Wagonpilot, thanks for the tip about removing the springs & hinge arms. Well I wasn't able to remove the passenger side hinge arm because the bolt that holds it in place wouldn't budge even after repeated blows from my hammer, but I was able to remove the springs on both sides. Didn't know it was that easy. So last night I took the opportunity to permanently take care of the corrosion in that area. I scraped off all the dirt I could, vacuum-cleaned it, blow-dried it, then painted over the rust with POR15. Now my W123's should be ready for any rain that comes my way.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL