This car has 52k miles and looks pretty good. There is a bit of rust on the exterior, but a lot more underneath.
It's the same W-body platform as the last three Impalas I owned, though this is the first W-body with the 3.8
There was concern this was a power steering leak, but close inspection uncovered a small leak in the oil filter due to rust. I pushed a screwdriver into it with ease. That was a much easier fix though. My Mom drove it every week but not that many miles so best guess is that filter was 3-4 years old and with the salt in the snowbelt that was enough to rust out the filter.
RR TPMS sensor has failed. I made a couple attempts at this but so far have not been able to get the car to recognize either of them. I've ordered another from another supplier, and I also want to try driving it a short distance then attempting the learning sequence - I seem to recall having that problem on other GM cars in the past. There was another tire with a slow leak at the bead which I was able to fix by breaking the bead off the rim an sanding down the bead.
- how to remove the TPMS sensor without removing the tire
To my surprise one stabilizer link was broken, and one of the sway bar ends was split. I found a video that showed how to remove this without having to lower the subframe. I was going to have Kurt weld the bar, but then I saw a new one with the stabilizer links for about $80 shipped.
The resonator has a thin outside layer made from a metal sheet, and it is separated at the join. There is a flange just ahead of it that was rested quite badly. I ground down the bolt heads to make that separation. I'm contemplating between a straight pipe to replace it or maybe get a cat back exhaust from a less rusted car at pull a part.
Issue #5 - chassis rust in LF
I did some inspecting of the chassis to make sure it was still sound. With the Acadia rust cancer surprises I didn't want to really do anything on the car until I knew it was sound. There is a fair amount of rust underneath but nothing I would call terminal. I can see a hole in the rocker panel under the driver, but the main rust issue was in the LF wheel well. The chassis there had a huge rust blister that I think needs attention. The plan here will be to make a metal patch panel and have Kurt weld it in. Its only the outside layer that looks compromised by rust.
The gas lines were super crusty. Unfortunately when I was removing bolts for the sway bar tie down straps I touched a gas line and immediately smelled gas. Options I am considering include buying a plastic fuel line kit or fetching used fuel lines from a car at pull a part.
- this is not the worst of the fuel line rust