I own a 1999 Ford Taurus SE with 245,000 miles on it. I recently took the car in to my mechanic’s shop for an oil change. Someone from the shop called back and said that my car was no longer safe to drive—the subframe has pretty much rusted out. I think they know what they are talking about. I’ve known the shop owner for many years and he’s trustworthy. My question is: Is it possible to put a new subframe on this car? Or is it time for this car to spend the rest of its life in a junkyard? Nearly all of the rust on this car is underneath the car—the rest of the body is in pretty good shape. I should add that I live in a midwestern city—where salt is spread on the roads every winter. So, this rust problem is not surprising.
Time to let er go-Kevin
This is a unibody car, so the subframe is actually reinforced body panels. There is not a separate frame that can be removed and replaced. Time to let it go. She’s a goner.
Agree that you’ve had good use out of it and it only makes sense to rebuild if this one was one of a very limited production classics. Since this is a common as sausage car, let her go.
My brother-in-law had to let go of a perfectly good 1972 Grand Torino with relatively low mileage because the actual frame had rusted out, and it could not be repaired.
Some unibody cars have a separate and removable subframe
But not this 1999 Taurus
Time to go car shopping
“My brother-in-law had to let go of a perfectly good 1972 Grand Torino with relatively low mileage because the actual frame had rusted out, and it could not be repaired”.
@Docnick–My brother “repaired” a broken frame on his 1971 Datsun truck. The frame actually broke and the truck sagged on one side. He “fixed” the truck by jacking up both sides around the frame and then, using C-clamps, clamped on a 4 x 4 to bridge the broken frame rail. He drove the truck for a couple of weeks until he located another Datsun truck with a blown engine. He drove the “repaired” Datsun truck across a field where the engine swap took place. The mechanic that helped him with the swap couldn’t believe my brother’s repair and had actually driven the truck on the road. The mechanic said he wouldn’t even drive the truck across the field.
My brother did wise up. When the second Datsun truck developed frame rust, he let it go.
There is some erroneous information above. The Taurus is a unibody car. That means it does not have the long frame on which the body sits (like a pickup truck). Instead the car is all sheetmetal. HOWEVER, many unibodies (Taurus included) use smaller subframes which bolt to the sheetmetal and do things like carry the engine/transmission or the rear suspension assembly.
So yes, your car has a replaceable subframe. But no, at 245k miles it is not worth replacing. Buy a new car.
Pretty sure your subframe is fine, it’s what the subframe bolts too which is probably shot. Grand prix rocker panels rust out. Same for venture minivans. Windstar rear axles crack, and so on.