My 2gb nightmare walk around.

[dalesmitsu]

First of all, I apologize if this is in wrong section. Would like to add this part of my first build journal. But after reading through that section and haven't saw anyone add videos to their threads. I decided to place it here.

Here's a video as I promised in replys I posted in custom/fabrication etc..

Idles good, not blowing anying smoke. Has surface cancer(rust) on driver's side strut tower and in the corner. I know can be fixed, picking up an angile air sander from HFT in the coming weeks. My lower passenger corner will be frepaired also and the jack locations will be renforced following a how to by azdave. My hobart welder is coming eventually. Would like some suggestions on what gauge steel to fix the small body panel corner. Should I cut it out from a donor at a yard.

my 1998 eclipse rs video by dalesmitsu - Photobucket

 

[Ghost_92TSi]

Damn that is a lot of rust. You might want to check the inside of the wheel well, that "surface rust" on the tower could be rust eating its way from the inside.
Anyways, good luck with the resto.

 

[dalesmitsu]

Damn that is a lot of rust. You might want to check the inside of the wheel well, that "surface rust" on the tower could be rust eating its way from the inside.
Anyways, good luck with the resto.

Good to know thanks man.

Taking my time with it aint rushing it, picking everyones brain(gathering info.) So, I know what needs to be done the right way.

My brother did a strut tower replacement, in his old 1999gs oz rally did it in a hurry and looked like someone took huge dump on the welds.
(lesson learned dont half ass it).

 

[sleeper-eclipse]

just take your time and good luck with it

 

[99RedGs]

That rust on the rear wheel well looks like the worst to me... Not sure how you are going to fix that easily or cheaply. Hopefully the car didnt cost you too much.

 

[dalesmitsu]

paid 1200 for it. I can get a whole new inner wheel well from jnztuning.com and front support. Its time consuming saving funds gathering a tool at time.. Job as a full temp is tough in my area. Aint that bad it has good benefits.

 

[bryanwheat]

IT would be cheaper to find a rust free shell and swap your drivetrain into it. 420a shells are pretty much free these days.

 

[RayBan GST]

IT would be cheaper to find a rust free shell and swap your drivetrain into it. 420a shells are pretty much free these days.

you are 100% right but moving the drivetrain in a new shell will cost hell a lot more than just fixing that cancer rust. so he is better of just fixing it. IMHO

 

[bryanwheat]

you are 100% right but moving the drivetrain in a new shell will cost hell a lot more than just fixing that cancer rust. so he is better of just fixing it. IMHO

Swapping the engine and transmission is free if you do it your self. To properly fix that strut tower the engine will have to come out anyway.

 

[RayBan GST]

Swapping the engine and transmission is free if you do it your self. To properly fix that strut tower the engine will have to come out anyway.

if its only engine and tranny its easy , its a lot of work my friend seats , dash board , connections , wiring, ECU , fuel lines , paint and the list goes on and on

the price of new fluids alone will cost him more than fixing this cancer rust

 

[bryanwheat]

Body work is very time consuming. To PROPERLY fix what is going on with the strut tower the engine will have to come out, the whole strut tower will have to be removed and a new one welded in. This is upwards of 30-40 hours of work just to replace the strut tower. Some people might just cosmetically fix it by welding some metal over the top which is in no way a proper fix. There are multiple layers of steel there. The outer layer is not the structural layer, so welding metal over it won't fix the structural aspect of it, and it will keep rusting from the inside. To pay a body shop to repair this you are looking at 800-1500 dollars not including removing the engine. The rust in the rear is pretty deep, it is more than just welding a piece of metal to cover the rust on the lower rocker. There is some structural damage there. All of the rust must be cut out in order to stop it from rusting more. You are looking at an other 20-40 hours to repair this and than you will need to repaint the car afterwards for it to look half way decent. You are looking at another 500-1500 bucks in work there for just the metal work. Now lets throw in another 500-1000 for a cheap paint job and you are in it anywhere from 1800-4000 just to repair a little rust and paint. This is all assuming that you are paying a body shop to repair it of coarse. It can be done cheaper your self, buy my assumption is that the original poster is not very qualified to do such repairs (no offence) because of the questions that he is asking about it.

You can pick up a complete car with a blown engine for 200-400 dollars that will have a rust free body, decent paint and full interior. Even if you have to swap everything from the interior over it is only a days worth of work to swap the dash, carpet, steering column, plastic trim panels. door panels, seats and everything else. It goes pretty fast if you know what you are doing. As for swapping the engine over that will take you around 3-10 hours depending on how experienced you are. From there you are looking at around 10 bucks for coolant, 25 dollars for oil and filter and another 25-30 bucks for transmission fluid. I could swap the engine, drivetrain, interior, wiring harness, ecu, in a day if i had to.

