My Soobie has cancer

[saeble]

I was doing some messing around under the dash on my soobie when I discovered some nasty rot behind the front wheel below the A pillar. While its not terminal yet it has the potential to be. Im also moving to a coastal locale so its likely to get worse fast. Looks like classic 'wheel throw' type rust inside the guard has done some creeping.

 

While I've done my share of wax-oiling and so forth I thought I'd ask around and see what everyone else does to cure cancer, other than rustectomy surgery, which isnt really an option for me right now. If anything I'd like a way to just arrest its progress and then seal it up without costing me several limbs.

 

Any clues ? You poor beggars up in salted road country must have a few ideas. cheers !

[QuickRX]

I had a wagon that did that, and it is a common problem in the snow/salt belt. The drain from the firewall empties into the area just ahead of the front doors- I'll betcha nickle that if you open the door and look down there, you'll see leaves, pine needles and general crud. I actually vac + pressure wash mine out every now and then (and get a nasty shower at the same time).

 

Design flaw, they say... replacing the fenders is a start, and checking the chassis for structural integrity is a good idea.

 

Is it fully insured?

 

Never mind...

 

-QuickRX

 

I was doing some messing around under the dash on my soobie when I discovered some nasty rot behind the front wheel below the A pillar. While its not terminal yet it has the potential to be. Im also moving to a coastal locale so its likely to get worse fast. Looks like classic 'wheel throw' type rust inside the guard has done some creeping.

 

While I've done my share of wax-oiling and so forth I thought I'd ask around and see what everyone else does to cure cancer, other than rustectomy surgery, which isnt really an option for me right now. If anything I'd like a way to just arrest its progress and then seal it up without costing me several limbs.

 

Any clues ? You poor beggars up in salted road country must have a few ideas. cheers !

[89Ru]

I also recently noticed the 'compost pile' accumulation in the door-side wheelwells of my '89 3-door, probably from parking under a tree for years. Mine was so thick that after I stopped whining I had to remove the plastic guard and hose it out.

 

Sorry to say but for me, anything less than a rustectomy will eventually come back. For the bubbly type of surface body cancer, I have done anything from grinding down to bare metal with metal bits, wire brushes, nylon brushes, sanding discs, etc. The rust pits are the hardest to grind. To eat away what the grinding doesn't, I use 'Metal Treat' which is a greenish phosphoric acid solution, diluted 7:1, that does a fine job of chemically converting the rust to a paintable surface and prevents flash rust from forming. Its kind of nasty stuff but it works. Use gloves. Then prime and paint. I usually spend 10x grinding and 1x treating. If you can't get to bare metal this time don't worry, you'll get to repeat it all again next year

For the kind of cancer that is so advanced that it has left just rusty metal and holes, the above will not work by itself. Use fiberglass epoxy and move to Arizona.

 

hope this helps, 89Ru

[MorganM]

Mine is terminal. I expect her to last no more than 5 years before it's unsafe to drive on the road Good thing they are throw away cars