Inherited cancer from PO!

[dsmblue]

The prior owner obviously did not take care of the car the way it should have been. I have been slowly working my way through various issues, latest one to tackle is rust in RF fender and inner fender structure, along with LR portion of rocker panel. The RF is key for now, need to get this buttoned up prior to full winter arrival in Iowa. Here are some pics of the damage:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1cf36b3127ccefef77d3d02d600000030O00AauWblq5ZuW IPbz4W/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1cf36b3127ccefef7364bc32d00000030O00AauWblq5ZuW IPbz4W/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1cf36b3127ccefef60926a38b00000030O30AauWblq5ZuW IPbz4W/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D3/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1cf36b3127ccefef73637c35100000030O30AauWblq5ZuW IPbz4W/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D3/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1cf36b3127ccefef7ed37029400000030O00AauWblq5ZuW IPbz4W/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1cf36b3127ccefef7bd1483af00000030O00AauWblq5ZuW IPbz4W/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[mLuMaN83]

Dam dude...

[BMWdriverwanted]

Flintstones, meet the flintstones...........

Wait, what am I saying? I have my own rust to deal with, grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

[tubbs76]

Ouch dude, thats gota hurt.. I take it u didnt see it before purchased?/

[tharepairguy]

Nothing like living in the heartland. If you don't like the weather around here, wait a day, it will change... :P

[z25is]

oh that's gotta hurt

[coolpizzadude]

"turns head" That's going to hurt the wallet.

[Mac8008]

That looks like way too much rust.

[flyfishvt]

Do you know how to weld? If you do then it's not that bad. Just cut out the pieces you need from a junker and weld them in the get some new fenders.

[mmark.]

If you can bail, bail.
The rust is secondary to accident damage.
It needs sections cut out and rewelded. Who knows how much mud is under the paint.

m

[Moron95M3]

welcome to the club! Midwest is just horrible...regardless.

(A lot of California's are on this site and are going to say 'omg you're going to die' - don't worry about it...just try to prevent it from happening more)

[xdgt03]

That is truely nothing. None of that is really structural. It is support for the lower portion of the fender. No biggie. If you can weld then you don't need advice on how to fix it. If you are not planning on a perminent fix before winter then cut out the worst, get a can of the duplicolor rust to black sealer.

[ckpitt55]

That is truely nothing. None of that is really structural. It is support for the lower portion of the fender. No biggie. If you can weld then you don't need advice on how to fix it. If you are not planning on a perminent fix before winter then cut out the worst, get a can of the duplicolor rust to black sealer.

um no, the rocker panels are part of the unibody and have a lot to do with the longitudinal rigidity of the car. neither the damage nor the repair work required is trivial

[furherfecker]

I have the exact same issue...

I brought it at the dealer for a repair quote... are you ready?

$3,500..... per rocker panel so $7,000 in total.


My solution to this? ... Mount some side skirts, hide the rust and forget about it.

Jack the car by the frame rails or control arms.

[Moron95M3]

I have the exact same issue...

I brought it at the dealer for a repair quote... are you ready?

$3,500..... per rocker panel so $7,000 in total.


My solution to this? ... Mount some side skirts, hide the rust and forget about it.

Jack the car by the frame rails or control arms.


+1 had a 5k quote.


However next spring I'm having a local guy that did my paint work bend up some 'patches' and going to do it on the cheap. I'll be posting those results in detail.

You can see my rust here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1553036&highlight=200k+documentation

[xlDooM]

Flintstones, meet the flintstones...........

:rofl

I think that's the worst rust I've ever seen in that area.

[m42b18]

I had a similar problem in the RF fender. When I opened up inside there, there was an inch of mud and junk that had worked its way behind the plastic inner wheel well and completely rotted out the bottom of the fender. I wire brushed as much rust as possible and then used naval jelly to remove what was left. I then used fiberglass to reinforce the areas that were weakened from behind. Once this was done I used a thin layer of filler and block sanding to smooth out the bottom edge of the fender (I do not have plastic side skirts). I covered the entire area in a few coats of rust stopping primer. I then formed a piece of aluminum to bridge the gap between the body and the bottom edge of the fender and used an automotive adhesive to bond it into place. Then I covered everything in a few layers of a rust stopping paint to finish it off.

I know this isn't the "right" way to do it but its not worth spending the cash to replace the metal when its just going to rust out in a few years again (anyone who lives in the midwest can attest to this). This whole fix cost me like $40 and about three days of work and looks brand new, even six months since I did it! Also, by making the aluminum piece go up the inner walls a bit, it catches all the water and grime that gets in there and prevents it from causing more damage.

[dsmblue]

It is obviously not good, but I don't think it will be terrible to do. The RF portion looks bad, but isn't structural. Mostly inner fender area. I already have a new (used) fender ready to bolt on that cost me $95 shipped. I am guessing that the bill from the body shop for cut/weld/undercoat will be somewhere around $600 for the right side. The left side I am going to leave until springtime. I already have a quote for that of about $1500. That includes repainting full LR quarter panel. Some rust was apparent on purchase last year, some was not.

[gk325is]

welcome to the club! Midwest is just horrible...regardless.

(A lot of California's are on this site and are going to say 'omg you're going to die' - don't worry about it...just try to prevent it from happening more)

omg your going to die!

buy a welder and have fun! Its not like you can make it any worse...

[BMWdriverwanted]

buy a welder and have fun! Its not like you can make it any worse...


HEY! I resent that! If it were my car, I am sure "I" could make it worse!!

[xdgt03]

Um. It does not look like the rocker panal to me but the area right behind the front fender at the bottom. If it is that piece it is NOT a big deal. It does NOT provide significant structural support to the unibody. It DOES provide support to the fender.
If it is the rocker then that is not easily repairable and can be dangerous.

[xlDooM]

The sheet metal of the rocker panel is coming apart. It's quite obvious from the pics that that part is also very rotten.

[Thaniel]

omg your going to die!

buy a welder and have fun! Its not like you can make it any worse...

That's what I was thinking when I first saw the pics.

I had a pathfinder with much worse rust. A little sheet metal and some time with the welder it was stronger then it was new. Cost less then 10 dollars. Of course if one wanted it to have matching paint etc it would cost more.

Jest be sure not to catch any thing on fire while welding.

[dsmblue]

I agree with xdgt03, it is primarily right behind the front fender, and there isn't (as far as I can tell) significant structural issues. When the metal is back in there, it will (and does) provide mount points for the lower two bolts for the front fender. The damage on the LR rocker is fairly small, and I have been assured by the body shop that it will not be a problem with structural integrity, at least if I get it addressed next spring. Once I have it in to the shop, I will try to post up pics as it goes along.

[xdgt03]

Mine are the same way. I was debating whether to fix them at all. I'll be getting new fenders in the spring and planned to just cut the bottom off both and weld in them in to replace the bottoms of the oe fenders. A little bit of metal patch to help support the fender is all I think I was gonna do.

Anyway, good to know its not the rocker.