W126 The HORRORS - Rear window RUST!! Help!
 

We took out our rear window on the '83 today to see what the damage from rust was and to take care of it, and this is what we were met with (beware, many pictures) the HORRORS :eek: :eek:

Any help or suggesstions on how to deal with this would be very very much appreciated. :eek: :o

Here they are:

http://www.tglmarketinginc.com/pics/...t/57220001.jpg

http://www.tglmarketinginc.com/pics/...t/57220003.jpg

http://www.tglmarketinginc.com/pics/...t/57220004.jpg

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More Pictures:

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Even more:

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Help on this???? :o :o :(

sand, apply POR-15 rust killer, then weld like metal or worser use fiberglass to build up.

i feel for ya! i wonder what is under my sd rear glass?

grind, weld and POR-15. Don't be afraid to cut the rust out, it has to go. You don't have to duplicate the old metal exactly though. Mig in strips where inside and outside panels are pointing AT each other, then butt weld PERPENDICULAR another strip the thickness of the 2 pieces where they are spotwelded together. Yeah, it's work, but it's probably a lot more doable than you think.

I also found the same thing on my 83sd, rear window leaking, removed the window and I just about freaked out but my auto body guy said,"relax" and as Pete Burton said" It is more doable than you think". The auto body guy took an air powerd wizzer and proceeded to cut out all the cancer. He left high spots where ever he could so the glass would sit right. Then he formed 2 pieces of L stock together and bent to fit. He then fit it so it becme the pinch weld where the glass sits, he drilled sm holes in the base of the L and pop rivetedon to the body, he then put some sort of smoo or body gooo, and reassembled it and installed the glass. That was almost 2 years ago and no leaks. steve 83sd

My eyes, my eyes! That's a very unpleasant image ... :(

Step 1: shop vac
Beyond that, I'd say get some products from POR15. Marine Clean, Metal Ready and then POR15 SILVER ... I ordered their "starter pack," but I would say you need more than that. As for welding/building up, I can't tell you a thing (I'll let the other guys help ya there), but whatever bare metal youre left with, clean with Marine Clean, prep with metal Ready and then paint over two or three layers of the silver POR15. I don't think you need to put a coat of primer or paint over top that, since the area isn't exposed to much sunlight, right?

P.S. ... that's what my entire 240D looks like! :pukeface:

Holy molly :eek: you got your work cut out for you I do have to say that...

Now your going to make me pull my rear window to check. One more thing on the list. :mad: ;)

Thanks for all the comments and suggesstions, The guy at the glass place said "thats going to cost like $5000 to fix!" So my dad went: :eek: Good thing I can assure him it most certainly will not. That guy must have been crazy......or he just knows about glass and not body/rust-repair...he did a good job getting the window out intact.......we'll look into the solutions you all mentioned here, thanks!!

Repair shops see the MB star and dollar signs light up in their eyes.

Cut out the rust, sandblast what you can't cut out, MIG weld in replacements. Prime with epoxy and paint. Visit your local body shop supply store. Visit your local junkyard for sheetmetal.

Don't buy rusty cars.

I'm almost certain I'm going to find the same thing on my 300SD. It has rusted through on the underside of the window in the trunk so I can only imagine what the lip where the window sits actually looks like. My 380 leaks too after replacing the rear glass, but its in the garage for the time being.

I wonder if someone had already pulled the glass out to find a mess like that and just put the glass back in. The rear seal looks kinda new but I have a new one ready to go just in case. It was missing the chrome window trim too when I got it, but I have since picked up a set. Would not having that rear trim in place be enough to cause it to leak? I can definitly push on the glass in the corners and see it move...

When I did mine 2 years ago, $100.00 to the window man, to pull and replace and $89.00 for the MB window seal and $150.00 to the auto body man to fix it. steve 83sd

For a good body shop to fix that I can see $5k. Mine wasn't anywhere near as bad an I was quoted $2k-$3k. They would probably cut all of the old rusted metal out and make up and weld new metal in. Throw in some paint work and installing the rear window it is a lot of work.

Their is a seam back their that seems to be rusted out as well, cutting that stuff out is a big job. You could try and find a junked W126 with a clean track below the rear window and swap them out.

If you want a faster fix grind the heck out of it and get rid of as much of the rust as you can. Then POR it to stop the rust and use some copper flashing to build the lip back up. Use some good oil point as well.

