Hoping someone has encountered this issue...

Have a had a clunk going on for sometime and have been trying to pinpoint this for weeks. I found at a least one source of the clunking sound. It looks like the rear swaybar mount on the passenger side rusted and pulled off of the subframe and is just dangling on that side. I knee there was some rust forming but I did not that it was that bad!

So now I am guessing I am in for a rear subframe replacement. Anyone get into this before and have an advice for doing this job?

Anything would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!

Just like you guessed, time for a rear subframe replacement since the sway bar does bolt into the rear subframe. From what I've seen and done on my other IRS vehicles, it's pretty straight forward and not difficult. Seeing as how you're dealing with rust though, maybe let a shop deal with it?

pathtlooch wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 27, 2023 4:04 am

Hoping someone has encountered this issue...

Have a had a clunk going on for sometime and have been trying to pinpoint this for weeks. I found at a least one source of the clunking sound. It looks like the rear swaybar mount on the passenger side rusted and pulled off of the subframe and is just dangling on that side. I knee there was some rust forming but I did not that it was that bad!

So now I am guessing I am in for a rear subframe replacement. Anyone get into this before and have an advice for doing this job?

Anything would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!

Its very difficult to get a rear subframe thats rusted badly off.
A shop I worked with declined because they could not get the old one off and since its boxed frame feared a bolt might shear off that will not be unstuck from the boxed frame
What we did in the case of that veheicle is sanded the rusty subframe bathed it in POR 15, welded the part on question back on and its been fime for the past 2.5 years and 33,000 miles with no obvious sign of further advancing rust.

PS: These rear subframes are not easy to find. I found one for 700 dollars ( but it never went on the car) many places were asking for more.
but of course mine is the V8, so the assembly is more rare.

Something to consider.

1.
There are specialists around that shops hire to re-thread professionally something that may have had the threads ripped off. I wonder if it's the frame, or just the threads that have been damaged by an over zealous impact wrench from someone trying to secure it? Some mechanic could cover his ass by saying it's rusted out, as an example.

I've done this myself, where the bolt for the rear sway bar snapped off, and I did a poor job of removing the old one. When drilling out the old one, I screwed the thread up.

I went to my local shop and they contacted a professional to rethread it for $100.
It's held for two years perfectly and shows no sign of stress.

2.
Depends on the condition of the subframe/cradle.
Beware to look for cracks around the control arms brackets.
If this is as rusted out, to rip a bolt out of a sway bar, you need that bottom section inspected very carefully for no structural things about to give way and cause a more serious issue.

A great video here at South Main auto on a rusted out cradle from an Altima.
Eric O channel is great.

1st video shows the damage caused by rust. Looks at the structural cracks! This dude was lucky.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_G34PM ... oRepairLLC

2nd video of a rust free cradle install.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8V4oy6 ... oRepairLLC


I'm certain you can find rust free cradles if you need them on Car-Part.com. I would look to down south, in the dry States. I've searched and there a number of hits.