Help with rust on my hatch - 98 GSX

[Jeff_Jeske]

I have a 98 GSX and I have begun to notice rust forming on the underside of my hatch. See attached photo.

What is the best way a do-it-yourselfer can fight/fix this problem?

 

[cait sith]

Mine is rusting in pretty much the same exact spot. I wish I knew.

 

[Masakari]

easy fix, go to home depot and get yourself a tigerpaw disc...looks like little pieces of sandpaper glued onto a 4 inch grinder wheel... cost about 5-7 bucks..

get access to a grinder..use the disc in a gentle buffing motion till you get down to good metal..tape off the area and paint with some form of rust inhibritor primer..autozone 3 bucks a can...then match the paint on the lid as close as you can and repaint with a few coats ( assumign i am viewing this correctly and the rust is on the underside)

 

[Slipstream]

Exactly what ^^^^^ said. You can of course skip the power sanding and do it by hand it you're so inclined, but basically get it to bare metal, assess the damage, rust inhibitor, paint. It's on the underside so don't stress too much over a perfect paint match. But do stress on getting every last fleck of that rust out. Looks like you caught it fairly early, given enough time it would have munched a hole right through to the topside and then you'd be in a world of bodyshop pain.

As a side note, since you're starting to detect cancer, make sure you check the whole car over, especially the strut towers as they seem particularly prone to rust for us. Personally I'd pull the hatch trim out (both on the hatch and inside the boot) and check there as well. Run yourself under your baby on a creeper, etc. Leave no stone unturned, it's easier and cheaper to find it and fix it now, (and well worth your time to check it over completely) than it will be when a hidden rust spot is bad enough your finger goes through it like ricepaper.

 

[Jeff_Jeske]

Thanks.....I will be taking action today.

 

[jtmcinder]

97s and 98s often get rust on the underside lips of the hatch. The standard theory (i.e., the internet BS theory that you see the most often, partly because of people like me) is that these were made from different metal from the rest of the car. In any event, you might be able to find a 95 or 96 in a boneyard that is in better shape than a 97-99.

- Jtoby

ps. FYI: the other place that 97s and 98s often rust is the front shock towers. Grrr.

 

[Black95TSIawd]

yea i bought my gsx with some rust there, its coming out on top too.

 

[WSU99GSX]

Don't some of the 2nd gens have 100,000 mile rust warrenty?

 

[cait sith]

Don't some of the 2nd gens have 100,000 mile rust warrenty?

Some of us have over 100k

 

[WSU99GSX]

Some of us have over 100k

Ah, sorry bout that, hmm..anyone tried to claim on the rust warrenty? Maybe if you are only alittle over they will be nice...

 

[Jeff_Jeske]

I have a 132k miles on the car so I am SOL.

At least I can attempt of fix it myself before it eats away anymore.

 

[paranoidTSi]

Mitsubishi knows when their vehicles go to crap...around 100K miles our cars go to crap unless it was well taken care of.

The only parts I'm getting rust is under the side skirts where the jack is supposed to go, other than that my vehicle is rust free.

 

[Eclipsemblue]

im rusting there to

 

[Spyke169]

I want know more about this rust warranty

 

[Flat Tire]

my 98 only got a 60k mile warenty on it...which of course never helped me one bit...since they don't cover the tranny or the master/slave clutch cyclenders

 

[WSU99GSX]

I did a car fax on my car and in mention something about a 100k mile rust warrenty...

 

[TooFastTooG]

Hey I guys I had this laying around in my room and remembered I had this when I saw this post. I know its a little hard to read but it says: " A 7-year/100,000-mile Anti-Corrosion/Anti-Perforation Limited Warranty protects against body panel rust-through."

This came from the Manual of my old 98 Eclipse N/T.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[Chuckt]

good if you have a 1998 or 1999 eclipse then, its expired for 97 and under id get it checked if you can do it for free. nothing to loose

 

[TooFastTooG]

I may be dumb but arent the 97 guys on their 7th year? So it may still be possible for them?

 

[WSU99GSX]

I might have to find some rust then....

 

[EcLiPsE-BoY]

I might have to find some rust then....

Yeah I have a 97 2gnt and had to search the auto salvage and get a new used one re painted it wasn't cheap either...but they're out there

 

[2gtalonklos]

so how do you fix the front strut tower rust i got some on the right side starting to peek through. take the wheel off pull everything out and go grind it down to jsut steel and elim all rust then paint. what if it is already tottally through what are your options

 

[Defiant]

That warranty is probably "whichever comes first" and "to the original buyer", but look into it.

 

[maui6651]

I've been to the dealer over hatch rust.

I noticed 6 little specks of rust popping out of the paint on the exterior of the hatch, right above the taillight last summer. The car had no visible body rust when I bought it, but had blisters underneath the hood and hatch, right along major seams. The rust on the outside is minor, but what lies behind the paint is much worse. Again, major packets of rust.

I talked to the dealer, who said that I needed to take it into their body shop to have it assessed. I took it in with 99k miles, 6 years and 11 months after it came off the production line, and they took pictures to send to their Mitsubishi Warranty Rep. I called about a week later to find out it was denied.

The problem with the warranty is that it is an anti-perforation warranty. I spoke with the manager of the body shop, who said that basically means you have to be able to see through the body for it to be covered. Your car could be one big bucket of rust, but if it is still solid, you're screwed.

And those people who thought that they might cover it if you're close, good luck. Mitsubishi will do everything they can to deny your claim. While you might be lucky and have an amazing dealership in your town, most of us don't. Mitsu's strapped for cash and isn't about to start giving handouts on 5-10 year old cars. Again, you might get lucky, but this has been my experience.

And finally, to the best of my knowledge, the terms of the warranty are 100k/7 years, whichever comes first. I'm the third owner of my car, and that didn't seem to affect the warranty process at all.

 

[splattj]

A great write up on rust:
http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/rust/rust.html