Rust Rust Rust Rust

[Peyton300TD]

I bet if you think your car doesn't have rust, it actually MAY!

Here I went about my life with my TD as a kid, as a teen, now in my twenties. knowing this car well, VERY well, being obsessive about its care, detailing everything, and knowing every curve, every scratch, and chip- NEVER did I EVER think it had rust.

I looked outside, under, above, inside, under carpet everywhere, and never saw rust.

Low and behold, recent body work, and investigation revealed something to the contrary. Small pockets of rust were growing in my rear tail light, in my passenger floor pan and in a couple other small areas. I did some research and informed myself about rust and how it behaves.

Lesson #1
You can not elminate rust EVER. The way to eliminate it is to replace it. My body panel has rust, it must be cut out and replaced if I don't want it to continue to spread.

Lesson #2
Rust is a cancer. It can hide and you won't know it is there. I had a body shop repaint a panel on my car. They never saw any rust even after sanding it down. Turns out there was rust deep in the panel, under bondo from previous body work. There was NO way for me to know it was cultivating there.

Lesson #3
It spreads like a cancer. It will infect permanently everything around it in time. And continue to spread. Stop it ASAP.


So what is my plan? After dropping close to $7,000 into cosmetic issues on my car (seat rebuilds, collision repair, lighting upgrade), I am not going to spend much more YET.

Instead I've sanded these areas and put a Anti-rust chemical on them to seal them. None of these areas are on the paint yet. thankfully.

I am going to replace my floor pan in the next couple weeks. I can not stand to let water come in from underneath, so it must be fixed.

THE MORAL
--------
In my seemingly immaculate car, that I KNEW had no rust, I found some. Turns out it is from a collision my father was in and an inadequate repair. The floor pan rust ? I have no idea how that arrived.

INSPECT your car with a fine tooth comb. If you think you've done that already, you haven't!! Sometimes you can't see it. Be attentive. Monitor developing rust. AND don't freak out like I did. It's just money and if you love the car enough, fix it and keep it, and smile, knowing your car will NEVER be perfect.

[Peyton300TD]

,

[joshhol]

I don't think my 300D will ever look as good as yours. It's been in my family since I was 3, twenty four years ago, now it's mine. Even though I fuss over it greatly, I have not kept it up as you have, but look to your car as inspiration. I have some rust issues as well. Try and get galvanized panels like the way they made the W124's and newer models.

[kennysin]

I thought my car was fine until I noticed rust-stained water marks from my rear windscreen seal. Lifted the seal but didn't see anything. Took off the windscreen and there was a 1cm perforation from rust. Funny thing was the front windscreen which was leaking did not rust - the seals had dried out but the frame was good!

[Ken300D]

The complete POR-15 system is pretty good for stopping and sealing rust. You have to get oxygen directly to the steel to get rust, and POR-15 used properly will seal off the oxygen.

While the POR-15 paint is good by itself, when you use the complete process it is much better. First you apply a cleaning solution. Then you apply a metal prep solution which bonds a sealing coating to the surface of the rust. After this you paint it with the POR-15 paint. Not going to rust after that.

And its tough enough for battery trays.

Speaking of rust and battery trays, anyone with a vintage MB better take out their battery and look under the tray for rust. Stop it while you can with POR015 - don't let it eat through the firewall.

Ken300D

[rickg]

I always have to laugh at people buying cars with rust that is showing. "I can fix it". Yeh, right If it has enough rust to be showing on the outside, how much is hidden way underneath everything?

[GermanStar]

Originally posted by Peyton300TD
I bet if you think your car doesn't have rust, it actually MAY!

INSPECT your car with a fine tooth comb. If you think you've done that already, you haven't!! Sometimes you can't see it. Be attentive. Monitor developing rust. AND don't freak out like I did. It's just money and if you love the car enough, fix it and keep it, and smile, knowing your car will NEVER be perfect.

Or -- move to Phoenix... :p

Ron
http://germanstar.net

[rickg]

Originally posted by GermanStar
Or -- move to Phoenix... :p

Ron
http://germanstar.net

LOL
Ideal car....find a Benz in Arizona(no rust), then an interior from western Washington(no sun-baked dash board or rear seat headrests)

[GermanStar]

Originally posted by rickg
LOL
Ideal car....find a Benz in Arizona(no rust), then an interior from western Washington(no sun-baked dash board or rear seat headrests)

Yes good point. People call sometimes for used interior parts and I just say -- "do you know where you're calling???"

Ron
http://germanstar.net

[G-Benz]

My vehicles were manufactured late enough to have the rust-fighting technology. Plus, I live in the moisture-challenged "oven" belt, so that probably is also a factor.

