From Hero to Zhiro (1999 Sixbolt_16g)

[SixBolt_16G]

August'/September 2025

Rear end is back together after replacing all the knuckle and control arm bushings with prothane.

Still creaking . Maybe 25% better, but still embarrassing loud when pulling up to a stoplight or pulling into a parking lot. On the positive side, my "almost-non-existant" parking brake works again. All of the prothane bushings have been greased, sleeves have been greased, bolts going through the sleeves have been greased and everything has been torqued to spec. Most of the hardware is new. This needed to be done anyway with the number of components that were seized, so I dont consider it a waste of time even tho i didnt get the result I wanted. This bucket of Evaporust was well worth the purchase and this little angle grinder attachment that i picked up from Menards for like $7 made quick work of getting rid of the crustiness before dipping.

The drum that I was having problems with separates from the knuckle, it was just a bit seized and i didnt have to undo the shoes, nor did i have to undo the parking brake cable.

My process for removing all the bushings was to use my ball joint kit to press them out, then used a Forstner bit that came with my holesaw kit to clear out the rest of the rubber to get to the out shell.

What really wouldve helped was an arm extension on a Dremel that turns the cutting wheel 90 degrees so that i could cut on a Z-axis... The 90 degree extension that they sell just doesnt allow the cutting wheel to get into tighter areas, so i ended up using a carbide burr to cut a line without going all the way through and with the weakened metal, was able to easily tap the sleeves out.

With my job being so chaotic at the moment and the amount of energy i spent having to drill through one of the control arm mounting bolt and then again through the screw extractor that broke off in it, I just didnt have it in me to drop the subframe. I also had to cut through one of the control arm bolts. As usual with everything I do, 3 bolts will always be fine, 4th is always guaranteed to be a problem. Snapping another bolt while trying to get the subframe down would just send me over the edge at the moment. So that was a "no-go"

Looking around for information on a GST rear subframe has been more than lacking. I see a number of options for AWD subframe bushings but absolutely nothing for GST... Looking at the service manual, I question if the GST even has subframe bushings or is it just bolted up. The text in the service manual only details the AWD and non turbo replacement.

If its just bolts, Im confused as to what could be making this noise now. If anyone has info or has removed a GST rear crossmember, please let me know if id be wasting my time.

While replacing everything didnt resolve the issue, I did get to drive the car yesterday/today and the motivation started coming back with every shift. The rear end felt solid yet comfortably cushy. I was concerned that the prothane wouldve made the car feel stiff. Feels good to know that Ive gotten this car to at least 90% of what ive been shooting for over the last year. So i do, at least feel very accomplished if this were the last thing I were to finish going into winter.

 

[SixBolt_16G]

October 2025

1. Finish tune
2. Investigate coolant lower coolant hose leak
3. Instrument cluster glow gauges no working
4. WTF is causing that obnoxious creaking from my rear end
5. Finish projector headlight project
6. Paint hood
7. Wheel/tires
8. Find the cause of low voltage

Silence.

WTF was causing all the noise in the rear end? The hacked up crossmember bar.

When the shop replaced all the rear control arms, they had to melt the bolts out of the holes because some of them were completely seized. A welder came in and reconstructed the metal around the holes. I dont know a lot about welding and dont know whats possible or how hard something is to do, so Im not passing judgements, but the holes just didnt match up. New (some were non-oem) bolts had movement within the holes when given enough force. If i could make them move, I know forces enacted on it from road abuse would probably make them move at potentially dangerous levels. The noise got progressively worse with every drive, probably from the bolts gradually gnawing away at the surrounding metal.

Found a nice looking rear crossmember from a 3rd generation Eclipse on ebay that was just about rust-free. The rear ends are identical to a GST. I cleaned and scuffed it and then applied a Rustoleum coats.

Removing the old crossmember was one of the easier suspension pieces I've dealt with because for once... nothing snapped and/or had to be drilled out. Got everything bolted up and torqued. I went to install the sway bar and things were tight...Too tight.

Not sure what the point of these mounting extenders were that were welded on. Could've still made it work, except the holes for the top bolts were off... enough for the bolts to not slide all the way through without hitting metal on the other side. Taking the rear end apart for the 6th time.

I ended up going to Menards for a metal cutting disc for my angle grinder and learned from the internet that a flap disc would be the best solution for getting rid of the welds. I tried a few Dremel tool attachments before going this route but quickly discovered that it was just going to take forever. Plus, keeping a steady hand was hard as u can see by some of the scrapes.

I have to say... the flap disc is one of my new favorite tools. Cutting through the metal was easy. Grinding down the metal seemed even easier, quick and effortless. I was using my the hearing protection that I use for the gun range and hadnt been aware of how "loud as f***" this was until i took them off to see, because the disc was giving the impression that it was just grinding this down, smooth like butter. I was able to get it cut, grinded and primered in about an hour. Then finished i for with some Rustoleum.

Squeezed the subframe back over the exhaust, control arms back in, sway bar in, bolts torqued, wheels on, lugs torqued.

Also, ever since I found the plug on the front of the alternator halfway unplugged and secured it, he P1500 hasnt returned and the voltage has normalized.

The evening drive was quiet, glorious and problem free. 6th time is the charm. The only thing in the rear that isnt new are the hub bearings.

But he most important thing of all is that this is the last of issues to fix from my fallout with the Shop and I can finally let all of that animosity go.

 

[Justin DuBois]

October 2025

1. Finish tune
2. Investigate coolant lower coolant hose leak
3. Instrument cluster glow gauges no working
4. WTF is causing that obnoxious creaking from my rear end
5. Finish projector headlight project
6. Paint hood
7. Wheel/tires
8. Find the cause of low voltage

Silence.

