This is why your rear wheel wells rust.

[Fleetw00d]

Managed to separate the inner wheel well from the outer skin on my replacement quarters (related thread http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=173070). It shows why your rear wheel wells rust. The seam sealer doesn't get all the way down into the joint and creates a cavity that will retain any water than manages to get in through the spot welded joint at the wheel well lip (no sealer there). Nice big cavity at the rear corner. Not sure you can do anything about it other than maybe trying to remove the seam sealer (good luck!) to allow a rust conversion (POR-15) liquid to be applied from inside.





New thread shortly to document major rust reconstruction.

[tommi]

no. its the stupid rubber strips that are on the wheel arches from factory.

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=114397
been documented....

[wherm]

The rubber wheel arch moldings were not the brightest idea Honda ever had, however, it is the seam sealer that is the main cause of the rust. Two reasons for this:

First, the seam sealer was not applied properly in the crevices as shown in the above picture, and in the pictures in the second link.

Second, the seam sealer Honda used did not remain flexible and over time dried out and became brittle. It then cracks and allows moisture to get in and start rusting out the panels.

Many other auto makers use the rubber wheel arch moldings with no issues, for example Subaru.

When I put a new quarter panel on my Accord I found all the same issues as shown above. All seam sealer related.

[wherm]

New thread shortly to document major rust reconstruction.

Wow, that used quarter has had a lot of work done on it before. Looks like it's half body filler How's the outside look?

[Fleetw00d]

The picture makes it look worst than it is. It is a shallow crease, done before I cut it out of the donor car, outside doesn't look too bad. Certainly in better shape (no rust) than what I'm replacing.

[GeoffM]

It might be an obvious question, but the old quarter panels need to be cut out. What did you use to cut them, and what did you use to re seal the seam?

[AccordWarrior]

no. its the stupid rubber strips that are on the wheel arches from factory.

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=114397
been documented....

The strips are not the only reason the panels rust.

If the strips were the only reason the panel rusted, only the inner lip on the wheel arches would rust...nothing more.

It's a design flaw that creates a "shelf" for the crap to sit on that causes the problem.

I agree the strips don't help, but it's not the only reason.

[wherm]

It might be an obvious question, but the old quarter panels need to be cut out. What did you use to cut them, and what did you use to re seal the seam?

You can buy spotweld cutting drill bits and drill only through the panel being removed, leaving the inner panel intact, or you can use a cut-off wheel to grind the spotwelds. I prefer to use the cut off wheel wherever possible. It's just as fast when you get some practice, and spotweld bits are expensive at $10+ per bit.

There are many different types of auto body grade seam sealers. Some are two part and cure quickly, others are one part urethane seam sealers that take a few hours. If time allows, I like the use the one part urethane type because they stay the most flexible. However, time is money, so I typically use a two part non sag seam sealer from Worth. It's not as soft as urethane, but does stay flexible and is easy to work with. It's dry in about 10 - 15 minutes.

Seam sealer is best used over a self etching primer and imo should never be used over bare metal (even though some say you can go direct to metal). I use the seam sear on all external seams and even over new plug welds for the best corrosion protection. I apply seam sealer on the insides of all replacement panels where the factory used seam sealer.

[wherm]

I also used POR-15 when doing my quarter replacement. Any surfaces of the inner structure that had surface rust I applied the por-15. Just make sure you don't apply any por-15 to areas that will be plug welded.

[wherm]

Here's a link to my quarter replacement... First page has most of those pics

http://www.accordinglydone.com/forum...ad.php?t=15343

[Fleetw00d]

It might be an obvious question, but the old quarter panels need to be cut out. What did you use to cut them, and what did you use to re seal the seam?

So far a combination of cutoff wheel and spot weld cutter to remove the old quarter and in preparing the replacement quarter and inner wheel well. Haven't used a sealer yet because it hasn't been put back together.

Like wherm did, I plan to use an auto body panel adhesive in the wheel well joint to act as both adhesive and sealer. Everywhere else I should be able to get with my spot welder.