Paint and Body Rust On Strut Towers

arena314 · Dec 5, 2016

found some rust on the bottom of my passenger strut tower. it looks like it's a few layers deep so I looked through my wheel to look from tbe outside and there isn't much rust from the outside but there is from under the hood which is strange to me. I don't see any holes through it but would have to look harder but I don't think it's through. I was very upset to see this bc I really like this mustang and had plans for it. idk if it's too late or not. I was wondering if it's not on the frame rails if I could spray rhino liner on it to preserve it or if I could have someone just cut the bottom peice of the tower off and weld a new sheet up. I have a pi swapped 96 btw and I've been under the car multiple times and there doesn't seem to be rust anywhere else. thanks

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90sickfox · Dec 5, 2016

My advise would be to have someone cut it out and weld in new metal. You probably will have to pull the motor for that. When its that bad its usually gone into the frame rail box ( where the k member bolts go through ). Not a hard fix though for an experienced welder....or someone with a lot of patience.

arena314 · Dec 5, 2016

where do the k member bolts go on? I looked at my towers again and it seems like the rust is just at the bottom of the towers but there's still metal and no holes anywhere I poked as hard as I could with my fingers and it felt rusty but solidish. is it 100% the motor needs to be pulled? bc I dont have the space to do that or the tools

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arena314 · Dec 5, 2016

that's what it loos like.

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Noobz347 · Dec 5, 2016

@Davedacarpainter @RacEoHolic330

I am not by any means, a body expert but the rust in that picture looks pretty minor. Clean it up and stitch a new plate in there. The two dudes I tagged should be able to provide a little more info.

arena314 · Dec 5, 2016

could I have someone cut and weld a new peice of sheet metal in that spot without removing the engine?

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Davedacarpainter · Dec 5, 2016

It's really iffy looking in your pictures.

Would you mind posting pictures (the best you can) of the inner frame rail/shock tower area where it faces the engine, Immediately under the shock tower of the frame rail too where the crossmember bolts up to the frame?

You see how rusted those clips are that the bolts go through? Those need to be replaced for sure.

The pictures look like it could have more there inside of the frame rail itself. I say this from experience. It might not need anything other a wire wheel to knock of the rust.

Take a screw driver and jab all of the rusted areas pretty hard. You need to find out if it has rotted any of it.

Rust is like cancer in humans, it spreads. You have some going there that if you don't fix now, it will need major work later.

Worst case scenario is that the frame rail is rotted. You will have to pull the engine at that stage to fix it. Don't be overly intimidated about pulling your engine, it looks like something overwhelming, but it's not really that hard. Just take your time to mark everything you disconnect and take pictures of everything as you go. LMR sells new frame rails fairly cheap if this ends up being your problem.

Now, if you're lucky and that screw driver doesn't poke through, you'll want to seal up that rust with something like POR products or equivalent. Get something you can spray inside the frame rail and soak the hell out of it. Clean up all the rust on the outside and paint that area to protect it.

arena314 · Dec 5, 2016

I'm going to have my buddy take the car in when he's free sometime this month. he said he will poke at it with a screwdriver and hammer and if it goes through them then he will weld a plate up if not then he will clean it up and spray it. you said you think it spread to the frame rails or you need other pics to find out?

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Davedacarpainter · Dec 5, 2016

arena314 said:
I'm going to have my buddy take the car in when he's free sometime this month. he said he will poke at it with a screwdriver and hammer and if it goes through them then he will weld a plate up if not then he will clean it up and spray it. you said you think it spread to the frame rails or you need other pics to find out?

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I'd like to see the inside the engine bay and underneath side just to see if there are signs of rot.

Your buddy won't need to hammer on the screwdriver. Just some real solid pokes.

You'll want to be extra cautious about fixing that area since the crossmember bolts up there. Real bad place to find out it's rotted.

This area is one of the most common areas for rust on our mustangs, btw. I've fixed some, so i got a decent idea what to look for. There are support tubes inside the frame rail in that area to bolster the strength of the rail. I've seen them rotted out with just minor rot through on the outside frame rail. I'm just wanting to be careful for you since this is such a problem area for us and has potential to be really unhealthy for your car should that area crush because rust has destroyed it's integrity.

Crossed fingers that it's only surface rust.

arena314 · Dec 5, 2016

I took a few more but not much better

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Davedacarpainter · Dec 5, 2016

Hard to say from photos, but it doesn't look that bad. Good luck brother.

If you ever need any paint and body help, just tag me. I've been a painter since the late seventies. I'm certified by ASE, ICAR (worthless cert. to me) and a bunch of paint manufacturers.

I say that just so you know i have at least a clue.

arena314 · Dec 5, 2016

so just wire wheel away and see but you don't think it needs major repair?

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Davedacarpainter · Dec 5, 2016

arena314 said:
so just wire wheel away and see but you don't think it needs major repair?

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Maybe not, screwdriver test first.

Otherwise, yes, wire wheel it clean

arena314 · Dec 5, 2016

ok thank you for the response like I said my buddy us going to look at it by the end of the month and he will test it. I'm praying it's nothing bad I had plans for this car and have been buying parts for it. if it just needs to be cleaned and sprayed would you recommend por15?

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Davedacarpainter · Dec 5, 2016

arena314 said:
ok thank you for the response like I said my buddy us going to look at it by the end of the month and he will test it. I'm praying it's nothing bad I had plans for this car and have been buying parts for it. if it just needs to be cleaned and sprayed would you recommend por15?

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POR15 is great stuff. You need to be able to coat the inside of the frame rail though. Eastwood's got asked me stuff I believe that encapsulates like the POR.

arena314 · Dec 6, 2016

how do I go about coating the inside of the frame rail

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Davedacarpainter · Dec 6, 2016

arena314 said:
how do I go about coating the inside of the frame rail

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Use a spray can with a tube attachment that can slip through into the interior of it.

Like i mentioned earlier, Eastwood has a product like this. They have a nice selection of products to deal with rust, snoop around their website.

There is a spraying device that has a hose that you slip inside the frame rails (and rocker panels). That can be used to spray the interior of places with limited access. You need a compressor for that one.

arena314 · Dec 6, 2016

are you talking about how a WD-40 can would be like with the red straw on it?

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arena314 · Dec 6, 2016

I think I'll go to harbor freight and get a cheap spray gun and put por 15 in it what do you think?

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Davedacarpainter · Dec 6, 2016

arena314 said:
are you talking about how a WD-40 can would be like with the red straw on it?

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Yeah, similar to that.

arena314 said:
I think I'll go to harbor freight and get a cheap spray gun and put por 15 in it what do you think?

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Not a bad idea, though POR15 works best over rust that's been rescaled

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