Cradle Bolts rust opinions

[Prospeeder]

mmmkay i think these are the cradle bolts, n ow i took these like last year, and they may be a little bit worse, but are these really bad, like to where i should get them changed asap?

[Invasion1]

Looks the same as every single W-body i have ever seen....including mine

[Prospeeder]

Lol good, now i dont have to worry about them

[TGPilot]

That is mostly surface rust the way the picture looks. You can spray penetrating fluid on a rag and then wipe down all the areas that look like that. It will stop the rust from continuing. If you spray it directly on try to keep it off of the rubber...rubber and petroleum products don't normally get along too well. ;) :icon_cool:

[sleeperred90tgp]

That is mostly surface rust the way the picture looks. You can spray penetrating fluid on a rag and then wipe down all the areas that look like that. It will stop the rust from continuing. If you spray it directly on try to keep it off of the rubber...rubber and petroleum products don't normally get along too well. ;) :icon_cool:

Well sort of Kenny. That looks like more than surface rust. Notice the dark brown spots. Try sanding some of Thoes spots if they don't disappear it isn't surface rust. Wd-40 will stop it for a while but I have found it dissipates pretty quickly. I have found that Klean Strip rust converter and Dupli-Color rust fix work best. They actually put a hard shell around the rust like Por-15. Next best is plain old under coating and next is bed liner. Using all of these products the rust should be at least wire brushed to get the top surface off. Paint won't do shit. Fiberglass is another good option especially if you have holes. If it's on the inside, well good luck on applying it.

I have never seen so much rust on a frame. No wonder the cradle bolts fall out.

Jud

[Invasion1]

No rust like that in Texas eh Jud.......LOL

:icon_razz:

[TGPilot]

Yeah looking at it a little closer and it is biting into the metal more than surface rust.

I would go the route of pulling the bolts...cleaning them and the giant washers. Then coat em with what Jud was talking about. :icon_cool:

[sleeperred90tgp]

I have had my cradle bolts out several times but ins't it the top part or the nut that rust out and the bolt pulls through or does the bolt rust in 2. Just curious on what the failure is and what the top looks like. :icon_question:

Jud

[R Dubya]

I wish I had taken pictures of the 5 speed donor I bought back in spring of '04, the rear cradle bolts let loose and the subframe was rubbing the ground.  I couldn't start the car, so we used a wrecker to put it on the car dolly to bring it home.  It busted the steering inner tie rods as well, and was dragging on the ground.  Speeder your rust accumulation isn't anything like what was on that 5 speed GP.  The frame was rotted away. 

The problem with those bolts is that the lower washers rust enough so they break through, the frame drops over the bolt, and well you know the rest. 

Hell I had such a time getting those bolts to break loose from the cars frame rails it was rediculous!!  I actually had to get a cutting torch to get the frame out as the bolts were so rusted in the rail they wouldnt move a cm!!  actually stripped one of them IIRC.  Oh well, it wouldn't hurt to replace them anyway, the washers and bushings that is. 

[GutlessSupreme]

the bolts on the STE were replaced a few years ago after the frame dropped while Greg was driving it :icon_eek: they must have torqued the shit out of them because even without rust, it took QUITE a bit of work to break some of them loose with an 18" breaker bar...