W124 sedan owners - body rust problems
 

Hi, All

My W124 sedan is now going for 10 years and I have two rather troubling rust spots on an otherwise sound body :( :

Problem 1 is at the bottom of the A-pillar, driver's side (euro car), right where the A-pillar joins the floor of the car. The rust appears to be at the joint between the sheet metal forming the A-pillar and the sheet metal forming the side of the car (the same metal that forms the door sill). There is no rust at any of the door hinges, fender, etc.

Problem 2 is the B-pillar at the passenger side. Exactly the same area (i.e. the sheetmetal forming the B-pillar where it joins the sheet metal that forms the side of the car - the same as the door sills). There is no rust at any of the door hinges, fron door lock, etc. on the B-pillar.

I am curious as to where the moisture that would cause this problem would get into the car. I have no current water leaks into the car and the area remains dry, even after a wash (apart from the spray entering between the door and the fron fender, no spray entering between the passenger side doors). I had the chance to remove the trim on both B-pillars and I did not notice any other signs of dampness or bubbling paint, etc. :confused:

I have not had the opportunity to see a dismantled body (i.e. able to look into the cavities at the floor or at the roof, etc.), so I have no idea at where to start looking.

I really need to fix the areas, but without knowing where the source of the moisture is I'll be wasting my time. Not notiving any new dampness might indicate that the system has been cured (i.e. a blocked drainage hole has unblocked - not that I know where they are BTW :D ...)

Any help will be appreciated !! I trust my explanaition of the affected areas are clear - I do not have ready access to a digital camera (yet ...)

TIA

silence .......
 

no replies ....

what must I make of the fact that no-one replied ?

- is the problem mentioned unique ?

- Is there no known sources of this problem (apart from moisture and metal meeting in an area they were not supposed to ?)

- is there a fix apart from doing surface treatment (remove rust and re-paint) ?

any other thoughts ?

thanks!
L

Rust is very rare on the W124 unless of course there has been an accident previously. Are you the original owner of the car? Its odd that its happening on the same side on similar joints wouldnt you say?

Hi, yal

the rust is actually at opposite ends (driver's A and passenger B), in the same place (where pillar meets floor).

I'm not the first owner, but I have not found any signs of accident repair (overspray underneath the car, paint blemishes or mismatches, body putty, unusual welds, etc.)

seeing that rust is not very common on the W124 bodyshape I'll repair the areas (remove all surface rust, re-paint) and check if it re-appears .....

thanks for replying
L

Any chance the previous owner attempted some "amphibious" driving at one time? If water were allowed to reside in the floor area, even vigorous water removal might have missed some areas that were allowed to retain moisture for an extended period?

boating ??
 

Hi, G-Benz

thanks for replying.

I did not find any traces of amphibious driving after some cleaning and other activities that involved removing carpets and the like - no traces of mud / silt or the like.

There is no traces of rust anywhere else in the car - none. Not even where the seat rail bolts are (an area that would definitely show rust if it got wet I would presume ...)

The car has the grey (blue ?) interior which should highlight any undue / stubborn dirt and I have not found any trace of mildew anywhere.

looks like I have one unique W124 problem here !!:confused:

rusting w124
 

I've got a new to me 95-E320, with two different rust areas. Drivers side front fender, under the hood. Where the body moulding meets the front radiator support rail (ie behind the drivers side headlight). The whole area is bubbled in a roughly 6" diameter circle. Don't know if the cause is from the bottom to the top or just surface rust. I am planning on removing the paint, cleaning, then coating with "extend", two coats of galvanize rich paint. The other small area is at the rear license plate, drivers side wher the curve of the rear light meets the license plate. Don't know how I'm going to fix that.

Any help or thoughts out there?

On my 93 300E, I have a dime size spot on the roof-line directly in the center, where the back windshield meets up with a clip. Came up once the car was about 6 years old. Took it to MB Dealer, it was out of Warranty. Was on beach in Florida, now in Atlanta, has never gotten bigger, i just keep my on it. Water just accumalated there. Also had a spot in the trunk area below a taillight, dealer did fix that, no problems since.
FQ

I think you're worrying over nothing. Some dampness caused by ambient humidity levels and condensation is unavoidable. Microcracking of the paint at hot spots (high stress points) of the body is also unavoidable. A little moisture migrated to the steel/primer interface and initiated corrosion cells. No big deal really. If you saw what the rain, snow and and de-icing salts do to our cars in Canada you'd faint. :eek:

All you need to do is to scrape off the loose paint and apply some touch-up paint or, better yet, a coat of rust inhibiting paint followed by a coat of touch-up paint.

The Compost Pile
 

I'm not sure exactly where your rust problems are from the descriptions, but there is a known problem with W124s collecting leaves and other debris in the rear portions of the front fenders. Some refer to this area as "the compost pile." I've seen it recommended that the plastic inner wheelwell cover be removed periodically to clean this stuff out.

Otherwise I too have heard that W124s are remarkably rust resistant.

The only spot I know of is the jack ports (Live in Midwest, damage from PO and age). In fact I had the rocker panels replaced with new MB OEM Metal and I keep marine wax in the area now.

Rust is uncommon on the W124, unless it was repaired previously,

Shaun

Hi All:

Well, I live in Hawaii and give anything metal time here and it will rust. Even marine stainless steel rusts here. I have a boat and I have a never ending rust problem on it. Bolts, rails and everything else in between.

I have a rust problem on the corner of my sunroof. Ouch! Looks like I need to cut it out and use sheetmetal there. I guess the salt collected between the rubber seal and body there. Does anyone know if the electronic rust proofing work?

I live a block from the beach and I usually need to rinse a layer of salt spray off the car every morning unless the winds are low or comes from the south.
To say the least, I wax the car every two weeks to try to maintain the finish. It is a pain but I love my car and I love where I live.

Aloha,
Eric

none the wiser ...
 

thanks for all the replies !

looks like the W124 is as solid as a rock relating to rust ... !

I'll do some surface treatment to get the looks right - nothing else to fear it seems !

thanks again
L

Rust
 

I have a small area of rust on the left point of the chrome strip above the license plate. Need to goto a body shop and see what they suggest. I hate the idea of repainting the trunk. Though my car is the enamel white. Isn't white harder to tell, less fade on the non-repainted areas ?