Honda Rust *Now with Pics* 56k pack a lunch and a flashlight

[203Cree]

You'd sure think with the amount of Hondabond they use to seal up these cars you wouldn't have problems with rust right? Wrong. We all know the popular spots on CB for quarter panel's to rust out.

I just got done ripping some quarters off to use as replacements for the DD. What I found is that Honda only seals the rears up about a quarter of the way up the back side of the inner wheelhousing.

(Red Circle shows sealant on wheelhouse)




What that does is keep your trunk dry, lol.

They also seal the bottom and rear seams where the skin is tacked onto the frame.

(Red Circle shows areas that are sealed)




They DON'T, however, put any sealant on the inside of the wheelhousing it's self. So what happens is all that water coming off your rear tire seeps up in there and has no where to go. It just sits.

(You can see where the Hondabond was (in red circle), and you can also see a bit of surface rust (circled in blue) that just happens to start right where the Hondabond stops.)






My suggestion to all those who DON'T have any cancer on their cars is to go out with a 1/4 inch drill bit and start drilling holes along the bottom side of the quarter where the bumper is and also underneath the side molding under the rear doors.

(Above the bumper, red arrows denote)



(Below the door, again Red arrows denote)



That will allow any water that manages to make it up in there to have a way out so that it doesn't just pool and corrode.

I would also suggest a thin bead of sealant along the inner fender lip in the wheel well to try and prevent some of the water from getting in there in the first place.

(Circled in Blue this time, ignore the red)



I realize there's other sections this could go in, but I feel it'll get the most views here......

That is all.

Rob

[tommi]

very good info

[MikeW]

Damn Honda.....

Thanks for the info, Rob.

[skilzz]

this could save alot a hondas out there

[JaK FRoSTWhiTE]

I wouldnt start drilling holes in the chassis. Exposed metal = Rust.
Also, i dont think that the water is the main problem causing the rust.
Its the salt used in the winter time.

If your car doesnt have cancer i would remove the rear fender rubber trims and just hose it/clean it off often during the winter time when the salt is used.

[203Cree]

I wouldnt start drilling holes in the chassis. Exposed metal = Rust.
Also, i dont think that the water is the main problem causing the rust.
Its the salt used in the winter time.

If your car doesnt have cancer i would remove the rear fender rubber trims and just hose it/clean it off often during the winter time when the salt is used.

The quarter panel shown is off of a Florida car, and it's rusty. Of course you wouldn't want to leave the metal exposed, but you don't have to knock off a lot of paint to drill it either. Put some painters tape on the car where you're drilling, pop a few holes, hit the holes with some epoxy primer and you're set. Trust me, I've done this a few times. Old Chevy's were prone to the same thing, and that was how we fixed it then, works like a champ.

And what rubber are you talking about? There's no rubber in the wheel well bro, it's all metal and undercoating. No way to wash behind the wheel. Under the door maybe, but that's not fixing the problem, that's just hopefully keeping it from getting worse.....

And you're not drilling into the chassis, you're drilling into sheetmetal.

[JaK FRoSTWhiTE]

The quarter panel shown is off of a Florida car, and it's rusty. Of course you wouldn't want to leave the metal exposed, but you don't have to knock off a lot of paint to drill it either. Put some painters tape on the car where you're drilling, pop a few holes, hit the holes with some epoxy primer and you're set. Trust me, I've done this a few times. Old Chevy's were prone to the same thing, and that was how we fixed it then, works like a champ.

And what rubber are you talking about? There's no rubber in the wheel well bro, it's all metal and undercoating. No way to wash behind the wheel. Under the door maybe, but that's not fixing the problem, that's just hopefully keeping it from getting worse.....

And you're not drilling into the chassis, you're drilling into sheetmetal.

Has it always been a FL car?
Close to the shore?

[203Cree]

Has it always been a FL car?
Close to the shore?

Manny's old ride, dunno where he was. I thought of that too, but usually sea salt does the job a bit quicker than road salt.....

[AccordWarrior]

And what rubber are you talking about? There's no rubber in the wheel well bro, it's all metal and undercoating. No way to wash behind the wheel. Under the door maybe, but that's not fixing the problem, that's just hopefully keeping it from getting worse.....

From the factory the lips had a rubber liner covering them...trapped dirt and moisture.

I sprayed my quarters with oil every year after I got them replaced...I'm curious if my bodyguy had seam sealed all those pieces so they wouldn't rust.

Here's a pic of lots o rust as a comparison.

[deevergote]

Nice bit of info, Rob. I was wondering why you deleted the first one! The pics explain it


I'll leave this in OT for now. Once it sinks, if I remember, I'll drop it in the Appearance section. I agree that it'll be seen more here (and it SHOULD be seen)

[203Cree]

From the factory the lips had a rubber liner covering them...trapped dirt and moisture.

I sprayed my quarters with oil every year after I got them replaced...I'm curious if my bodyguy had seam sealed all those pieces so they wouldn't rust.

Here's a pic of lots o rust as a comparison.

Ah, see neither of my cars have that rubber on them. I was unaware there was such a thing.....

Did you get into the wheelhouse at all or just do the quarters? I'm gutting the wheelhouse too, lol. And I see you were much more successful at removing the back glass than I was. Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it. I'm betting mine took less time, lol.

Nice bit of info, Rob. I was wondering why you deleted the first one! The pics explain it


I'll leave this in OT for now. Once it sinks, if I remember, I'll drop it in the Appearance section. I agree that it'll be seen more here (and it SHOULD be seen)

Thanks Deev....... I didn't want to bother anyone with the title change and since there wasn't many posts I figured no harm in just starting over, lol.

[AccordWarrior]

Ah, see neither of my cars have that rubber on them. I was unaware there was such a thing.....

Did you get into the wheelhouse at all or just do the quarters? I'm gutting the wheelhouse too, lol. And I see you were much more successful at removing the back glass than I was. Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it. I'm betting mine took less time, lol.

The guy at the body shop patched my passenger side somehow (he never said) and fabbed the inner tub on the driver's side out of panels from an early 2000's Maxima.

The glass was a pain to get out, I was told...and created massive leaks. I could never get my trunk to be water tight after that.

The repair was nearly perfect though, I was deeply impressed.

btw, props for cutting the panels out the correct way, it's going to give you a seamless repair in the end.

[203Cree]

I took my back glass out with a 3lb sledge.

And thanks for the props. That was the only way I could see doing it without having to use a shit ton of bondo. I hate bondo.

[AccordWarrior]

I took my back glass out with a 3lb sledge.

And thanks for the props. That was the only way I could see doing it without having to use a shit ton of bondo. I hate bondo.

My car was bondo'd when I bought it...took less than 4 years for it to go from...acceptable to oh god.

I wish I was around when the shop did my tear down. I'm curious if coating all that metal with bedliner would possibly halt the rust problem altogether.

[XLR Azn]

Rust? What the fuck is that?






















Just messin' wit ya East Coasters....