:hail: I really need some help on my Camy.. My strut tower liner rusted all aroiund and broke off... Sould I go to a junk yard and cut off a new liner, then fit it on, I hope someone knows what I'm talking about, and can help!!!! Thanks, 89 Camy (6) 2.8 If you need pics, it will take awhile

 

Yeah, a pic would be best- but in the meantime, how about a better description? What do you mean by the "liner"?

 

OK, the strut tower that the strut is conected to, say you take off the front fender, well the inside of that, the inside of the fender closest to the engine!!!! I'll send a pic soon, it's in storage Thanks for all your help man

 

a lot of work man, A LOT of work. hope you can align the car after its done. if the measurement isnt to the T, the car will never ride stright again

 

you need a new inner fender right? my parts car I bought had that problem. to be leagle you have to remove the whole thing and have it welded and rebonded back in there. (just like the day it was made) there is no other right way around this because it is a major support for a steering component. as you already know when it broke through the car steers like so any rigging is unsafe and if you kill some one because you tried to weld or what ever on top of it guess who gets in major trouble.

 

your talking about the actual strut tower right? id invest in a new car. go with the v8 too

 

Is it the whole inner fender, or just the top where the strut mount is. If I remember correctly, the top of the inner fender is a separate piece that was spotwelded in at the factory.

Yeah, I double checked on that, from a picture on my hard drive. The top of the strut tower sheetmetal is just a cap of sorts that was spotwelded on. If the rest of your fender is ok, you should be able to get the piece cut out of a donor car and have a reputable body shop just spot weld the new one in.

If you have welding ability, you could do it yourself provided you line everything up properly.

I swear, sometimes these guys get rediculous. Junk the car because the strut tower went bad? I wish I had your money.

Mathius

 

i dont deal with rot at all. unless its likea fender or something thatsa different story. now what happens if he cant weld? thats a lot of body work... in my eyes its not worth a v6. if the tower is that bad, how bad is the rest of the car?

 

How bad are we talking here? Try to get a picture and have one of those 1-hour stores scan it onto a disk.

If it's not too bad... and I hope it's not in the spot I think it is (against the frame), you might be able to weld a patch plate over it. Again, I don't know if you're talking about a hole that's 5 inches big or one that's 20 inches long! Yes the strut tower is structural but it's not as crucial as, say, the k-member or the framerails. The wheels hang off of the k-member and framerails; they don't hang off of the strut towers.

But if the strut towers are damaged too much...

Another alternative (but a ton of work)- find another f-body with a blown motor and swap all your good parts into it.

Or ask around your town for a decent body shop, and bring them the car- see what they say. When you ask them about it, here's one key point you need to stress: Tell them you'll get EVERYTHING out of their way- you'll move all wiring harnesses and air conditioning and the fender/alternator/power steering/etc. If they have to mess with moving that stuff, it'll be (a) MUCH more expensive and (b) it'll turn a simple welding job into a pain-in-the-butt-job that they won't want to do.

 

This pic might take awhile.... sorry but thanks for the help... wait till I send a pic!!

 

Like I said, I wish I had your money.

This is the fabrication section of the board. I'm giving him instructions on how to repair or "fabricate" a new strut tower. If he can't weld, it's his responsibility to take the knowledge and use it however it suits him best.

A damaged strut tower is not the end of the world. If the body is straight, then we're just talking a sheet metal repair, period. As long as everything is lined up properly, it isn't a big deal. All sheet metal is spot welded at the factory, there isn't even a bead run. That's basically a series of tack welds. If something was bent out of spec or we were talking about a structural piece like the a-pillar, firewall, etc., I might be concerned, but we're talking about a piece of 14-16 gauge sheet metal.

Mathius

 

yeah im just saying, if the rest of the body needs help and the fact its a v6...its just not worth it. you can pick up a 6 for really cheap now. ive seen tons going for less then 1k. if its worth fixing then go for it. i had to chop my whole front end off and weld on a new one. but my car was from california and TOTALLY worth keeping. it was so clean, i could see the serial numbers on the floor boards under the car! lol i found the original inspection sticker off the assembily line from 86 under the carpet! to me, thats worth fixing