Even if you repair all the rust you can reasonably find there can still be serious rust undetected.
And that weak spot will fail right when you need the integrity the most, just like with the hairpin turn.
Give it up and take it to a junkyard. It is hard to retire an otherwise decent vehicle but it has to be done for safety reasons. I retired an old '89 Accord with almost 600,000 miles on it due to safety issues caused by rust, and it was hard to retire a decent running vehicle after 25 years of no trouble use. Just do it and move on. Rocketman
Like cancer, rust is virtually terminal in most cases. As others advise, take it to the recycler and move on.
I’ve driven my 1979 Celica (20R engine) several times for distances of 1000 miles. It is in absolutely pristine condition, and EVERYTHING in the maintenance manual gets checked on schedule, (over 50 items) from the TVTV valve for the distributor advance, A/I/ system etc to lubricating the front upper support bearings (item 51).
I have yet to get stuck with this car in over 200,000 miles of driving it. This over xx year old = unreliable is pure hogwash, if the car has been properly maintained. It was not too long ago when I retired after flying decades old DC8’s for an air freight company.
tom418-did you even read this thread ?
You could buy 3 old Corollas for what it will cost to repair that rear suspension or one 2000-2003 Corolla.
Agree with what most of the others here say, the rust issue is the problem. If little to no rust, fixing the rear hubs and associated suspension components wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But it would be a big deal if there’s enough rust that the structural integrity is in question where the suspension components attach, which seems to be the case.
Everything can be fixed of course, but in this case I think you are best to get another used car. I think you’ve learned the best time to get an inspection by a mechanic is pre-purchase.
I doubt if a severely rust damaged car would be purchased by a Cali salvage yard. Structural rust damage rarely occurs there.
Here in Western NY, home central for rusted cars we have shops that specialize in repairing rusty cars, but it is usually to get a year or maybe two out of them. We certainly don’t take long trips in them, maybe 70 miles to go camping in the woods with, because you can throw firewood in them and if the break, you take off the plates and call the closest junkyard and give them the car,
It sounds like this one it too far gone to be worth the welding.
This advice comes from someone who called the junkyard to pick up a car I had just driven home from work in and when they picked up the front wheels, the windshield shattered and the car broke in half at the firewall. Sure glad we did the paperwork first.
Quoting @sgtrock21
“I doubt if a severely rust damaged car would be purchased by a Cali salvage yard. Structural rust damage rarely occurs there.”
Sure they’ll buy it, by the ton. Rusty cars still have weight. They’re even easier to crush…
@oldtimer-11 I’m glad you made it home in one piece.
A 1988 anything is not likely to be a reliable car at this point, and not likely worth fixing unless it’s otherwise in showroom condition, and I expect it is not.
It really takes and eyes on to determine exactly what happened and what is damaged, but with the blindfold of the internet i place and knowing what little I know of this particular model, I’d say there is a chance that the wheel bearing failed. At some point with this design, it is possible for the wheel hub to separate from the rest of the axle. That would also damage the the strut and possibly the axle itself.
If the axle itself is damaged, then both sides have to be replaced, but if the bearing went on one side, then it is quite probable that the bearing and hub assembly on the other side should be replaced as well. All in all, this can run into quite a bit of money, even using some junk yard parts.
This era Toyota can also suffer from metal fatigue and that can cause irreparable damage. The car will never be safe to drive again and no amount of welding can make it safe.
That, and rust big time.
Cars to be scrapped are bought by the pound, my 1965 Dodge dart weighed 3000 lbs and I got $30 for it! Much later my 1977 Dodge Colt weighting about 2000 lbs went for $60 or so since the scrap price had increased considerably.
The local recycling (scrap) year has a scale you drive over and they presumably subtract your weight and then give you the cash.
The cars go through a process then; the gas tanks are removed, as is the A/C fluid (required by law) which is sold to Freon 12 or R134 recyclers. Battery comes out as well. The battery goes to a battery recycler.
The rest goes into the shredder and the shredded stuff is further segregated by blowing out the “fluff” (non metal) which is simply burned off.
The shredded metal left over is trucked off to a steel mill.
In the distant past cars were almost disassembled to get at some of the more valuable materials.
Crushers in my area are paying $80 a ton right now. Two years ago they were paying $200 a ton. I was told that most of what they crushed was going to China. I suspect the local guys were doubling their money, and others had their fingers in the pie before the scrap got across the Pacific. Since the Chinese economy has slowed way down, the market is much lower today.
I no know nothing about what all happens at the end of a car’s life, but I would have guessed even with rusted cars the recyclers would first remove the marketable bolt on parts, like sensors, radios, tires, wheels, maybe even the entire engine and transmission. No, they just crush the whole works after draining the fluids out and removing the battery?
It depends, when the price of scrap was way up, they were crushing cars as fast as they could. Some of the scrapyards around here were almost empty of cars. They only kept late model wrecks.
I guess if you only have so much storage space, you have to prioritize what parts you take before, and which parts you let go to the crusher.
Even if the wheel had not fallen off, there’s absolutely no way I’d try to drive a 1988 anything to Alaska without the mechanical systems having been completely refurbished. Your brake lines, your electrical systems, your cooing system, your drivetrain, all of these things contain numerous components the contain elastomeric O-rings, seals, flex lines, etc. etc. etc., and they’ll all be subject to age-related deterioration. In addition, rust never sleeps… and it preys in places that can’t even be accessed. And sedimentation, a process of foreign materials of atomic weights different from the fluid, settling in and often clogging orifices, happens with time in any rarely-used fluids… such as in old extremely low mileage cars such as yours.
This vehicle has already revealed an issue that could have gotten you killed. Trying to drive it to Alaska, where even if you made it extreme low temperatures would antagonize the hidden demons, would be analogous to jumping out of a plane with a parachute that was packed 50 years ago. Make other plans. Don’t do this.
What to do with this car? Scrap it. It was a risk, and the risk didn’t pay off. If your BF’s description of what happened is accurate, the car has already been proven to be unsafe. Write it off as an expensive education in the hidden risks of old cars.
Agree,why do people think they know better?Junk is,as junk does-is your time not valueble too?