can get DIY boot kits for cheap, and an hour under your car, you'll be done. Otherwise, you'll want to either overhaul the rack, or install a new one.

On the axles, same thing. If there's no grindy or grainy feel, and no clicking, just remove the boot, repack it, and reboot it. If there is, it doesn't look like you're running any kind of real power adders - just get an axle from your local parts store (Autozone, Advance, O'Rileys, NAPA, whatever) and go with it. No need to spend more than that, and no one can complain about a lifetime warranty.

For the oil pan leak, My Honda Habit has a complete stud and gasket kit. Get it, use it, love it, just make sure you install it correctly - overtorque the studs, and you're just going to end up with a blown out gasket and more leaking. The stud kit has superior clamping force to OEM, and the gasket is just as good.

For the transmission leak, there isn't really an "engine to transmission" seal. There's the main seal, which would leak oil, and there's the transmission casing seal, which would leak transmission fluid. Get some engine degreaser and a brass or nylon bristle brush, clean the everliving hell out of the bottom of your engine, and then pinpoint where the leak is coming from. If it's coming from where the transmission mates to the engine, you have a leaking main seal. If it's coming from where the torque converter housing/clutch housing mates to the gear housing, you have a leaking transmission seal. If you're familiar with engine fluid smells, you could also put on some rubber gloves, wipe it, and give it a sniff...but with how much crud and **** is caked up on the bottom of your car, I wouldn't trust your nose.

gran_pann

Thanks for all the replies. I understand that the timing belt is overdue, and already have the parts for it. I am babying this car until I get my 07 SI on Saturday. I figured that i would take the risk and just sell the car for $1,200, when I got an si, but then someone hit my car and I'm just going to fix it up for my kids to drive in just under a year from now.

I plan on replacing/packing the axle boot, replacing power steering rack, replacing rear trailing arm bushings with OEM as well as all rear bushings. I'm tempted to redo suspension too, but all shocks/struts/coil overs (whatever you want to call them) look visibly fine and the dust covers are in good shape.

After all suspension related items are taken care of I will get new tires and have an alignment done.

I'll also be replacing the oil pan as the previous owner stripped the threads for the drain bolt. I have been just using an oversize bolt and gasket for now.

Also about the oil leak it's not the color of the manual trans fluid, and honestly I think there may be more than one spot it leaks. Head gasket is fine, the rest who knows. Wile I'm doing the timing belt I'll replace all other belts and as many seals as I need to, also rad hoses and a few other things.