Rust issues

[ryukin2000]

hi guys, my car has taken a beating from this past winter. i have some huge rust spots on both my front quater panels right behind where the mud guards would be if i had them. i dont have experience with this. any suggestions on how i should tackle it myself? i dont plan on get any bodywork done or repainting. as long as i stop it and primer it. for those who have replaced the panels, was it easy? thanks.

[Kor]

Re: Rust issues

I suggest flipping the car, rust is a death sentence :( I hate bodywork.

[ryukin2000]

Re: Rust issues

I suggest flipping the car, rust is a death sentence :( I hate bodywork.

hahaha nice. im hoping to get some more years out of it so unless i can flip it Ace ventura style and only damage the panels i'll have to deal with it.

[BaggedGLI]

Re: Rust issues

Rust is a pain to deal with, grind it down to no more rust, get some rust converter on it, smooth it with a thin layer of filler, primer and then paint. But the lower corners are notorious, the mud guard holds dirt/water in and the fenders rust from the inside out.

[mylesw42]

Re: Rust issues

I was always afraid to make a mistake working on my car, especially on cosmetic work. I'm assuming this isn't a new car, and warranty, etc... doesn't matter. Surface rust can be removed, holes need to have replacement sheet metal welded in. Get it while it's still surface rust and all you need to learn is how to putty, prime, paint and a whole lot of sanding inbetween. I've been slowly removing surface rust with an angle grinder, but will not be spot painting, I'm going to respray the entire car later once I have it all prepped. Search for online howto's for this subject, there's a lot of good stuff out there, you just need to get to it. Good luck.

[ryukin2000]

Re: Rust issues

"Rust is a pain to deal with, grind it down to no more rust, get some rust converter on it, smooth it with a thin layer of filler, primer and then paint. But the lower corners are notorious, the mud guard holds dirt/water in and the fenders rust from the inside out. "

yeah i did this to my driver\s side last year and now its back. a pain indeed.

I was always afraid to make a mistake working on my car, especially on cosmetic work. I'm assuming this isn't a new car, and warranty, etc... doesn't matter. Surface rust can be removed, holes need to have replacement sheet metal welded in. Get it while it's still surface rust and all you need to learn is how to putty, prime, paint and a whole lot of sanding inbetween. I've been slowly removing surface rust with an angle grinder, but will not be spot painting, I'm going to respray the entire car later once I have it all prepped. Search for online howto's for this subject, there's a lot of good stuff out there, you just need to get to it. Good luck.

thanks for the tips. its a daily driver. i park outside so i have to somehow tackle it on the weekend at a friends garage. for now its just surface rust. if it comes to replacing pieces then screw it. way too much work for me.

[resolute]

Re: Rust issues

I'm going to assume it's a Mk IV Jetta. Take the front wheel off. Take the screws out of the fender liner from the top of the wheel arch to the bottom rear by the rocker panel. Pull the liner away a bit and I guarantee you'll find 2 or 3 inches of dirt, wet dirt, packed in the bottom of the fender. It comes from the drainage from the windshield wiper area. No wonder it rusts. I scoop it out with my fingers, then hose it out, every spring. Even though I know about it and don't park where crap falls on the car, I am amazed at how much dirt gets down there from the drainage cowl.
In every generation of VW there is a major design flaw in the bodywork. This is it for the Mk IVs.

[ryukin2000]

Re: Rust issues

I'm going to assume it's a Mk IV Jetta. Take the front wheel off. Take the screws out of the fender liner from the top of the wheel arch to the bottom rear by the rocker panel. Pull the liner away a bit and I guarantee you'll find 2 or 3 inches of dirt, wet dirt, packed in the bottom of the fender. It comes from the drainage from the windshield wiper area. No wonder it rusts. I scoop it out with my fingers, then hose it out, every spring. Even though I know about it and don't park where crap falls on the car, I am amazed at how much dirt gets down there from the drainage cowl.
In every generation of VW there is a major design flaw in the bodywork. This is it for the Mk IVs.

yes its a Mk IV Jetta. wow good advice. wish i knew about this sooner. Thanks.

[thegooddie]

Re: Rust issues

Yeah I have an MK4 golf and have the exact same problems. last summer i sanded the hell out of my fenders, did a lot of bondo work and lots of painting, didn't look the most professional but it was better then the rusty look. i have to do it all over again this summer so let me know if you have any questions i might be able to help you. definitely a pain in the ass to have to deal with.

has anyone been able to come up with a solution to the problem of wet mud and garbage sitting behind the fender there? i would go for a car was at least once a week and park in an underground heated parkade after so it would dry out properly but that didn't help. i would even spend a solid 2 minutes each corner trying to wash everything out to make sure nothing sits in there. i'm thinking this time when i do bondo work, im just going to put a bunch of bondo in behind there so nothing can sit in there and prime and paint over that so nothing can ever get in there again.

any other suggestions?

[xJarodx]

Re: Rust issues

same problem, such a bummer. gonna try and fix her up though this summer.

[Hardy_Boy]

Re: Rust issues

mk4's have a 12 year rust warranty from Volkswagen. I'm in the process of filing a claim via SCFC, from what I believe it has to rust from the inside out. They will not warranty it if the panel is repainted. I also think that there is a TSB floating around about rust on the front fenders.

[ryukin2000]

Re: Rust issues

mk4's have a 12 year rust warranty from Volkswagen. I'm in the process of filing a claim via SCFC, from what I believe it has to rust from the inside out. They will not warranty it if the panel is repainted. I also think that there is a TSB floating around about rust on the front fenders.

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/a...TDI-repair.htm

good read. too bad i touched my drivers side last summer. i remeber sanding it down till it was bare metal and there were no visible holes. but the rust probably wrapped around from the wheel well. wont know until i tackle it again. thanks for the heads up on the warranty. ill definitely look into it.

[thegooddie]

Re: Rust issues

so you're telling me that i can go to northland vw tomorrow and tell them that under rust warranty they should fix it? I've only ever sanded and repainted the top of the fender but now the bottom of my fender and the running board is rusted like crazy. i'd be down with some warranty repairs done.

[Hardy_Boy]

Re: Rust issues

so you're telling me that i can go to northland vw tomorrow and tell them that under rust warranty they should fix it? I've only ever sanded and repainted the top of the fender but now the bottom of my fender and the running board is rusted like crazy. i'd be down with some warranty repairs done.

Call NL and talk to the service manager, he will give you the name of a body shop to get an estimate at. The body shop then forwards the quote to the service manager at NL, who then forwards it to VW. VW then decides if they'll honor the claim or not.

I have 2 visible spots of rust on my MK4 one on the passenger door, and one on the fender. The door will not be getting fixed because it has been repaired and repainted at a body shop because someone backed into it. The fender should be getting repaired because it is "untouched" so to speak. You might be out of luck if you tried to fix it yourself but it might be worth a try.

[thegooddie]

Re: Rust issues

i'll have to give them a call for sure then. only thing im worried about is that my car is a 2000 so i can see them being like o yeah sorry the warranty ended yesterday for you..we'll see what happens though