This is what we have done, today we ground all the rust off with a rotozip and stone grinding bit, then the rotozip broke. First time we used it, ever!!! :eek: :mad: :mad: So out came trusty dremel, finished the job perfectly, though a little slower. Then we got some sheet metal and have been cutting out sections that match what we ground out/whats missing, and we're JBwelding them in, all rust has/will be treated with rust killer/primer compounds and then we'll coat it in some super heavy strong paint or something. Needless to say, the rust is going to meet its end once and for all. :D (We hope)

Just for grins...check out this item on Ebay....interesting that it should come up at just this time, although from the UK:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4563389335&category=31355&rd=1

It's W126, but doesn't mention SD, but then again, it's the UK....

We need that!!!! :D :D :rolleyes:

There is a big question of standards here, what do you want? Do you want something that is safe in an accident or just something to fill the hole where the window goes so you can push that star up the road?

I had to laugh at the truth of this:

...........and since its the most important failing of these cars, getting a rust free panel is like striking oil.

"Repair shops see the MB star and dollar signs light up in their eyes."
This used to be a real problem years ago, I do not beleive that it is a big problem today, Honda, Ford or MB, they will light up their eyes equally.
This past Decebmer I finally decided to take my 240D 77 for major body work, it had become a rust buckett (I live in Houston), the door bottoms were pretty much gone, the floors were opening up, lots of rust under the front windshield gaskett and a leaky Sears battery had taken care of the metal all the way down to the Jack support area. Also water was pouring into the trunk and I assumed that this was caused by rust at the frame. With this much rust I was faced with two options, either junk the car or fix it, I decided to fix the car simply because it had a new motor. The entire affair including a complete pait job cost me 4.4K.
I contacted several body shops, most showed no interest & advised me to junk the car. One shop offered to do the job for 2.2K, Ibut did not want a bondo job so I went with the expensive body shop, it took them a total of three months to complete the work, the car was stripped to the bone, the new floor boards were all welded plates to ensure structural unity of the body.
One lesson learned from all this is that rust can be fixed if you are willing to pay for it, but if you see rust, that is the tip of the iceberg, expect a lot more down below once you open up the area.

Vahe
240d 77 350K

If you got all that rust repaired and the entire vehicle painted for $4.4K, and they did quality work, then you got a steal.

Just to paint a vehicle with proper prep and a high quality paint costs $3K for a good job. You can spend quite a bit more for additional perfection.

I fully expect to spend $3k-$4k to paint my car. And I will do a bit of the prep work as well. Throw in another $1k to have the metal cleaned up and new door and window seals.

Good body work is not cheap. Junk body work is usually pretty cheap though.

So far JBweld and pieces of sheet metal have led to a very nice job on the rear window, my dad has been rebuilding it slowly with metal pieces JBwelded in, its working very well....that JBweld is SO strong! :eek: We're nearing the final stages of work, just a little more JB weld and then a final painting/rust treatment and it should be good for the window to go back in, and hopefully it will be good to go for at least a number of years. I'll take some pics in a day or two to show how we fixed it.

You aren't kidding....their timing could't have been better...shame it wasn't in the USA, shiptting that would cost a fortune.

If you took a mid '70s Honda or Ford to a body shop for the type of repair that you describe they probably wouldn't waste their time making a real estimate. They may give you a ridiculous price to see if they could part a fool and his money.

Body shops have to stand behind their work or be sued for it. They cannot do shortcut "cheap jobs" and stay in business.

We're approaching the final stages of reconstruction :D A little more JBweld and then some rust protector/paint/top coat of paint and it will be all set. Total amount of JB Weld used: 18oz Amount of sheet metal: approx 9 separate pieces :D :D I'll post some pictures tomorrow evening showing what it looks like painted....

i havent seen a better documentation of rust damage since dr ballards pics of the bismarck. :D seriously though if the car is a keeper consider welding in new metal.a small mig welder can be rented cheaply and the panel can be cut from a donor.

More Documentation! The repair is going well, we're in the final stages of painting and finishing up the surfaces, next monday the window goes back in. :D

Pics galore:

http://www.tglmarketinginc.com/mbfor...2/57270001.jpg

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http://www.tglmarketinginc.com/mbfor...2/57270008.jpg

(More on the next page of the thread.....)

