Pardon for the newbie questions, but when we were doing the alternator underneath my newly aquired 97 Gle w/just under 70k I noticed quite a bit of rust on all the suspension parts mostly the lower control arms, stabilizers, and it is rust that you can pull of with your fingers . I also noticed the radiator support rust that I have seen mentioned here. Basically does rust weaken these suspension components, or is it a non issue?

 

the rust on the rad support = issue. it will get worse and it's definitely not something to ignore. the control arms are fine.

 

Thanks, from what I can tell the rad. support rust is in the middle mainly by the bolts, does this actually hold the engine as well as the radiator? and is there some rust stopper or something to slow it down, how about that primer that is supossed to convert rust into a paintable surface

 

gonna need to buy a NEW OEM radiator core support. If you buy some junk off ebay or rockauto or autozone that thing will just break in a few months

 

we need a sticky thread about the horrors of buying a cheap rad support and have all the pics of them broken after months of wear.

 

Perfect example of when going cheap is NOT an option. Doing research is key.