Rust through above rear wheel wells

[kaplan3jiim]

My '97 Legacy Brighton wagon has completely rusted throughg the body
directly over both rear wheel wells. A few inches across but
spreading. This is a 12 year old car in an area that uses salt
profusely, but I'm just curious if my car is an exception or if this
is the norm. I've tried to always clean underneath there whenever a
break in winter weather permitted, and at the end of the winter
season.

Jim

 

[DK]

My '97 Legacy Brighton wagon has completely rusted throughg the body
directly over both rear wheel wells. A few inches across but
spreading. This is a 12 year old car in an area that uses salt
profusely, but I'm just curious if my car is an exception or if this
is the norm.

That's pretty normal anywhere there is a lot of salt. My '93
Impreza had the same. Here is what I did: cut out loose rust,
sanded the rest, painted over with "Rustbullet" (it's basically a
superglue mixed with zinc oxide) and then filled the holes and
the "rust protected" areas with copious amounts of marine epoxy
(it can actually be sculpted when it's half way cured). Painted over
the epoxy with the cheapest Walmart autopaint. All in all, looks
ugly but for about $30 total and absolutely no signs of speading
of the rust from the affected areas after three winters I don't
care how it looks

DK

 

[Frank]

My '97 Legacy Brighton wagon has completely rusted throughg the body
directly over both rear wheel wells.  A few inches across but
spreading. This is a 12 year old car in an area that uses salt
profusely, but I'm just curious if my car is an exception or if this
is the norm.  I've tried to always clean underneath there whenever a
break in winter weather permitted, and at the end of the winter
season.

Jim

I don't know what goes on in the paint shop part of the Subaru
factories but one problem in the past with other car makes was that in
the rustproofing process, the car body is dipped in rust proofing
agent which is then baked on. Sometimes bubbles would form in the
wheel wells and rust proofing would not be deposited making these
areas prone to rust.

 

[weelliott]

My '97 Legacy Brighton wagon has completely rusted throughg the body
directly over both rear wheel wells.  A few inches across but
spreading. This is a 12 year old car in an area that uses salt
profusely, but I'm just curious if my car is an exception or if this
is the norm.  I've tried to always clean underneath there whenever a
break in winter weather permitted, and at the end of the winter
season.

Jim

My 95 has cancer that has started in the rear wheel wells on both
sides. I also have a huge hole that has come through on the bottom of
the drivers door. That is partially my fault though. I have opened the
door into snow banks in parking lots when I parked in the end slots
that other cars didn't want because they had snow piled up in them.
The subie climbs it fine, but then when opening the door, it hits the
snow, ice and salt, chipping the paint on the bottom edge, and
starting the ugly process that years later is a rusty mess. Live and
learn. Now I don't use my door as a snow plow.

 

[Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B]

My '97 Legacy Brighton wagon has completely rusted throughg the body
directly over both rear wheel wells. A few inches across but
spreading. This is a 12 year old car in an area that uses salt
profusely, but I'm just curious if my car is an exception or if this
is the norm. I've tried to always clean underneath there whenever a
break in winter weather permitted, and at the end of the winter
season.

Jim

Pretty much normal. They seem to rust above or just behind the wheel wells.
Honda accords do, in the same places. Interesting, but Toyotas don't.

 

[Frank]

Pretty much normal. They seem to rust above or just behind the wheel wells.
Honda accords do, in the same places. Interesting, but Toyotas don't.

The corrosion treatement problem that I mentioned. Bubbles form in
the parts in the bath and they do not get coated with the rust
proofing. Problem has been around for decades and I would have
thought most manufacturers would have solved by now.

 

[Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B]

The corrosion treatement problem that I mentioned. Bubbles form in
the parts in the bath and they do not get coated with the rust
proofing. Problem has been around for decades and I would have
thought most manufacturers would have solved by now.

Interesting.

My last couple cars I have taken to 'undercoating' with Hydraulic oil. One
is an old Mazda from Florida, body in extremely good condition, coated
before it's first New England winter, and every fall after that. Three
years and no sign of rust yet.

The second is a 2005 Scion tC I bought in 2006. I don't know how much road
salt it saw before I bought it, but it got coated when I bought it, and
coated again in the fall. However, this car does NOT see the road or salt
in the winter.

 

[George Mills]

Pretty much normal. They seem to rust above or just behind the wheelSometimes a cure for one perceived ill IS the problem. The 04 Forester is
not rusting (yet), but the 03 Jetta is, and this was due to sound deadening
material on the inside of fenders (to keep them from sounding
tinny)--however, still not making allowances for roadsalt in Canada. So,
salty water collected in the SD material and stayed and it rusts slowly in
spite of galvanizing/rustproofing applied by factory, just enough so that
the paint de-adhers (word?) and comes off in patches and the rust really
begins. I would tend to think that the 'bubble' theory might have a bit more
cred as the reason, if the effect was random rather than localized. I could
see it possibly happening if the body panels were being cradled at those
exact points and somehow a bit was missed or scuffed off. The good news in
Canada at least is that most manufacturers 'worth their salt' <G> provide
pretty comprehensive corrosion warranties...for VW, its 12 years unlimited
distance. The Subaru problem is likely similar in nature, in that salty
water is collecting and not draining/drying .

Jim B

 

[synthius2002]

I've seen several soobs with not just wheel well rust, but in a
specific 2" spot. I've decided that it is a design flaw. On my 1970
chevy malibu I learned that water-flow, including inside the fenders,
is an essential design concern to inhibit rust. that spot at the top-
front of soob rear wheel wells has what looks like a pooling area that
would promote rust.

Anybody want to put me in touch with the designers? I'm sure I could
find another fault to help them with.

Nils K. Hammer

 

[kapjim]

Haven't paid attention to other Subarus, but it is in the exact same
(mirrored) location on both sides of my car so I suspect you are
right.

While you're at it, tell them to stop using bare metal for all the
external latching hardware tucked onto the rear door. (Maybe these
have since 1997).

JK

 

[weelliott]

Haven't paid attention to other Subarus, but it is in the exact same
(mirrored) location on both sides of my car so I suspect you are
right.

While you're at it, tell them to stop using bare metal for all the
external latching hardware tucked onto the rear door. (Maybe these
have since 1997).

JK





- Show quoted text -

So does that mean that that piece of rust on my rear door was never
painted? So everyone else has a rusty hunk of metal hidden up under
there too? Wow. Some parts of this car were so well designed and
others... Not.