2G HELP! Underbody Rust... that bad??

[Huddy]

Just picked up a 97' GST with 66k original miles, one owner, located in Wisconsin(part of the problem). Mechanically it runs like a top and cosmetically without digging too much it looks great however that was not the case once I got it in the air. My question is, is it too far gone? I took a flathead and hammer to some areas, and found out some was surface rust but a few spots were through the metal. Rear driver side wheel well rocker area I was able to poke a hole through as well. My next step was to wire wheel everything to find out the truth.

This car will only be driven in the summer, it's not my DD. I want to make sure it's safe to drive because at times my son will be in the car and I want to make sure the work is able to be done right and worth the cost so I'm not repairing it every year or two. Is it as bad as I think it is? Savable?

 

[95eclipser]

Your on the right path.

Find out what is surface and what is rot. Then use anti rust type product to seal the areas. Like rust bullet.

Just fixed my strut tower rust issues also.

 

[TalonKaos]

That doesn't look that bad to me. I'm in Ohio and I've seen far worse. It's definately not too late to stop it and it's worth all the work. Keep going

 

[Huddy]

That doesn't look that bad to me. I'm in Ohio and I've seen far worse. It's definately not too late to stop it and it's worth all the work. Keep going

That's what I needed to hear!! I don't have any experience with rust so I guess it looks bad no matter what but you're right I've seen a lot worse as well.

 

[luv2rallye]

That's minimal. I live in Mn and my 99 is far far worse.

 

[Austin Jedrzejek]

Definatly go under neither there take a wire brush and start cleaning it off and save that cars life! You can definatly save it. Get the rust off paint it and done.

 

[pksystems]

Most of what I see in those pics is surface rust on the thicker steel sections near the front of the car.

What do the front/bottom of the rear wheel wells look like? This area gets crud packed in it, and rusts from the inside out. Some pics I've seen don't look bad, but the rear trailing arm mounts are nearly rusted away. Check the front towers also.

My trailing arm mounts were fine, but I replaced a good chunk of the rockers. I have some rust repair pics in my build thread if you want to see. I have during/after pics for the rear.

 

[Huddy]

Most of what I see in those pics is surface rust on the thicker steel sections near the front of the car.

What do the front/bottom of the rear wheel wells look like? This area gets crud packed in it, and rusts from the inside out. Some pics I've seen don't look bad, but the rear trailing arm mounts are nearly rusted away. Check the front towers also.

My trailing arm mounts were fine, but I replaced a good chunk of the rockers. I have some rust repair pics in my build thread if you want to see. I have during/after pics for the rear.

Driver side strut tower has a two quarter size rust spots towards the edge of the fender. Passenger side nothing. When I look up into the wheel well I cannot see any rust however part of the plastic wheel house liner is blocking the area closest to the fenders so I need to remove that and check.

Rockers not sure about yet. Need to remove side skirts.

The driver side front/bottom rear wheel well has a hole in it out from when I hit it with a flathead and hammer. Passenger side is fine from the looks of it but will get a better idea once the skirts are removed.

I hit several spots with a wire wheel to see what would happen and this where I got..but I don't know what it needs to look like before hitting it with degreaser/cleaner then rust converter...I feel like I was hitting this two spots for a decent amount of time.

 

[GST with PSI]

Your on the right path.

Find out what is surface and what is rot. Then use anti rust type product to seal the areas. Like rust bullet.

Just fixed my strut tower rust issues also.

^This.

If you can media blast those areas, that's the way to go. A wire wheel will only knock down minimal surface rust. In some places your rust looks like a bit more than a wire wheel will adequately handle.

Any rot areas will need to be cut out and patched.

Once everything is rust free, treat with a good permanent rust inhibitor like Rust Bullet (my personal preference) or POR15.

 

[Huddy]

^This.

If you can media blast those areas, that's the way to go. A wire wheel will only knock down minimal surface rust. In some places your rust looks like a bit more than a wire wheel will adequately handle.

Any rot areas will need to be cut out and patched.

Once everything is rust free, treat with a good permanent rust inhibitor like Rust Bullet (my personal preference) or POR15.

The pictures in post #8 are after using a wire wheel. At what point do I use a rust converter or inhibitor? Those two spots I hit with a wire wheel for a decent amount of time.

 

[GST with PSI]

The pictures in post #8 are after using a wire wheel. At what point do I use a rust converter or inhibitor? Those two spots I hit with a wire wheel for a decent amount of time.

Yeah, like I said, a wire wheel isn't going to remove rust like that. You're going to need to media blast it so that all the little pits and crevices get stripped and cleaned. That's not nearly prepped well enough to apply inhibitor, IMO. The surface should look like bare shiny metal for the most part. See here for reference: http://www.galantvr4.org/ubbthreads...00&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=2&vc=1

Additionally, you need to remove all of those brackets and clean behind them. To clean up rust properly is a complete ass pain. It's going to take a lot of time and effort to do the job right. It's definitely not for the faint of heart.