• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Really really bad rear crossmember

JensenHealey

New CEG'er
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
19
Location
Girard, Ohio
So I got the old rear crossmember out of my friend's 2000 Contour Sport SE. Here are some photos that show how badly rusted this piece was. There is more rust and holes than there is solid metal.
 

Attachments

  • photo17499.jpg
    photo17499.jpg
    500 KB · Views: 0
Am assuming you bought a new crossmember off eBay?

My Colorado SVT Contour doesn't have a spot of underbody rust, but it does have some corroded spots on the crossmember, suspect Ford didn't corrosion proof that hunk of metal all that well. The condition of your friend's car is not unusual for a road salt/Rust Belt car. The primary road de-icer here in Colorado is Magnesium-Chloride, which doesn't corrode metal much at all, but does pit one's garage concrete floor.
 
Scary, but not unusual. How much time spent to get all that rusty hardware loose?

I'd gladly trade some concrete spalling for a normal car lifespan. Stuff here in moist and salty NY doesn't last very long.
 
Yeah, it took a couple hours to get it out. I was sort of surprised that none of the bolts broke or were so badly rusted that they wouldn't come out without rounding off the heads or something similar. I made sure to use a 6 point socket and I had been soaking them with PB Blaster penetrating oil for a few days though.
 
I'd gladly trade some concrete spalling for a normal car lifespan. Stuff here in moist and salty NY doesn't last very long.

I feel the same way, I grew up in northern Ohio and Michigan, and toted several cars to the JY with terminal frame and body rust, you don't see that here in Colorado and I'm very glad of it. My 99 SVT has spent its entire life here, you could flip it on its roof and use the underside for a clean dinner plate.
 
Well after searching for good condition used crossmembers for a price cheaper than the new one I located two at once for $75 each with the swaybar and lateral suspension arms. My friend does not have much spare cash to put into the car so she was not able to swing the new one.
 
Back
Top