 

[RayBan GST]

you will never accept that you are wrong i guess its human nature


anyway just a fact this rust can be properly fixed with maximum of 400 usd, which is the price of a new shell that you want him to buy

stop explaining and explaining please because its going nowhere. 400$ it is max. if you want me to name for him body shops that can do it i can recommend him also some while sitting here in uae.

 

[bryanwheat]

you will never accept that you are wrong i guess its human nature


anyway just a fact this rust can be properly fixed with maximum of 400 usd, which is the price of a new shell that you want him to buy

stop explaining and explaining please because its going nowhere. 400$ it is max. if you want me to name for him body shops that can do it i can recommend him also some while sitting here in uae.

I only speak from experience.

Sure if you want to cheaply slap some sheet metal over the structurally damaged strut tower and the rear of the car than you might find some back yard body man to do it for a few hundred dollars, but any body shop that will properly repair it will charge much more than that. You can cheaply rig things up all day long, but you will get cheap shitty results every time. I've been dealing with body shops and doing my fair share of body work for 15 years and i am well aware what they charge for repairs. Have you ever had estimates or actual body repair here in the US? For just hitting a deer and damaging your bumper cover and hood they will charge you 2k+ . Body work is very expensive here in the Unites States.

Take this job that i did on my 300zx, it was just a simple replacement of a inner fender panel. From start to finish i had around 30 hours of labor and around 200 worth of paint and supplies in this job. This was a very simple job compared to replacing a whole strut tower.

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

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

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

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

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

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

This was quoted at around 1,200 dollars to have someone do for me so i decided to do it myself.

Have you actually been into the strut towers on a 2g? Do you know why they rust and how they rust and how they are constructed? There are multiple layers of stamped sheet metal that make up the tower. The inner layers are the structural layers. The top part that you see in the picture is just a thin cover. They rust from the bottom up meaning that the structural part of the tower is already far more rusted than what you visibly see from the top. The only PROPER way to fix this is to cut the spot welds and remove the whole assembly and weld a good un rusted assembly into the car. Slapping some sheet metal over the top is not a proper fix whatsoever. This carries the weight of the entire front of the car. IF the inside is rusted and you patch the top than you run the risk of the strut breaking thru the top of the tower.

 

[RayBan GST]

thank you brayan for the info and clarification but lets be honest this is an rs eclipse that worth around 2k max so its not really worth it to fix it properly to start with. Once it breaks it goes to scrap yard. Thx again for all the valuable infos on the body work.

 

[dalesmitsu]

I have never seen a free 2g shell or ones sold for so cheap, on craigslist in my Ohio area.
I appreciate your replies, was reading them in parking lot waiting for my mother at her doctor's office. but a point after my last post.
I though of that certain scene in Fast and the Furious, where Paul walker tells Vin diesel "NO faith" after he pulls up the supra on flat bed. Dominic had a big whole time.

Just got a new work scchedule will done at 4pm still with weekends off, woot. I'm going to pull my driver's side inner splash guard, takes pictures and inpect it inside out.

As, for my lower rear rocker( inner wheel well) I'll pull my passenger rear interior panel and carpet up. Inspect the cancer.

No, I will not spend 1,000's at a bodyshop and it turns out to be an crappy job.

I'm buying a Horbart welder from northern tool., either use lincoln or miller wire feed for a clean weld seam. My uncle is body shop guy worked for chrysler along side with my father. I will asking him for guidance along the way, my father died back in 96 but learn some from him. If was alive today he would be right there helping me.

I have read some really amazing build journals on here and few other forums. Also, other threads about Dsm'rs had way worst cancer problem to their cars and after pictures where simply amazing. Plus, they some really good How to's on youtube, about removing rust from panels, welding safety gear, welding tips and which welder is best.

No, I aint going to do some crap job lap weld job(that putting sheet metal over top of sheet metal) Thats how water get in between the panels and rust cancer appears. I'll be use the 'Butt weld" method and before I weld I'm grind the edge at a angle Like \ for one piece the other peice /
Having this type V helps the flow of the beads for a clean weld.

Like mentioned, I will posting updates of my progress and eventually make a build journal of this. I'm not giving up, my goal is repair these problems do atx to mtx swap, an RS to GS conversion and engine rebuild.

The fluid comment is funny. With it being available at walmart, autozone rewards. I could save money. I've price comparsions, from store and brands. Same for parts also. I learned this from the forums