Rust rust rust
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,226
From: Lakeland, Florida
What part of Mass are you from?
Welcome to the MCF.
When it comes to rust there are a few things you need to do. First you need to get your car up on a lift and look it over completely underneath. Look at the floorboards. Look at the rocker panels both inner and outer. Look at the frame rails especially where the suspension mounts to it. Look at your trunk floor. Look at the engine cradle and the suspension mounts on the front. Also look at the radiator support. What you need to do is evaluate the condition of the underside of your car. I suspect if you have rust in your rear shock towers then you probably have rust in many of the places I just suggested you check. In the event that you do then your car isn't worth fixing. Your Monte Carlo is a unibody car and all those areas that I mentioned are structural parts of your car and keep it safe driving down the road and also in the event of an accident. If your car is rusty in those places you can either part out your car or sell it for parts and find yourself another ride. If your Monte is fine in all those places then you can go to a junk yard and find a rear shock tower and cut it out of another Monte. You will need to bring the part and your Monte to a body shop and have the new shock tower welded into your car.
I lived in Lowell Mass for around 16 years and another 18 years in the Burlington Vermont area and worked in the car business most of those years. I suspect your car is all ate up from salt underneath. I saw it all the time. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Gregg
Welcome to the MCF.
When it comes to rust there are a few things you need to do. First you need to get your car up on a lift and look it over completely underneath. Look at the floorboards. Look at the rocker panels both inner and outer. Look at the frame rails especially where the suspension mounts to it. Look at your trunk floor. Look at the engine cradle and the suspension mounts on the front. Also look at the radiator support. What you need to do is evaluate the condition of the underside of your car. I suspect if you have rust in your rear shock towers then you probably have rust in many of the places I just suggested you check. In the event that you do then your car isn't worth fixing. Your Monte Carlo is a unibody car and all those areas that I mentioned are structural parts of your car and keep it safe driving down the road and also in the event of an accident. If your car is rusty in those places you can either part out your car or sell it for parts and find yourself another ride. If your Monte is fine in all those places then you can go to a junk yard and find a rear shock tower and cut it out of another Monte. You will need to bring the part and your Monte to a body shop and have the new shock tower welded into your car.
I lived in Lowell Mass for around 16 years and another 18 years in the Burlington Vermont area and worked in the car business most of those years. I suspect your car is all ate up from salt underneath. I saw it all the time. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Gregg
Last edited by mousehousemoparman; Feb 21, 2012 at 06:32 PM.
Monte Of The Month -- March 2013
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 8,442
From: michigan
Welcome to the site. Like Gregg said determining the amount of damage is first and foremost. Then you can decide how to fix it. If it's not too bad you could make a repair yourself but if it's a big repair you may want to take it to a shop. Some pics may be helpful .
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,226
From: Lakeland, Florida
I don't think an 88 will have a strut bucket because it is rear wheel drive. Unless I'm mistaken he has a front wheel drive and the inner fender has a "bucket" so to speak that the rear struts bolt to. The strut mounts rust out and is very common with New England front wheel drive cars.
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,226
From: Lakeland, Florida
No problem. I didn't look at his profile but assumed because he was talking about struts rather than shocks that it was front wheel drive. Up in New England the G- body Montes had rust issues too. The rear frame rails would break anywhere from the center of the rear wheel to the rear bumper and the rear bumpers would fall off. That is an easier fix than a rusted strut bucket.
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 17
From: Massachusetts
Thanx for the reply,the damage is actually between the bucket and the actual inner fender.car is a 98mc z34.I think i will try to weld a piece of plate steel between bucket and inner fender meta.New England winter salt is really intense.l
