'95 Crown Vic beater - nasty frame rot ... What do I do?

[moblene]

^ the rot in question. I checked the rest of the underbody and its crusty, but I can't find any other holes or cracks. I'm stuck with the car, so what do I do now? Ride with it? Patch it? It needs front suspension work badly, but I can't see how I can get that done before I fix this.

 

[D60]

Ditch the fender liner and see how bad it is.

Is this the same area (I can't tell)?
https://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2886454

You may just need some flat bar, a couple angle grinders and a bright blue light machine.

 

[joegreen]

I always see people on craigslist who offer frame repair. Maybe check there

 

[dishdude]

Add some nitrous and turn it into a burnout machine.

 

[Timmastertech]

Right front corner under the a/c evaporator housing? Common spot because the a/c drain runs into the frame there. Basically cut out the rotted metal and weld in new. Not a hard repair on one of those, done about a half dozen.

 

[Lubener]

View attachment 232481
^ the rot in question. I checked the rest of the underbody and its crusty, but I can't find any other holes or cracks. I'm stuck with the car, so what do I do now? Ride with it? Patch it? It needs front suspension work badly, but I can't see how I can get that done before I fix this.

Change your plans and get rid of it. Crown Vics and GM's are a dime a dozen. It's old, unsafe and you would be better off putting your resources towards another vehicle. Frame repair, front end work, alignment and the entire under body is crusty, it's a no brainer.

 

[nickaluch]

Drive it until it dies it's a beater

 

[D60]

Right front corner under the a/c evaporator housing? Common spot because the a/c drain runs into the frame there. Basically cut out the rotted metal and weld in new. Not a hard repair on one of those, done about a half dozen.

Yeah that's a spot mentioned in the thread I linked but OP seems to say driver side....

 

[moblene]

Ditch the fender liner and see how bad it is.

Is this the same area (I can't tell)?
https://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2886454

You may just need some flat bar, a couple angle grinders and a bright blue light machine.

J.F. Christ... I'm having a hard time deciphering what I'm looking at in those photos, but I think it's in the same general area based on the description. My photo was taken from inside the wheel well next to the driver's door. You're looking at it as if you crouched down and peeked into the wheel well. Not sure if that helps. Can't get the fender liner off today, but that's a good idea. Will try when I get a chance if my mechanic doesn't see it first.

Add some nitrous and turn it into a burnout machine.

Lol as

Yeah that's a spot mentioned in the thread I linked but OP seems to say driver side....

Yeah that's a spot mentioned in the thread I linked but OP seems to say driver side....

I meant passenger side. At least I know it's a common problem now.

 

[Snagglefoot]

It’s almost 30 years old and has reached the end of its useful life. The right thing to do is to have a wrecker come pick it up.

 

[D60]

It’s almost years old and has reached the end of its useful life. The right thing to do is to have a wrecker come pick it up.

Depends on the area. Plenty of '95s on the road here.

Plus since this was likely evaporator this would give me hope it's localized. If it were environmental the whole frame would be more suspect.

But yeah, we just don't have enough information either way. Sorry OP, but your pic sucked, too

 

[Ethan2]

Drive it until you die in a beater

ftfy

 

[Delta]

IMO this needs taken off the road. Risking yourself or others is not optimal.

 

[moblene]

Depends on the area. Plenty of '95s on the road here.

Plus since this was likely evaporator this would give me hope it's localized. If it were environmental the whole frame would be more suspect.

But yeah, we just don't have enough information either way. Sorry OP, but your pic sucked, too

Yeah it's a pretty bad pic lol. I was running on 5hrs of sleep and freaking out because I am not really in a position to replace this car. The rest of the frame is crusty, but I think I could get it to go for quite a few more years with a lot of fluid film and/or oil coating. It's the crack/split that's probably going to determine it's lifespan.

 

[moblene]

IMO this needs taken off the road. Risking yourself or others is not optimal.

I've known people to drive far worse than this. I'm just not those people lol.

 

[moblene]

Change your plans and get rid of it. Crown Vics and GM's are a dime a dozen. It's old, unsafe and you would be better off putting your resources towards another vehicle. Frame repair, front end work, alignment and the entire under body is crusty, it's a no brainer.

I'm really not in a position to do that. I'm in-between jobs and money is tight. I know, I know, this car could end up costing me more than it's worth. Doesn't matter, I'm stuck with it. It only has 115k, believe or not. This car has a lot of life left if I can get this fixed.

 

[moblene]

Right front corner under the a/c evaporator housing? Common spot because the a/c drain runs into the frame there. Basically cut out the rotted metal and weld in new. Not a hard repair on one of those, done about a half dozen.

How much would it cost to have a welder/welding shop do it?

 

[Timmastertech]

How much would it cost to have a welder/welding s

In my shop work like that is generally time and materials. Its all but impossible to give an accurate estimate on rust repair.

 

[D60]

How much would it cost to have a welder/welding shop do it?

I'd guess $200-500, but that's assuming it's relatively localized.

I'd personally only do this on a lift, so I'd want an auto-oriented shop. But it could be done on the ground.

Try 4x4 and hot rod shops

 

[Paco Pena]

Certainly get it up on a lift and take a good look see. That may not be the only trouble spot.

Paco