Is This Rust Serious?

[dt_ 7]

Hi all, picked up this 205 recently, it is spotless apart from the areas where the rear quarter is spot welded onto the chassis/sill section at the base of the rear of the doors. Here take a look-

 

 

^This is the drivers side, it doesnt look too tidy but is solid

 

 

^This is the nearside. It has less rust but if you press where the spot weld has come away the entire part flexes slightly, and when compressed oozes a bit of water out.

 

So anyways id like to sort this before it gets any worse. Just wondering if this is a common area for 205s to rust and if it will require welding or not. Both sides seem fairly solid at the moment. Cheers in advance for any help

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

it is a common thing. Its hard to assess how serious it is, have you poked it with a screwdriver to see how solid it is (or is not) ??

[dt_ 7]

No haven't poked at it, to be honest it seems quite solid, especially on the drivers side; just a bit of surface rust i'm guessing, but it has to start somewhere. The passenger side has much less rust, infact in that picture I think it's just a bit of dirt, but there is slight flex in the metal where the weld has come away. I'm thinking just a minor weld job, just want to nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand.

 

I used to have a saxo that needed welding every 6 months to the arches, floorpan etc so I'm a bit wary of these thin French cars!

Edited November 30, 2012 by dt_

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

As said very common. Not usually serious but worth doing a proper repair sooner rather than later before it gets worse. Ripping away from the spot weld is also quite common, neatest way to repair is to use a spot weld cutter drill to get rid of the "dot" then clamp and plug weld with a MIG.

[dt_ 7]

Thanks for the replies, i'll have a look around and got some quotes, MOT is not till april so I've got plenty of time providing the car doesn't snap in half haha

[matt.f 16]

Hopefully its ok underneath.As tom said id clean it all up to bare metal,drill the spot weld out and make two more holes to plug weld up aswell,fill over the mig plug welds after grinding,prime,seal the joint by wiping sealer in then wiping it out and then paint.

 

[Karl 15 1 Cars]

i had this problem on my car it failed mot and they wanted around £300 for repair so i did it myself:

grinded back the rusted metal
treated it with rust proofing stuff (cant remember what it was called)
filled it in with that glass fibre compound and sanded back
filled over with body filler and sanded back in various grades
primed and painted and tbh it looks better than standard IMO and only cost me £30 (i had paint already)

alot cheaper and easier than welding and requires alot less skill and it sailed through mot

just a thought for you

Edited December 27, 2012 by Karl

[Keljon 7]

Yeah but if the spot weld has broken away then it needs to welded again, it's a structural part of the car

 

 

i had this problem on my car it failed mot and they wanted around £300 for repair so i did it myself:

grinded back the rusted metal

treated it with rust proofing stuff (cant remember what it was called)

filled it in with that glass fibre compound and sanded back

filled over with body filler and sanded back in various grades

primed and painted and tbh it looks better than standard IMO and only cost me £30 (i had paint already)

alot cheaper and easier than welding and requires alot less skill and it sailed through mot

just a thought for you

[Karl 15 1 Cars]

as you can see from the pic its only where the rear quater joins the sill ie not a structual integral part the sill looks fine and if it is ok from underneath my solution would be suitable

[DamirGTI 342]

Think about why the joint had separated ?

 

Here , just good welding job is a fair fix ... no rust treatment and slap on a filler on top , and especially no glass fibre usage in order to repair metal or worst rusted metal ! (moisture contracts underneath the layer of glass fibre material ..)

 

It's the weakest point on the car , i did welding on my B pillars with strengthening down the sill and from the inside as well ...

 

Do it once and properly , for your own safety .

 

 

Damir

[kee 22]

my rallye has bits here and also right at the top and bottom of the rear window on the same pillar line, seems a common problem with these cars

[Karl 15 1 Cars]

yes its 1 of a few common rust spots

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

Often the cause of water ingress here is due to the outer skin on the arch pulling away from the inner arch. They are only bonded on from the factory and this can perish, usually just at the point where the plastic arch starts.

 

The other source of water could be your rear window seals leaking.

 

Address he source before welding it all up as at this moment in time, the water can leak out. It won't if you seal it!

[ALEX 98 1 Cars]

If that's the only rust on it, then you have nothing to worry about.

They usually rust along that bottom edge towards the rear too.

Check to see if its damp inside the rear quarters behind the interior rear quarter panels.

Edited December 28, 2012 by ALEX