Hey guys,.. I just opened a can of worms here at home today with the original rad support.. I finished grinding the rust out just as flakes/chunks of rust were falling out. The more I ground down the rust the more holes I began noticing.. I would eventually like to replace the entire rad support, but was wondering if anyones done it before on these 6th gens. I know that there is welding involved.. whats involved in removing the old one?
Thank you,

George

 

So basically this what the support looks like on my 03.. Mother nature really took a toll on it

I did start grinding out most of the flaking paint and even after grinding for an hour it was hard to reach bare metal through that thick rust.

 

I actually don't have information for you, but I am very interested in what you find out.

My driver's side bottom support is completely rusted out. I will be in the process of trying to get it fixed shortly, and would love to know your solution if you figure it out.

 

Hey Chibi... Just to recap.. I think I'm gonna try and save the original one seeing as how I have very minimal welding skills and money.. to be honest I don't even know where to begin removing the original one. The rad's gotta come out for sure along with the condensor so its a pretty involved job. Partstrain has the full support system here for 160$

PartsTrain.com - Hard to Find Auto Parts and Truck Parts - Rad Support - For 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS High Sport 6 Cyl 3.8L

but ebay also has a couple for half the cost of partstrain's.

Is yours really bad?? with fist sized holes??

The only thing I would suggest if you were to save the original one would be, get a good scraper and scrape all the old flaking paint off, than.. if you have your hands on a sandblaster to sandblast the rust.. if not, get your hands on an air needle scaler from harbourfreight.. and really get that scaleing rust off. A die grinder with a 2 1/2" head works really good too (which is what I used) and just grind until you reach bare metal.. Youd want to clean the area too (wash it with soap and water) get the oil/grease out. and blow the water off with comprssed air. Rust check makes a rust paint in that same colour (silver grey I believe its called) I bought mine from Canadian Tire here in Canada. Double coat that S***. The frame rails will have some rust on the inside so make sure you spray everything in there too.. Once its dry spray engine oil mixed with lucas oil stabilizer so it forms like honey everywhere. I believe Eastwood company sells an undercoating gun on ebay for 60$ with 2 wands so its a proper investment to save your baby. Good luck bro.. Its a pretty big job but I'm sure you'll manage. If you need anything else let me know.

 

Yeah, my car isn't even connected at the bottom anymore. It's really bad. I will probably have to have a real body shop give me a whole new one

 

Its the condensation/water/moisture from the a/c condensor that accumulates @ the bottom. At the end of the day its worth just replacing.. I figured out today that the old one comes out by drilling the spot welds that hold it to the frame rails. So if your up for a project that will save you money.. go for it. I just finished painting mine. I will be posting pics later on just so you get an idea what it will look like. The silver grey can of rust paint that I bought wasnt even grey.. it came out white . Ahh oh well. As long as it prevents the rust from coming back out. Thanks for tuning in Chibi.

 

so here it is .. finished product.. this cost me too much and took way too much time, but turned out to be well worth it.

 

and .. one more!

 

Looks really good! Thanks for sharing

 

Looks Nice..