2G Strut tower rust [Merged]

[DarksideDSM]

I have rust in that same spot.
Get a wire brissel brush, grinder or anything else and go to town on that, until you get clean metal. then put some primer or some rust proofing stuff on it, to stop it. Finaly, find someone who is a pretty good welder and, after you clean the spot up one more time (REALLY GOOD), have them weld a patch on there.

 

[Fro GSX]

Thanks guys! I'll see what I can do.

 

[Tallen]

Some bar and chain oil sprayed into these problem spots will prevent rust.

 

[cmptrphreak]

Sand blast the rust off and paint from both sides get some undercoating for the bottom and primer for the top. Get some sheet metal bend into which u want it and weld it in. I dont know if Thats a ket structure for the car but if yes then weld it from both sides for some strength.

 

[big green]

Yep I have a small hole in that exact same spot. I'm going to clean it up and bondo it.

 

[fwdturbobov1996]

I have a good amount of rust on my strut tower in 1 spot. Enough to leave a nice size hole. Should I find a piece of metal and put it in place of the hole, ie weld, or if not, how can I stop the rust.

 

[steve-o_95_GST]

this is a really common 2g problem if you live in states that salt roads. i dont really think you can stop the rust but if you take it to a body shop and they can cut the rusty part out and weld a new piece in there. when you get the rust removed you can get a can of rubber undercoating and spray the wheel well.


-steve

 

[9awd4g63tsi2]

I do body work for a living and the best way I've found to keep rust from coming back is to cut out the hole, grind away all the paint down to the metal, cut out a piece of patch metal to fill the hole, spray both pieces of metal to be welded with weld-Thru coating, weld it together, grind it down smooth if you would like it to look good cosmetically, and since heat is not an issue-prime the metal with rust converter primer, Finally have it coated with matching paint. When heat is not an issue I've found that priming the metal with rust converter spray primer keeps rust from coming back through. my $.02

 

[blackGSX2g]

Just weld in some new metal yourself or find a friend who can weld to do it for you. Grind out all of the rust until you hit good metal, then assess the size of the hole. Sometimes they look small until you start looking for good metal.

On a side note, if the hole is fairly large, most body shops will not touch it as it is considered part of the chassis. They don't want to be held liable if the welds break and your strut shoots through your hood as you go careening off the road. Sounds excentric, but all 3 of the body shops I talked to around here all said the same thing.

 

[steve-o_95_GST]

i was lucky enough to get to order a new one from mitsubishi, when i ordered it, they said it was the last in the country. only 226$ with my discount

 

[Spyderman7]

You know why they call it cancer,because it keeps coming back.I've owned hundreds of DSMs and I stay from rusty strut towers.Not an easy fix and there is always the other side when you do.Good luck

 

[NitroTalon]

Just wondering if its a comman issue with dsm's to have rust on the strut towers..
and its not that bad its right around where the fenders bolt up...
just wondering if anyone has some tips on how to fix it...ie: grind it or cut it out and replace the metal..
just not sure if that would destroy the integrity

 

[Sinner]

It's a very common place to have rust, I have two DSM's and they both have rust in the strut towers, the only way to fix it is to replace the metal and no it will not hurt the integrity if done properly but it could hurt the integrity if nothing is done about it.

 

[Blitzeclips]

I have rust in the exact same spot. Before you do anything else, find some type of rust treatment to stop any further corroding whileyou decide what you want to do with it. This will stop the rust in it's tracks while you decide it's fate...My plan at the moment, and which I think is the best solution for both (all) of us: Go to the junkyard, cut out a non rusted peice and replace it. The only problem here may be finding another DSM without rust in that area...

P.s- Sorry to say, but Mitsu cheaped out with sealant between these panels...

 

[NitroTalon]

Sorry to bring up this topic...
but yea...so its not a good idea just to grind it out and primer it?
just cut out the whole thing?

 

[Blitzeclips]

Sorry to bring up this topic...
but yea...so its not a good idea just to grind it out and primer it?
just cut out the whole thing?

Well, It depends on how extreme the rust is. I dont think it would be a good idea to grind and primer. Grinding it down just eliminates the metal properties from non corroded surfaces. AKA fresh metal is very strong, Rusted is brittle. Yes, it sucks, Cut it out using lets say a dremel, find a replacing piece, and trace the missing area out on the actual replacement piece. This way, you get the most of the metal, and don't need to fil any gaps while welding if it didn't line up properly...

 

[NitroTalon]

so what would be the best way...go toa junk yard and get it off that way or just cut it out and add off a metal sheet?

 

[aztek_warrior]

It all depends on what you're trying to do, If you really want to
stop the problem, go to the yard and see if you can find a piece
without rust or have one made..... If you're trying to just get it by
a couple of more years i would suggest clean it up, prime it, apply
some fiberglass to cover any imperfections, prime again and then paint..
For now thats all im doing about mine, untill i can find another DSM
without rust, to switch the metal out of and get some money to do it...

 

[NitroTalon]

alrighty thanks people i will try and find a replacement

 

[Wpgdsm]

If you're lookin for good doner cars to get some good towers out of. Backyard Auto on Springfeild has about 8 DSM's with excellent rust free bodys. I was kind of anoyed that these cars were in better shape than my own.

 

[NitroTalon]

sweet deals man thanks for the input, ill check it out this week

 

[VPrime]

Bah i have rust on the strut towers as well
Last owner just put body filler (or something ) on top and painted it (very badly) and the rust started showing up like its comming underneath the paint.. really weird.... and i poked and theres a small hole!
ahhhhhhhhh
i hope it wont be expensive to fix

Note to others :dont poke rust!

 

[Scrymerr]

Weld in a new section.

 

[sk8shorty01]

yeah rust sucks its a very hard thing to stop, even with body work. Pretty much the saying goes "there is only one guarantee with getting rid of rust, that it will come back eventually". Its definately hard to get rid of because if you miss even the smallest trace of rust, or miss the smallest pinhole with the fiberglass, the rust will pop up again and be everywhere in a matter of years. I am lucky and dont have any rust on my car, although the majority of my car is fiberglass now anyways Show cars tend to get that way haha.

 

[NitroTalon]

hey i have seen this before...would getting that section sand blasted work?
and then cut out the section that you can see is in need of work, just thought i would ask