WTF was causing all the noise in the rear end? The subframe itself.

When the shop replaced all the rear control arms in the back, they had to melt bolts out of he holes because some of them were completely seized. A welder came in and reconstructed the metal around the holes. I dont know a lot about welding and dont know whats possible or how hard something is to do, so Im not passing judgements, but the holes just didnt match up. New bolts had movement within the holes when given enough force. If i could make them move, I know forces enacted on it from road abuse would probably make them move at potentially dangerous levels. The noise got progressively worse with every drive.

View attachment 777320

Found a nice looking subframe from a 3rd generation Eclipse on ebay. The rear ends are identical to a GST except for the tubular control arms. It was rust free, so i cleaned and scuffed it and gave it some Rustoleum coats..
View attachment 777317
View attachment 777318

Removing the old subframe was one of the easier suspension pieces ive dealt with because for once... nothing snapped and/or had to be drilled out. Everything was bolted up and torqued. I went to install the sway bar and things were tight.. .Too tight.

Not sure what was the point of these extenders were that were welded on. Couldve still made it work, except the holes for the top bolts were off... enough for the bolts to not slide all the way through. Taking the rear end apart for the 6th time.

View attachment 777314
I ended up going to Menards for a metal cutting disc and a flap disc. I was unsure what route to even go so i tried a few Dremel tool but it was just going to take forever if going that route and keeping a steady hand was hard as u can see by somee of the scrapes.

View attachment 777315
I have to say... the flap disc is one of my new favorite tools. Cutting through the metal was easy. Grinding down the metal seemed even easier, quick and effortless. I was able to do it all while listening to an hour long company meeting. Primer and more Rustoleum to cover the bare metal.

View attachment 777312
View attachment 777313

Squeezed the subframe back over the exhaust, control arms back in, sway bar in, bolts torqued, wheels on, lugs torqued.

Ever since I found the plug on the front of the alternator halfway unplugged and secured it, he P1500 hasnt returned and the voltage has normalized.

The evening drive was quiet, glorious and problem free. 6th time is the charm. The only thing in the rear that isnt new are the hub bearings.

The most important thing of all is that this is the last of issues to fix from my fallout with the Shop and I can finally let all of that animosity go.

Huh - what were the parts you removed for? Sway bar pivots?

 

[SixBolt_16G]

Huh - what were the parts you removed for? Sway bar pivots?

Ive been trying to figure that out myself. They were not on my old crossmember and when i look at 3g rear sway bar pics online, no one else has them either. i was thinking maybe it was a 3g thing. The only thing that i can think of is perhaps they were trying to fit a sway bar from another car and the arms were too long so they added these as mounting extensions.

Not sure how anyone previous to me wouldve been able to use it because there was no way to put a bolt through there. Maybe a thinner bolt angled downward. It was also very tight fit for my bar to fit over them. My sway bar links were pulled all the way to the rear to try to accomodate. They definitely didnt notice that the holes didnt line before they welded it. Guess that is why it was for sale. I was not in the mood to be defeated and accept a loss that day

 

[SixBolt_16G]

The season came to an end for me this past weekend with the first snow of the year. Even tho its going to be almost 70 degrees this weekend, there were plenty of trucks out there dumping salt on the ground for like 3 days and I've got a mound of it in the street in front of my house since I live across from the depot where the trucks load up. Ive spent the last 15 out of the 20 years of owning this car, putting in the necessary work to keep it from rusting.

But the season ended on a high note and I couldn't be happier. So much of this car was updated, so many issues resolved. The car runs well and I did most of the work myself including a lot of things that I thought were outside of my capabilities and also thought that I had a lack of time to address. This forum is definitely one of a kind. The amount of people that are willing and the extent that some people go to help out others should be admirable by other forums. Havent been to a car meet or cars/coffee in 2 years now, hopefully everything with this car is just cool when I pull it out of the garage next year.

The goals for next year are looking like this so far.

1. Finish tune - Fixing boost leaks have thrown some numbers off. I started working the idle again and found that raising my idle slightly resolved the rpm issues i was having and also put my ISC position numbers into spec.
2. Finish projector headlight project - Ive had new headlights in boxes for the last 2 yrs+ . Still need to order projects. Might do that project over the winter.
3. Paint hood - The oxidation spot in my hood has been an eye sore since i bought the car. My friend left the car sitting under a tree for a year and a half and the sap ate right through the clear coat. I have all the materials here except the paint and the clear coat, just need to go ahead and do it.
4. Wheel/tires - This is the hardest of decisions for me because i LOVE the stock chromies and I dont really like any of the similiar alternaives that ive found. Id really just want 17x9 versions of these wheels if I could find them. The ones that Ive found to be very close only come in an x10 or have a offset of like +20. My 2 rear wheels are warped and the tire place has issues balancing them. Not sure if this can be fixed, so ill try to find answers in the off season.
5. More undercarriage restoration and rustproofing. It looks great for a 25 year old car, but still takes work to keep it like that.
6. Align window - My drivers window dips in the front, possibly from broken clip or just misalignment ever since Ive had the car. Rolling it all the way up hinders the door from closing and/or bends the window. leaving it slight down closes it for the most part but there is a little gap close to the A-pillar. Not as precise as the passenger window. Haven't worried about it since the car is garage kept and only driven in nice weather.
7. Fix lower radiator hose leak. This lower radiator hose will not stop leaking at the engine spout. New hose, new clamp. The leak continues. Between 3 cars, if there is anything that Ive become tired of, its been the smell of antifreeze.

Those are the goals for this year, otherwise, my wifes Prelude is next on the list to get overhauled.