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Rust behind front tire - Repair Help (56k Death)

notamos

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Fort Collins, CO
Hey all. I'm working on my '99 - installing long arms & stiffeners @ the moment. Well, I pulled the plastic inner fender liner up front & came across rust. I'm wondering if you can give me any tips on repairing it, cutting it out, etc. It is actually *above* the floor pan. Since pictures are better:

Passenger side, looking toward the rear behind the tire (plastic cover removed) The red arrow is pointing @ seam sealer, no metal over it:
passenger_outside.jpg


This is a closeup of the same area:
passenger_outside_close.jpg


This is the inside, with an arrrow pointing at the area where the hole is:
passenger_inside.jpg


And, lets look at the driver side. I hit this w/ a flap disk and am *thinking* it is good to go w/ some rust treatment (POR-15/etc.) and paint. Thoughts?:
driver_outside.jpg


Closeup (the brown area *under* the rusty crap is paint, no rust there):
driver_outside_close.jpg


Opinions? Do both sides need cut out or do you think I'm ok w/ the driver's side?
 
The drivers side doesn't look too bad but I would still use some rust treatment on it. Any automotive store will sell you some of this stuff:

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/PER0/81756/N2159.oap?ck=Search_rust+remover+%26+metal+prep_-1_440&keyword=rust+remover+%26+metal+prep

It is pretty thick so you can brush it on and leave it for a couple of hours to remove anything left. Afterwards, just clean it off with a damp cloth and prime the area before paint. If you use POR 15 I believe you can apply it directly over bare metal.

For the passengers side, what is left it is going to be pretty thin. Better to cut back until you hit solid metal and weld in some new steel. You can find small pieces at your local Home depot. A couple of things to think about:

1) you are going to want to pull your carpet back before welding
2) use tack welds only (don't try to run a bead or you will burn through)
- first, tack all 4 corners and then start a rotation where you add another tack next to the last. This should give the steel enough time to cool down so you have a lower chance of burning through.

afterwards, finish like you did on the drivers side.

The good news is that in that location, nobody will ever see it so you don't need to be a pro.

HTH
Todd
 
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