The VW however spent most of its life in the Midwest...outdoors 24-7 year 'round. When I took it in for bodywork and paint during the show-car era, most all of the body panels were completely replaced...except the shell, which also needed complete rocker panels and had other bad sections grafted with new sheetmetal.

I bought several bottles of undercoat and an application gun and sprayed nearly three layers of the stuff throughout the undercarriage. Since the car was a looker by then, it really was unnecessary, since I kept it stored winters, and never ventured out in the rain if at all possible.

The car is rust-free as of now (since the work in 1986). The paint is another story...it has sat outside for five years now.

[MTI]

Rust Never Sleeps!

When my car was hit, I took it to who is perhaps the best body guy I've ever seen and met. Located in Delaware, the cars he sees are Northeastern specimens, so, rust is a factor. But not quite as bad as say Boston, or upstate New York.

So, while my 300D was in for a new fender, another 300D, an 83, was being restored for the second time.

At almost 300,000 miles, the 83 300D was once Sun Yellow, now Agave Green. Doug the body guy did all the work previously and said it was indeed a New England car.

So, the owner was having the entire car rid of rust one last time. Doug even told me that this would be the last time he does work on this car, for afterall, how long can it last?

So, the car sat on jack stands, with the entire rear, and rocker sections cut away. New panels, etc, were being fitted.

The car looked like 1/3 of it was being done... Amazing.

Must have been a $10,000 job!

So, he explained to me that rust will happen, no matter what or where the car is. Like a human life and cancer, rust is in the car's "genes" of sorts when its built at the factory.

The metal spools, where they came from, how they were prepped and what they were exposed to all play a factor in the car's rusting. Of course, the design and care of the car play a factor, but rust will happen no matter what.

But a good couple of tips to keep a car rot free for as long as possible...

1.) Keep the car clean, but don't put the car away in a garage still wet. Make sure the car is dry, inside, and out!

2.) Air circulation is key. Old wooden barns make for the best places to store old cars, for there is poor insulation and air moves around frequently.

3.) Be careful of car covers that don't allow air to pass through them. Plastic tarps are a no no.

4.) Car cacoons are your best solution, but they can be expensive.

Remember, rust is an electrical issue. It can't be stopped. Moisture only helps it along... I can go on and on, sorry for the long post, but I thought it a good topic...

[BenzOnline]

Rust in the door panels and underbody is what killed my 85 380SE which is now used as a parts car. Engine mounts collapsed and frame is barely holding.......makes me think these cars are almost as strong as anyother underneath.

[87-300E_in_NC]

Well as far as rust is concerned, my 300E did not show any visible rust on the car anywhere...and I looked before I made the final purchase, but after I rebuilt the head and started out for my "test drive"......rust raised it's angry and ugly head to surface....from within my fuel tank!

My fine running engine was performing excellent....with no radio playing, I was enjoying the sound of the engine for almost 4 miles, when traveling up a hill, the engine starts sputtering and suddenly dies.....(it's 2:00 am and I'm on the side of the road for a test drive after I closed the hood for a test drive, so don't go for a test drive after sun-down!).

I removed the spark plugs and noticed how red in color they were, and also noticed there was no smell of fuel on them. I cracked open the fuel line to the FD and no fuel...

When I got the car back home the next morning, I started troubleshooting, and removed the fuel line to the primary fuel pump....no gas once again...but rust had lodged into the fuel filter, and primary pump, so I decided to remove the fuel tank and clean it. I found so much rust in the tank, you would not believe it unless you were there to see it for yourself! So if you think a filter (new filter at that) will stop rust from entering into your fuel system (gasoline or diesel)....think again. I cleaned my fuel tank with Naval Jelly and big granite rocks, the cleaned it with high pressure hot water from the local car wash. I also purged the fuel line to the FD, but now I suspect that the fuel return line is also in need of a major cleaning (which is more difficult to do on this model).

Hope this helps someone else, before rust invades your fuel system, because rust invaded my fuel distributor, injectors and regulator. The FD caught it bad....and has not operated the same since, and I'm not sure it ever will.....now I may be in the market for a replacement/new one....oh boy! More fun....and money.

[Hatterasguy]

I don't see any newer cars with rust though. I never saw a W140, R129, W210, W202 with rust. Newer rust proofing technoligy is great. My Toyota has been in New England since new and there is not a spot of rust underneath that car, or on the doors. The exhaust looks like brand new!(I think it's stainless) I really think the rust problem was solved in the early 90's. Newer W126's also seem to hold up better. I have yet to see a post 86 one rusted out.