You guys in the 'Rust Belt', my hat is off to you.........

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It's you fools from up north that are ruining the 80 series market down here. Get off my lawn!
 
flintknapper said:
Not new, original part. I didn't even clean it....except to hose it off, no kidding.

Honestly...in parts of the country where these vehicle are not exposed to road salt or not on the Coast/Beach, what you have seen here is common, no 'BS'.

That is why I just cringe when I see pictures of frames/parts that are all pitted or have rust so thick it is literally coming off in big flakes. We would haul those vehicles to the junkyard here, but I understand it is a 'way of life' in other places.

I'd hate to be a mechanic in the 'rust belt', having to fight parts just to get them off to repair or replace. I don't know how well the body parts hold up, but I've seen other vehicles (with Yankee plates) that have the wheel wells, rocker panels and door bottoms eaten through with rust. I can only imagine that one buys a vehicle in those states knowing it has a 'life expectancy' due to rust issues alone.
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you guys are soooo lucky, pulled off yesterday..

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and what does this bar actually even do anyway? ..do I really need it? ..given that 3 / 4 of the bolts snapped off, refitting is going to be a massive PITA. I only took it off to be able to get at the frame properly under there for de-rust/painting.

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jus sayin' ;)
 
kevsta said:
you guys are soooo lucky, pulled off yesterday..

and what does this bar actually even do anyway? ..do I really need it? ..given that 3 / 4 of the bolts snapped off, refitting is going to be a massive PITA. I only took it off to be able to get at the frame properly under there for de-rust/painting.

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jus sayin' ;)
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^^^^^^^^^^^ Thank You for posting this. It is a good example of the original subject of this thread.

What 'should' be a simple job (remove and replace a part), turns into a time consuming exercise of drilling out and extracting 3 bolts and then chasing the threads on all 4.

I'm sure professional mechanics in the rust belt are good at that, but the average owner who works on his/her vehicle is going to have a difficult time with it. I know that certain penetrating lubricants can 'help' in some situations, but other times the fasteners have just fused themselves to the threaded holes.

So again, my hat is off to you guys that live with this. I didn't start this thread to 'show off' the condition of our vehicles (where I live) but to express my admiration for those of you who have to work 3 times as hard at changing out a part as I would have to do.
 
I discovered I had "vented shocks" on my parts truck yesterday. I will continue to do my part in driving up the market value of rust free rigs in the S/SW :).

v.webp
 
and what does this bar actually even do anyway? ..do I really need it? ..given that 3 / 4 of the bolts snapped off, refitting is going to be a massive PITA. I only took it off to be able to get at the frame properly under there for de-rust/painting.

View attachment 1411947

jus sayin' ;)[/QUOTE]

I think that's a stop of sorts, for the spare tire when you crank it up.
 
Tedward said:
I think that's a stop of sorts, for the spare tire when you crank it up.
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ok, thanks, that's what I was thinking.. maybe.. well as I've raised that crossmember in the past anyway to get it higher, plus 285s, perhaps it will be an improvement and go higher still without.. :)
 
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