Rust much worse than I thought...Pics...Freaking out - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#1 05-23-2003, 12:45 AM

Yeah, i'm freaking out. Just got my "rear" floorpans welded, I was feeling all giddy after putting new soundproofing in and putting my seat back, etc.

Tonight I'm fixing the battery tray/ clogged drain rust up in the corner of the passenger footwell. I decided to investigate the passenger front footwell...BAD IDEA!

The more I "investigated" the worse it got. See pics. My only consolation is that the main crossmember underneath looks healthy and that it should be relatively easy to weld new metal in again.

Looks like it had been leaking for A LONG TIME!!!.

#2 05-23-2003, 12:51 AM

here's another one...

#3 05-23-2003, 12:51 AM

and another stunning view...

#4 05-23-2003, 03:53 AM

I owned an 85 300D with 472,000 miles that had terminal cancer worse than yours. It had already had its rear floor pans replaced, and were rusting through again from the previous original owner ignoring water pooling up. I fabricated some rear floor pans and rivetted them in place, as well as making new rear seat mounts and passenger side seatbelt mount. The front floors were starting to rust through as well from water pooling up inside. The damn car ran great but it was being eaten alive.

P.E.Haiges · #5 05-23-2003, 10:08 AM

Shaunster,

Rust is like an iceberg, you only see the tip.

I see you are from Wisconsin. Do they use salt on the roads there? If they do and you drive in it, that is the answer to why you have rust. As soon as you patch it one place, it will appear someplace else.

I buy a a cheap car and drive that in the winter and keep the good ones in the garage. When the cheap car rusts beyond repair I junk itand keep for parts. Lots of low price MB are available on Ebay, I know I bought one of them.

P E H

Kestas · #6 05-23-2003, 01:39 PM

P E H is correct. Once the rust shows its ugly face on the outside, it's quite advanced elsewhere. I too live in the rust belt and have two cars - one for winter, one for summer. I can't afford to spend a good sum of money on a 95 E320 Cab only to have it rust away in the winter.

I rustproof my cars. Rustproofing goes a long way in preventing the problem you just showed. I got into this habit right after high school, after spending untold number of hours repairing rust damage on cars. I asked myself, "Wait a minute.... Wouldn't it be a lot simpler preventing rust in the first place?" So I set aside the time and make the effort to rustproof any car that's in my long-term care. It's time well spent preventing rust from happeneing in the first place. (It's like that saying - "You can pay me now or pay me later"). Plus, patched metal is never as good as the original metal that's intact.

rwthomas1 · #7 05-23-2003, 02:17 PM

That sucks. Rust, the enemy of every fine car owner. The only way to completely stop rust is to cut out ALL the bad metal and weld in new. Products like POR15 claim to stop rust, and maybe they do but I think they only slow it down. Repair it and pay extra attention to prepping, priming and coating the fresh metal and welds with a good rust preventative like POR15 and it should last a good long while. The problem with old MB's is you are often catching up on neglected problems and this can be quite a battle. Regarding driving in the "rust belt" I believe there is nothing more important than frequent washing to remove salt throughout the winter followed by a VERY thorough washing/rinsing of the entire underside of the car as early as possible in the spring. Salt is your enemy but it is worse when paired with sand/grit or anything that traps moisture in all the nooks and crannies of your car. I spent more than an hour on each car this spring just hosing out the wheelwells and undercarriges. I was amazed at how much crud and sand was removed. RT

wbain5280 · #8 05-23-2003, 03:26 PM

We get snow here occasionally, and really big ones about every 5 years. The Highway departments use lots of salt and sand and as a result, cars look white, even white cars. Right after the weather clears, people take their cars to the car wash to get them clean.

BAD IDEA!

Car wash companies filter and recirculate the water and as a result, your expensive car is being washed with salt water and the sprayers are injecting salt water into many little seams, nooks and crannies.

I always wait 2 - 3 weeks before taking any car to the car wash or use my garden hose to clean the underside of the car.

Heated garages are bad too.

Regards