DeLorean gets ACID BATH!

So the time had finally come to deal with the rusting frame up underneath the passenger side front shock tower. Darrin and I went to Home Depot and picked up a phosphoric acid solution and the necessary ancillary equipment (gloves, funnel, spray bottle). The access to the area is very cramped and limited. We had to adjust the car on the jack stands to free up the drain hole in the frame box. As a reminder, this is what the area looked like originally.

The area was sprayed liberally with the phosphoric acid, but it wanted to pool in the back corners, which would have been bad for the steel overnight. Darrin devised a solution that involved attaching a cut section of sponge to a wire clothes hanger. It worked like a charm and we were able to soak up and drain out the excess solution.

 

 The results were striking and immediate. It looks worlds better in there now.

Darrin and I also took the time to reassemble the brake pads after lubricating the pins and pistons. We then turned our attention to the driver's side tie rod, which needed re-greasing.

The boot was in good shape, but the grease was dirty. A short minute with the grease gun solved that problem.

 

The final task of the day was reattaching the rotors to the front hubs. We used Blue Threadlocker on the eight hub bolts and torqued them to 20 ft/lbs as per the DeLorean Service Manual. Then I gave the new rotors a good wipe down with brake cleaner.

Slowly but surely the DeLorean is coming back together. The next step will be painting the formerly rusty areas of the frame this week as prep for suspension reassembly next week. I still need to do that coolant flush as well...