AWS Delete and underboard rehab - lots of pics

[cbehnken]

First of all I want to thank drweldin for his very informative post on the aws delete. Here is his thread: AWS Delete: How I did it...

Second, one thing to mention is I used 1/4 NPT plugs for the steering rack and just looped the two extra ports on the steering fluid reservoir together using the existing hose.

The plugs *should* be 1/4 BSPT, but that is impossible to get without ordering, so I used standard brass 1/4 NPT plugs with lots of teflon tape. It thread right in without resistance and tightened up great. It has not leaked a drop so far. NPT threads arey close to BSPT, but the threads per inch and thread angle is different in the 1/4 thread. BSPT at 55 degree threads and NPT at 60 degree. There is also one thread per inch difference between the two due to the angle.

Regardless they are close enough that they will mate together and not bind. Under a constant high pressure situation I wouldn't trust this solution, but since the signal lines won't be under constant pressure and the pressure should be relatively low (couple hundred PSI maybe) I don't forsee a problem.

If you are doing this ahead of time order 1/4 BSPT pipe plugs and you'll have a more bulletproof solution.

The stockers are actually an o-ring seal, so no plug will be perfect, unless you do like drweldin and cut the end off the stock line and weld it shut. Not a bad option, but I feel plugs are cleaner and even without the o-ring they are less likely to leak IMHO.

One good tip to get the lines off the rack is to use a crows foot for the passenger side line, makes a normally knuckle scraping situation very safe.

Somehow the car feels much more responsive at low speeds, although the way the stock system works should suggest otherwise. Turn in seems sharper and less vague. Oddly enough I can really feel the weight off of the car and it has me itching for doing further weight reduction. My AWD was leaking, so it is possible it was not fully functional, but I am very happy with the results so far.

You can see in the pictures that I used the forward rack mount bolt to attach the inner rod in to the subframe. In order to tighten the nut on the bottom side you have to go through the hole on the bottom of the subframe.

Unfortunately the bottom hole is not directly beneath the nut, so you can't use standard methods to hold the nut from spinner. I actually picked up a crowsfoot to do the job. I had to dremel a VERY small amount out of one side of the hole to get the crowsfoot in the hole. It was so tight I attached a zip tie through the crowsfoot drive hole and pushed in through the hole. I attached the zip tie so I could get it back out and not drop it. If you put a flat blade screwdriver in the crowsfoot drive hole you can hold it up against the inside of the crossmember well enough to tighten the bolt. I tighted the end link nuts to around 55 lb/fts (they are also nylock nuts like drweldin suggested). Locktite would also be good here if you are really anal.


Putting the subframe back in is kinda a bitch, about like putting the tranny back in. You'll need to put a good floor jack beneath the differential and use 1 or 2 additional jacks to raise the front of the cross member. You can't raise it by just the diff because it won't go up straight. The pins are tight enough to the subframe that you have to get the crossmember liften straight up to get all four pins in. Plan on a buddy, I would not attempt this by myself unless i was desperate.


While I had this all apart I cleaned up a ton of rust on the underbody and crossmember because it made me sick to see it all the time I was under the car and I want to keep this car for a long time. Many people wouldn't take the time to clean up rust and would just move onto another TT since they are so cheap, but I don't see our cars as being so disposable and respect them more than that.

It took about a week of evenings and 2 weekends to cleanup all the rust. It took a combination of sand blasting, wire wheeling, a grinding mounted flap wheel sanding disk, and naval jelly to get rid of the rust.

I didn't have the patience to blast everything down to bare metal, but got it really cleaned up before painting with 2-3 coats of rustoleum and 2 coats of rubberized underbody coating.

I'll keep a close eye on it, but I think this will keep the car rust free for many years.

Here are the pics below of the cleanup.

[cbehnken]

love the 10 pic limit:

[cbehnken]

DIRTY:




Edit: This is honesty a lot of work and anyone that says different must have not had to deal with the rust that I did. The delete itself is pretty easy, but getting the subframe back in is not really trivial. You have a very major part of the car out and a lift would be MUCH easier. Just be careful and have a friend to at least confirm the stud and washer alignment when lifting the subframe back in.

Stock cat back guys and other aftermarket exhausts may have to come complete out, I got lucky with the ATR and the frame would barely clear it (interfered a little, but slipped by).


I probably wouldn't have done this if the car wasn't leaking, but it was well worth it just to have the rust all gone and the weight out of the car.

