Line-X Rhino Liner to rear shock towers?

[SUBARU3]

  I will be relocating at some point back to PA, (salt belt) and one one my cars will be used in the winter. All others will be placed in zip lock bags in the winter!!! LOL  Anyway, car is a 95 Impreza AWD NO RUST...Texas car. I know that the rear shock towers have a small added piece of metal that is not structural that rusts on on these era Legacies and Imprezas. Then water gets in and rots the rear quarter. I have thought that LineX/Rhino coating (Truck bed professional application), the shock tower would seal that up very nicely. Off course take the strut out to do this. That stuff is tough and makes a great seal. Thoughts??

 

  Thanks, Todd

[Rampage]

Sounds like a really good idea for here in Pa. Wish I had done that 10 years ago. I have had to repair left and right rear strut towers on our 95 RHD Legacy Wagon.

When you do the right rear, you might be able to give the fuel filler tube a bit more life also.

[SUBARU3]

 Yea.... I called the local Line-X an they said $50 per wheel well. That stuff goes on hot and drys like a rock.... should preserve the car. Oh the days before rear well liners. 

 

[comatosellama]

I highly recommend Ziebart undercoating. It's $400, and they coat the entire underside of your car and will spray where you tell them to if you ask nicely.

I think they do a converter followed by a rubberized black undercoating. They drill into the top of the rocker under the doorsill and completely coat the inside of the rockers, the inside of the doors, the inside of the rear hatch, and inside the rear doorsill/quarterpanel.  It quiets the cabin quite a bit as well.

Reapplication is $40, again covering the entire under body. My impreza in on her 3rd michigan winter after moving from north carolina and the underbody is still 100% rust free. My friends 02 Duramax has had great results as well.

I swear I don't work there lol, just a happy customer.

I'm 90% sure I have the cleanest n/a old subie in michigan

 

[Rooster2]

I have bought and used the "do it yourself" rust proofing kits. They are rattle spray cans. Some cans for inside door application, some for metal exposed to the elements. They work well in my opinion. Just make sure the metal is clean and dry before spraying on outside metal.

It has been a long time, since I have bought one of those kits. I don't know if they are even sold anymore. Worth checking out. Cost is cheap.

[comatosellama]

On 11/19/2019 at 1:33 PM, Rooster2 said:

I have bought and used the "do it yourself" rust proofing kits. They are rattle spray cans. Some cans for inside door application, some for metal exposed to the elements. They work well in my opinion. Just make sure the metal is clean and dry before spraying on outside metal.

It has been a long time, since I have bought one of those kits. I don't know if they are even sold anymore. Worth checking out. Cost is cheap.

I have a three step kit from Eastwood, converter escapsulator and triple chassis black. Enough to do a 2 door keep was a few hundred bucks, stuff works great though, I use it for spot treatment on my car. 

[SUBARU3]

 My big issue is how do I get the car to the LineX shop with the rear struts out? They have to be out to coat the interior shock tower effectively...at least I think so.

[GeneralDisorder]

NO! This will just seal in the moisture and the PA salt will eat it up anyway. It will look nice and solid but it will be a hard shell over cancer. You should use an oil/wax based undercoating and reapply it yearly. Amsoil Heavy Duty Metal Protector is a good choice. There are others. Search for "Hot oil undercoating". These will seep into all the crevices and coat everything. Line-X, Ziebart, etc will only sit on the surface. 

 

GD

Edited January 2, 2020 by GeneralDisorder

[SUBARU3]

 

         Currently, the car is rust free and solid. They are Texas cars and have not had winters. My plan was to get this coating prior to any rust starting. I'm wanting something better than stock undercoating.

[SUBARU3]

 I will have to look at the oil process. Sadly, I have to use a car in the winter. I will bubble wrap the others in winter!  LOL

 

[moosens]

The Bubble for the sitters. You know what I’m talking about. Drive into it , zip it over , and the low voltage fan fills the bubble and keeps the car fairly well in northern garages. Hoping your garage was poured with a moisture barrier. 

