I took out my battery on the ol' SDL and she had a bunch of leaves and flower petals under there. I vacuumed it all out and found that there was this discoloring under there. I am inclined to think it's rust, but at the same time, I hope that it's just plain normal and happens after 20+ years...Does anyone know what I should do about this? It's gotten onto the hood as well...

Attached Thumbnails

       

just exposed metal.. looks like its still structural.. use a wire brush and get all the stuff off it and paint it black.

__________________
-->1971 mercedes 220D; 617 951 engine, 4 speed

The only reason there's rust, is because of the battery acid. Should be able to do the wire brush, Rust Oleum black spray paint deal.

i have some rust

Attached Thumbnails

         

__________________
1985 300D - 599,xxxk - blue interior #265 Monark Nozzle, AL129X, 15" Ronals, Gen II Big Brakes hunting
1985 300D - 491,xxxk - in prog-{A-A IC, 3" exhaust, psi\pyro, 28*BTDC, Hella Euros, IP Limiter removal
1985 300TD - 783,xxxk - parts car,used new engine with ALDA cap inplace
1987 Kenworth T-600 8LL 425 CAT Mech. - 6,000,000+k - DEI exhaust wrap, punched through resonators, 1 recent rebuild,

Holy.....

I'm so sorry to say, but that rust sucks....

The amazing part is that the resonator/muffler is still hanging there apparently unaffected!

__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

That is awful. I'd be looking for something to put your engine into.......

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Yep, that's rust, but it doesn't look too bad yet. Clean, wire brush and treat with POR-15

__________________
1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

looks like you need to spend some qaulity time and fix that rust patch pieces and make it look good.

__________________
1986 300SDL, 211K,Dealership serviced its whole life
1991 190E 2.6(120k)
1983 300D(300k)
1977 300D(211k)

those pictures are the reason why i dont drive the benz in the winter. Id rather trash a car like my geo then do that to the benz

__________________
1986 300SDL, 211K,Dealership serviced its whole life
1991 190E 2.6(120k)
1983 300D(300k)
1977 300D(211k)

Washing (carwash) the car frequently in the winter helps. I signed up for unlimited carwash with one of the local carwash chains in my town for $29.99 per month. I used to not drive the D's in the winter too.

There are times when I wash my cars everyday just to get the road salt off. Now that the weather is better, I'm in there once a week.

Except for the 84D. Its been up on jacks for several days now since I'm slooowly working on the rear axles and the shocks. I think I should be done this morning though.

__________________
the sooner you start... the sooner you'll get done If it ain't broke, don't fix it.. Its always simpler to tell the truth...
2007 Honda Accord EX
2007 Honda Accord SE V6
96 C220
97 Explorer - Found Another Home
2000 Honda Accord V6 - Found Another Home
85 300D - Found Another Home
84 300D - Found Another Home
80 300TD - Found Another Home
Previous cars:
96 Caravan
87 Camry
84 Cressida
82 Vanagon
80 Fiesta
78 Nova
Ford Cortina
Opel Kadet
68 Kombi
Contessa

Looks like just a tad of surface rust, no big deal now . . . just do as stated above to stop it, and see if you can find a plastic battery tray to set the battery in on top of it . . . then if there is some seepage it won't hit the metal.

I got some Rust Oleum Automotive Primer today at Osh and I'm planning on sanding down these spots. Anyone else know about how to keep it from rusting again? Also some recommended paint?

POR-15 is the ultimate in rust control (Or so I am told)

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

cut out the cancer plus a lil more and replace with what ever you have

__________________
1985 300D - 599,xxxk - blue interior #265 Monark Nozzle, AL129X, 15" Ronals, Gen II Big Brakes hunting
1985 300D - 491,xxxk - in prog-{A-A IC, 3" exhaust, psi\pyro, 28*BTDC, Hella Euros, IP Limiter removal
1985 300TD - 783,xxxk - parts car,used new engine with ALDA cap inplace
1987 Kenworth T-600 8LL 425 CAT Mech. - 6,000,000+k - DEI exhaust wrap, punched through resonators, 1 recent rebuild,