I also wanted to mention how beefy our unibody really is. The rust had me really nervous that I'd find a hole or problem with the structure, but once it was cleaned up you couldn't even tell it was ever there. The metal is very thick and we have a strong frame rail in the back. As far as unibodies go I find this to be a car that I would be very confident owning for a long time, unlike some of the swiss cheese modern cars I have seen. I can't imagine what rust would do to a civic or cavalier type of car, there isn't even a safe place to place jackstands on the new cobalts IMO.

[wraith]

Nice job with that subframe renovation. I just had mine out last weekend and it looked better then yours to start out with, so after seeing your after pictures, I am a little bummed I did not spend more time with the rubberizer spray. My case, was just fixing a leak and replacing the Saner sway bar with the stocker because its a POS that should have never been sold for our cars. Anyway, I just want to say that the subframe can be raised and lowered with a single jack from the diff if you balance the subframe right on it. The back end of my car was on jack stands with the front on the ground, so that may be why mine was so easy to line up and put back.
The one thing I noticed is that the sub frame bushings are a little like jello. I put a jack under there to hold it tight and ran the bolts down and when I let the jack out, I could see the subframe drop a little as it hung in the slop of the old bushing. Dynamic sells these in aluminum but I wonder if they allow you to retain the thin rubber ring on top just for vibration isolation purposes.

Sam

[Drweldin]

Nice....
My underbody wasn't as bad as yours as far as rust....but I can relate to not
wanting to spend to hours it would take to get it perfect...
I was able to muscle the subframe back in by myself, but good tip on having
a buddy help - I would agree with that. The front holes are a pain because the whole thing wants to roll forward.
Did you look at your subframe bushings close? I noticed mine end caps were pretty rusted, so I did have to clean those up quit a bit. I think Matt Monnets solids would be a good option here regardless....
Also, I vote for more weight reduction!
My car is about 350 lbs lighter than stock and I love it...

[porbund]

Glad to see your hard work to keep that stealth in excellent condition, I know how much work rust removal can be. That rubberized stuff is good, I have the mopar documents showing mine was sprayed when new and there is virtually no rust underneath to this day.

[jrod]

Looks great. But damn that was alot of rust.

[cbehnken]

Originally Posted by jrod

Looks great. But damn that was alot of rust.

Yep, welcome to new york cars driven round year. I'll never by another car from that area again.

[VRFury]

Originally Posted by cbehnken

Yep, welcome to new york cars driven round year. I'll never by another car from that area again.

I have to say, that's the worst rust I've seen on one as of yet, but most pictures on here are of people in warm, rich areas of the world, and certainly not dd's. However, being a tech here in PA, that is a VERY healthy car for its age in this particular climate. Usually anything daily driven from early 90's and before is just an excuse to throw a parts book at. Especially things like gas tanks, brake lines and some strut/shock mounts. Actually, I saw my first surface rust on the body of a non-damaged 3/S the other day, If I remember right it was r/rear fender. And it was a daily driven 91 base stealth, with rotted out power steering lines and of course the typical "oil leaks everywhere" sohc 3.0L

[cbehnken]

Originally Posted by VRFury

I have to say, that's the worst rust I've seen on one as of yet, but most pictures on here are of people in warm, rich areas of the world, and certainly not dd's. However, being a tech here in PA, that is a VERY healthy car for its age in this particular climate. Usually anything daily driven from early 90's and before is just an excuse to throw a parts book at. Especially things like gas tanks, brake lines and some strut/shock mounts. Actually, I saw my first surface rust on the body of a non-damaged 3/S the other day, If I remember right it was r/rear fender. And it was a daily driven 91 base stealth, with rotted out power steering lines and of course the typical "oil leaks everywhere" sohc 3.0L

I'm just grateful it wasn't rusted through anywhere at all.

After 2 years the car is finally getting into shape and something I can feel safe to drive. It hasn't been a fun 2 years with her, but I have way too much in it to give up and I've learned almost every bolt on these things between this and my last car.

P.S. Don't buy a car from northern climates without seeing pics of the under body. I saw the great paint on this car and "assumed" that the under body would be fine, since my 95 stealth I had at the time was perfect underneath.

I nearly shat my pants when I saw underneath this thing closely.

Oh well, I'd wager my under body looks better than a LOT of cars on here now that I have gone through it. One of the nice things about replacing so much stuff is that by the time you are done you have a reliable vehicle.