 

Sorry GD but it’s CT here and about as salty and corrosive as it gets. My 1978 4WD wagon was solid car for three decades due to Zeibart PROPERLY INSTALLED , holes , wand , and caution to drainage. Small plastic drains inserted in doors and in general the folks who did my car did it correct. 

 

The last of those cars on the road around the northeast - probably 1999-2002 maybe there were a couple besides mine. My car is still going with a new owner. Has rust now after neglecting the Zeibart as it aged and chipped away in a few spots. If I wasn’t raising a family and had a garage that car would still be mine and still be 98% solid or better. 

 

My uncle just passed away last year. His 1969 Ford truck is still here. He sprayed it with light oil every year. They’re asking around $7k for it. Not worth that much , but it’s still here , runs and drives , stops too ! 

 

 

[Rampage]

Fluid Film is an Amazing product. I saw a friends Ram pickup that he had sprayed the frame and suspension at the front wheels with it months before and it looked new and shinny. I first used it on the rollers and hinges on the big garage door where I used to work. No more squeaks.

I had to change rear brake shoes on our 97. It was late when I started. I hit one of the drums about 6 times with my 3 lb. hammer and it did not budge. I decided to work on it in the morning. I sprayed only a little bit of Fluid Film on top of the center hole of both drums and worked it around with the tube on the spray can. It bubbles up like crazy and will splatter if you push the button down hard. The next morning I got my hammer. Like most people, when I want to hit something really hard with a hammer, I put the head where I want to hit and tap then draw back for a big swing. Well, when I tapped the drum, it moved. I removed it by hand.

That stuff actually has a good odor too, unlike some of the penetrating oils. After seeing GDs posted Videos I will be getting more of it.

[SUBARU3]

    Drilling down on this horrible defect in 90s and early 2000 generation of Subys. Being a TX guy, I never have had an issue with rust, but now seeing some of these northern cars in TX and also ALWAYS seeing this typical rust when I go back to PA. Yesterday, I saw a BEAUTIFUL 99 Impreza on a sales lot in TEXAS. I stopped to take a peak and of course I saw the tell tail rear quarter rust, (not bad), but I felt into the outboard, lower side of the rear shock tower and it was COMPLETELY GONE! Now the drivers side was intact amazingly! (Northern car transplant). NEARLY every (Non southern car I see, has this typical rust failure).

  We know that these cars have a weak spot, where when designing the car, there was a need to fill in an area in the shock tower that was open and non structural. This ALWAYS seems to rust out, (thinner metal) and allows water, dirt, salt and whatever into the rear quarters, rockers and even the car floors. It's what starts ALL rust and it extremely destructive to this generation of Subarus. Of course back when these cars were new, owners were not armed with the knowledge of the weak spot, (in my opinion, these cars should have been recalled to reinforce this shock tower area).

 SO, now we know that this area is weak and subjective to premature failure when salt presents. With full knowledge of this, how can this flaw be corrected?? Yes, you can wash the shock tower out frequently, spray things like undercoating, fluid film and what not, but what would be a VERY EFFECTIVE fix to prevent this? Let's say you are starting with a perfectly rust free body, or even a BRAND NEW 95 IMPREZA that was stored in bubble wrap in a dealership! LOL

  Rhino liner comes to mind. Fabricating some kind of rear wheel well liner to keep crap OUT of the shock tower? I know there are pros and cons to each idea, but I'm looking for the one with No cons! I know that only in Texas, CA and the southwest are you able to keep a car literally forever, but there has to be a way to manage this defect in manufacturing for cars susceptible up north. Subaru fixed this issue in 2005 with rear liners and getting rid of the classic rear shock towers. 

  I now have 2 1995 rust free Imprezas in PA. They are not daily drivers, as I don't live there full time. Only 1 is driven when there is ANY potential of salt on the roads and that is closely watched. I "fluid filmed" the areas well last week.  I am determined to not have these cars suffer from this defect.

Thoughts?