My mechanic told me my subframe is rusting out . Has anyone ever repaired one, welded one replaced one? It is still a very good car except the subframe that is welded to the body

Is an ‘04 Malibu worth the cost of an oil change? Much less fixing a rusted out frame?

ever built a drag car? subframe connectors...

Can’t do it at a reasonable cost. Rusting out? What does that mean exactly? Is it just rusty or is there corrosion? If it’s a safety issue, junk it. If not, keep on trucking.

I think you can order one on ebay for like $135. When I lived in Hawaii my friend had an old vw fox that the floor boards were so rusted through I'd sit in the passenger seat and look at the highway through the holes as he drove 5 of us to town in it. I always worried a bit that one day the seat would drop through the floor but there were some thicker spots right underneath that.

Bb

The sub frame is the boxed in area that holds the engine,trans drive etc.Unibody is the stamped out chit on the floor.Gonna hafta yank the engine,tranny ,whole front end to change the subframe.You could always buy a gallon of liquid Weld.

Drive that bitch until she comes in two... mechanics are way overrated.

I'd worry most about the landings.

04 Malibu. Junk it

Thanks everyone. There were some real helpful comments here. I my Mechanic said it is too rotted out and he wouldnt drive it. its a shame, it drives nice and was by far the cheapest auto I head per mile. It still has almost no rust on the body. I was very surprised how weak GM made the subframe that connected to the body. With 175,000 mi. on it , if figure it wont be long and I will have a tranny repair, head gasket or timing chain . I brought it in for a brake line leak. He said the gas lines are just as bad . I decided to just junk it. I payed $2800 with tax for it. I only put in $800 in repairs and about $1,000 in tires ETC. I figure with the repairs, maintenence and cost of the car it cost me about 6 cents per miles plus gas. It was by far the cheapest car I ever ran so I am getting an 05 Malibu. 87,000 but it is $6,000 .

the bane of the rust belt. lots of nice cars around here are rotted hulks underneath. i know, i owned a few. i'd still be running my 94 f150 if it hadn't rotted damn near everything underneath. shame too. good looking and running truck.

Sounds like my 05 f150. Rusted SOB. Only 81,000miles. It has 2 spots (1 on each side) where it's rusted through. Being a box frame, I still have 3 good sides. I'm running it. It's my back up truck, if it breaks I hope both sides break at the same time. Then it would be a semi controlled landing and hopefully I roll to a stop.

Wow Joel, that is a shame with only 81K on it.

I knew it was a rust bucket but got a good deal. I have a 06 f150, same truck with 300k. It's just now starting to get surface rust. I bought the 05 for it's components.

The 06 is my wife's dune truck and I know I'm gonna need an engine, etc soon. Cheapest way.

I ended up with a 2008 Chevy Impala with the 3.9 L engine with 44,750 mi. on it for $9660 after tax and everything. I am impressed with the aluminum frame that seem much better built.

Know any shade tree welders, fab guys. Small junkyard?
You probably can't pay a top tier body guy his pound of flesh.
But a Redneck with a MIG can make a lot of stuff work.
Safely.

Rusted sub frame?

Don't you have any Mexicans in your area...

around here they will buy the cheapest thing that rolls...

Got an 81 K car that's gotten awful rusty underneath. Its sittin out back some day I'll bring er back to her glory you can't save them all but. ..

You are welcome.

Saweet! Those first year models can bring bank. Any woodgrain panels on it, or just a base model?

No, no not a woody you think I'm made of money?

the subframe is a frame cradle that bolts to the body, and it can be replaced…. But the labor to do it would be pretty bad so if you can’t do it yourself … not so much.

The pastors wife had a woody wagon back in he day

if you do it your self not to bad, paying someone to do it not worth it, just did my 08 silverado a once over both side inter and outer rockers, inter and outer rear quarters, cost for parts $1200.00 had the truck down to frame and engine, took me a month looks like new only has 85000 miles, if I did this work for some else it would cost them north of 5 grand

Boss Hogg bought a new cadillac if a bird pooped on his