And some more:

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Now I don't feel so bad about fiberglassing the holes in my 300TD... :D

Most of the repairs are sheetmetal pieces cut to fit the holes, then JBwelded in and then more JBweld to create a smooth hard surface on top of the metal pieces....worked very very well, the "new" areas are extremely strong! :eek:

I would remove that large rock from the rear deck......a big enough pothole might bounce it into the back windw and break it...................... :D







but seriously....looks good. you did grind away all rusted metal first...right?

Good work that should buy you a lot of time. The new gasket will help too, the softer rubber will seal better.

Yes we ground away all of the rust and then treated it with the "rust converter" primer stuff before we went ahead with the reconstruction. The new gasket is in a bag in the garage :D

As for that rock :D :D We were using it to hold up some of sticks holding things in place while it dried.... :D

good for you. Reproves the old adage "if you think you can, you're right. if you think you can't, you're right."

Nice workmanship, and I have seen some fiberglass rust repairs that lasted decades but I do think that this is false economy. MIG welding is really easy and can be cheap also. I do understand that sometimes you just have to go with what you have. Remember this next time you hear someone complaining about unseen problems in a used car they just bought.

vent holes
 

I noticed that you filled the tiny holes that alow the cabin air to pass though to the trunk. I just went outside to look at my 83sd . I layed down in the trunk and looked up under the spot where the pinch wield is and there are small holes, very small, maybe 1/64 th, { don't know the metric conversion} across the whole area. They run from the left to right maybe one every inch or so. I asume they are for ventalation. steve 83sd

I don't think those are for ventialtion, the trunk can vent behind the rear seat very easily... They're probably paint-drip holes.


Current Update: Window being installed at glass shop this very moment! :D

Later on I am putting in my dad's new stereo system and sirius tuner too, then we will put all the trim/seats back in, and then its set! :D :D

Good Job!
 

Hey pawoSD, that really does look good. That JB weld is really tough stuff and I have no doubt that it will work. I think also that it is very creatative and shows great thinking. And I think that almost all your repair will be covered with the new window gasket. Again, good work!

We ended up having to leave the car there overnight after the guy had been working two hours on it....he's having *fun* trying to get the chrome all on properly. He said "I haven't worked on one of these in quite a while...." :D It will be done by noon tomorrow though, only 10 hours away! :D The glass and gasket are both in and good though, its just the chrome that needs to be finished. Then I'll work on the sound system......and putting everything else back in.

Here are some other similar fixes I bookmarked prior to repairing my trunk rust. Some look like pretty good work, while others . . .

http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/over62.html

http://buickperformance.com/qtr.htm

http://www.cirkut.com/bug/week26.html

http://www.ehholden.com.au/garage/garage3.htm

http://members.visi.net/~kohout/bodywork.html

http://www.ramva.org/dragenwagen/heaterchannel.html

http://www.stuttgartperformanceengineering.com/gastankarticle.html

Nice work
 

pawoSD...I'm impressed. What looked like horrors a couple of weeks ago turned into a good fix. Ideally having it welded would be the way to go, but the JBWeld will hold for years.

Hats off to you on making the best of a bad situation.

The chrome shouldn't be that hard to get in. :confused: I hope he knows that you put the aluminum strips in the gasket while it is out of the car.

First the gasket goes around the window, then the aluminum strips go in. Next you wrap string around the gasket and soap everything up. Put the window in and pull the string out as you work the gasket around the lip. Then you shoot the MB sealant around the inside of the gasket and the outside to complete the seal.

It took me maybe 2-3 hours to get the enitre job done, and this was the first window I have done. I can do it in half that time now.

Well it took him about 3 hours but it appears to be in there perfectly, he used liquid rubber sealant around the frame...it looks good. Sirius radio system now installed too, works great. :D Now we just have to put all the trim and seats back in....then its all set.

just pulled my rear windshield off, my heart literally stopped beating for a few seconds.. Rust Rust and more rust. Funny thing is that you cant see it from the outside.. I just dont know how the glass managed to stay on! yea its that bad..pics coming soon

Has your rust fix held up well so far?

You can order the sill from MB still, its only like $80. Just need someone with enough skill to cut the old metal out and weld the new sill in.

I am dropping my car off next week to have the leak in the rear window (going into the trunk) fixed. I just saw these pictures and was stunned. Hope mine's not that bad but it probably is. This place is the default body shop for a Mercedes dealer so they'll know how to do it right, I'm just scared that it will end up being much more than the $400 + seal that they said.
None of this is visible from the outside and I didn't know to look up under the deck.