rust in spare tire well

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The Magnificent Seven
Oct 16, 2005
2,738
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Virginia
the rust in my spare tire well came back after three years of being covered up by bondo.

i should've paid closer attention to what i was getting into, but i was sixteen at the time and it was the first project on my car. so, i've got a bunch of holes being eaten through the well.

what are my options now? holes range from the size of a pencil eraser to the size of a dime. i've been thinking about giving them a wide berth and cut out the rusted parts plus some of the good metal, then using fiberglass to seal up those holes and smooth over with more bondo.

anyone else have serious advice/tips on what they did? id like to keep the area stock if possible but i suppose welding is an option (drop the gas tank of course).
 
forcefedsupra

forcefedsupra

aka, Turd Furguson
Jul 19, 2005
463
0
0
Jacksonville, FL
Whatever you do, make sure all the rust is gone before doing anything else. If not, it will come back. I make a living dealing with corrosion, so believe me, it will come back if not done properly.
 
AW11inVa

AW11inVa

New Member
Nov 15, 2007
125
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Broadway Va
Clip;994870 said:
the rust in my spare tire well came back after three years of being covered up by bondo.

i should've paid closer attention to what i was getting into, but i was sixteen at the time and it was the first project on my car. so, i've got a bunch of holes being eaten through the well.

what are my options now? holes range from the size of a pencil eraser to the size of a dime. i've been thinking about giving them a wide berth and cut out the rusted parts plus some of the good metal, then using fiberglass to seal up those holes and smooth over with more bondo.

anyone else have serious advice/tips on what they did? id like to keep the area stock if possible but i suppose welding is an option (drop the gas tank of course).
Click to expand...

I discovered my spare tire well was rusted out pretty good. I went to Lowes and bought some sheet metal, cut out the rust and then made patch panels and welded them in. Then I primered that and then covered it with fiberglass body filler then primered that and painted black on the inside and a primer and undercoating on the bottom. You could use spray on bed liner too.

If you dont know how to weld take a welding class. Its not that hard to mig weld.
 
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The Magnificent Seven
Oct 16, 2005
2,738
9
38
35
Virginia
AW11inVa;995228 said:
I discovered my spare tire well was rusted out pretty good. I went to Lowes and bought some sheet metal, cut out the rust and then made patch panels and welded them in. Then I primered that and then covered it with fiberglass body filler then primered that and painted black on the inside and a primer and undercoating on the bottom. You could use spray on bed liner too.

If you dont know how to weld take a welding class. Its not that hard to mig weld.
Click to expand...

proud owner of a 220v gas mig setup :) im looking forward to welding it, but not dropping the gas tank :(
 
AW11inVa

AW11inVa

New Member
Nov 15, 2007
125
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Broadway Va
Clip;995237 said:
proud owner of a 220v gas mig setup :) im looking forward to welding it, but not dropping the gas tank :(
Click to expand...

Actually it was not that bad. I think when I installed mine was easier then taking it out. But yeah if you have a mig welder then you know what ya need to do. It took me about 4 days to weld in the patches. You probably know this but use a quick trigger time with alot of heat.
 
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The Magnificent Seven
Oct 16, 2005
2,738
9
38
35
Virginia
BlackDevilSupra;995246 said:
Inspect the rear wheel tire wells also, you may be surprised or disappointed...
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when i tore all the interior out to fix it the first time those looked rock solid, thanks for the tip!
 
3p141592654

3p141592654

90T
Oct 11, 2005
3,816
16
38
Thousand Oaks, CA
If your well is rusty, then you have a hatch or taillight leak.

I just went and replaced my taillight gaskets, the rear wiper grommet, and tightened up the hatch glass bottom trim nuts to see if I can stop my leak. Living in California my tire well will take another 100 years to rust out, but the sloshing was still annoying. I'll find out next year when it rains if I've fixed the leak!
 
speed

speed

Gone. Email me.
May 27, 2006
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www.timduganphotography.com
ha, thats the only place i have rust in my car, i have one fist sized hole, and dozens of pencil sized holes. Glad this was brought up! I too am not looking forward to dropping the tank, but i think i'm going to cut out pretty much half the well and remake it and weld it in. Ugh, just another thing to put on the to-do list!
 
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The Magnificent Seven
Oct 16, 2005
2,738
9
38
35
Virginia
speed;995772 said:
ha, thats the only place i have rust in my car, i have one fist sized hole, and dozens of pencil sized holes. Glad this was brought up! I too am not looking forward to dropping the tank, but i think i'm going to cut out pretty much half the well and remake it and weld it in. Ugh, just another thing to put on the to-do list!
Click to expand...

ill let you know how it goes + pics as soon as i run this tank of gas out.
 
shaeff

shaeff

Kurt is FTMFW x2!!!!
Staff member
Super Moderator
Mar 30, 2005
10,589
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Around
Clip;995223 said:
buying a new one and putting it in?
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Yes sir. Here's why, it's really the only super-rusty part of the car. Stupid previous owner. :(

p995875_1.jpg
 
G

gelboy1015

Vroom Vroom!
Jan 1, 2007
234
0
16
Houston, TX
ive got no spare tire well at all now, you can see the ground through that area... it was just like the one in the pic, so i just peeled it all out and got a spare one.. all i need to do is cut the sides off and weld the new one in
 
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The Magnificent Seven
Oct 16, 2005
2,738
9
38
35
Virginia
my spare tire's steel rim is also heavily eaten away by the rust to the point where the inner lip of the wheel is breaking off in chunks (doubt its usable any more). im calling this weight reduction for now and carrying a can of fix-a-flat with me :)
 
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