NateCrisman
Well-known member
yup 255/2000 was unsafe at any speed in an accident. I kinda bet that if you autox'd it a few more time, the pass front shock tower would have started tearing away from the firewall. That was one of the only places I could see real bad rot prior to tearing the body and interior apart. When I was first pulling engine parts off, I noticed the area around the windshield wiper motor was "brown" behind the shock tower. That spot was easy to push a screwdriver through. Once the engine was out, I bet you could have swung a mallet at the engine bay side of the shock tower and pretty much knocked it off.
That car would have fallen apart in an accident on the front end, but more than that, I'd suspect the rot could CAUSE an accident. Imagine that shock tower tearing loose after slamming a big pothole on the highway at 85mph and the car swings into another lane due to an instant +5* of toe out. Or the shock's upper mount pushing through the tower, wailing the hood, and possibly knocking the hood out of the latch = hood & glass in your face on the highway.
That car would have fallen apart in an accident on the front end, but more than that, I'd suspect the rot could CAUSE an accident. Imagine that shock tower tearing loose after slamming a big pothole on the highway at 85mph and the car swings into another lane due to an instant +5* of toe out. Or the shock's upper mount pushing through the tower, wailing the hood, and possibly knocking the hood out of the latch = hood & glass in your face on the highway.
Last edited:
