I brought the wagon. I had to carry them home last years.

 

OK so I'm whittlin' away at my list of problems, taking care of business and I'm more than ready to dive back into the front end of the Camaro. Have a question or two if I could ask:

1. Any tips/tricks to getting the steering apart? I'm going to replace the gear box as it's leaking and I don't know how to replace the seals. Should I take things apart where the rag joint is? I'm not removing the column and only need to get it apart by the gear box. Just not sure the best way to do it.

2. - And this'll probably be a palm to the forehead question for many but I've never done this before... When I remove the front subframe from the body, do I need to mark/line things up for reinstallation? I've read something about tape on the floor but don't remember if that's what it was for. Sorry for the ignorance, just trying to make some progress.

 

I would pull it apart at the rag joint. Plus plan on replacing the bolts for the steering box. I have the set from my 78 in the garage. They are litterally 50% rusted in half and that amount of lost metal goes along for about three inches. Scarey for sure. I was going to post up here and tell people to check theirs because the subframe on the car was excellent. The rad support was perfect.

The subframe has two alignment holes on the mounts at the firewall. That will get you close. Then you have to cross measure to make sure its square. Here is a good place to start. I suggest printing this and laminating it. Then tape it to the wall of the garage. Second Generation Camaro Group - Frame Checking & Dimensions

 

Thanks very much Damon, I haven't pulled the box yet but I'll remember to check the bolts. I'm slowly replacing almost ALL bolts as I go so I'll add 3 more. Haven't seen any BAD ones yet but I'm curious now. The frame and core support are in beautiful shape so I'll have to see. What's ironic about what you said is the rag joint is the rustiest (visible) part on my entire car.

Appreciate the diagram as well, that's exactly what I need! I always think after I post "I bet the other site has info." Haven't been on that one in a while. I was reading about the guy who wants to make custom wire harnesses for everyone. I was about wetting myself with excitement as I read his plans a while back. Have you ever made any progress with him? If he's legit I'll be needing to become buddies with him in a while.

 

He is toatl BS like i was thinking. I wanted to post BS in his thread. If he could have built me one from aircraft grade wire for 500 I would have sold something to get the cash. The weight savings alone was cool. Never heard from him again.

Remember to PB Blaster the bolts daily until leading up to unbolting the frame. Also breaker bars with slow even pressure will work better than an impact.

 

Slow and steady - (like the thread title) that's how I roll. I've been spraying the frame bolts off and on for the past 3 weeks now actually. They should be itchin' to come out now. Just gotta finish a couple little things first then I can get it done.

What a shame about that guy. All that work and effort to sling that BS, to everyone too! I don't get it, why would someone give an email AND phone # to that many people only to vanish? That was my first guess though, unfortunately. "If it sounds too good to be true __________________" That just sucks...

 

Here's a couple pics of some parts after soaking in the molasses solution. It works beautifully I must say. This is going to save me a ton of time and effort from sanding/wire wheeling all these parts. I was skeptical at first but I'm so glad I made this solution. Just wish I had a container big enough to submerge the subframe in! There's a money making venture in itself for someone who's got a big enough bucket!

Before and After pics:

 

Those look great, and they didn't eat the skin off of your hands either eh?
So how long did you have them soaking? Did you need to do any brushing or scraping mid-way through the soak cycle?

 

what goes into that molases soulution??

 

Appreciate it. You can definitely smell the solution when you take the lid off the container but again, it's cold so it's not bad at all. When it gets to be much warmer I'm sure it'll be pretty pungent. Small price to pay IMO, doesn't smell bad. Normally I would don the use of gloves when working with this stuff but today I was so excited to have my power washwer back in action that I just went in and grabbed the stuff out and went to town spraying the rust off. They were in there just over 3 weeks only because of the washer situation. I never touched the parts with anything but solution and the water today. There's a couple spots on the headlight buckets that I will probably brush (or may even just wipe with my hand) to get the remaining little bit but I didn't have to do anything but wait. If I was more pressed for time I'm sure a brush and a smidge of elbow grease would've expedited the process also. I'm looking forward (for another reason now) to the warmer weather to see how much faster this stuff works. Pretty confident that it doesn't have to be weeks for good results either. I don't have anything that has that much rust luckily.