Rust above the rear wheel wells....

**Gnl.Weirdness** · 11-28-2009, 07:33 PM

So I have a ton of rust in my rear wheel wells, on the inside of the car.

I took out those stupid moisture packets that they put in, which might have worked for a while. When I took them out they were FULL of rusted water.

Anyone have any idea how I can fix the rust in the wells?

I know on the drivers side there is the sag tank line cover they install with rivets and then they plaster with that industrial sealant BS.

Can I just take that out and then just do my best to hit the rust, or is there an actual good way to do this?

Thanks ahead of time everyone.

Cheers

Chris_Walker · 11-28-2009, 11:24 PM

Inside the jeep, on the rear wheel wells?

Wazzuppiggy156 · 11-29-2009, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enlighter

So I have a ton of rust in my rear wheel wells, on the inside of the car.

I took out those stupid moisture packets that they put in, which might have worked for a while. When I took them out they were FULL of rusted water.

Anyone have any idea how I can fix the rust in the wells?

I know on the drivers side there is the sag tank line cover they install with rivets and then they plaster with that industrial sealant BS.

Can I just take that out and then just do my best to hit the rust, or is there an actual good way to do this?

Thanks ahead of time everyone.

Cheers

For pulling out the fuel line cover, there are 4-5 tabs that will have to be bent perpendicular to the body, then a good prybar should pull that right out.

Not sure what you're asking for the rest, arguably the best way would be to weld in new sheetmetal, but not everyone has access to a welder. The pop rivet/caulking method seems to work pretty well too.

**Gnl.Weirdness** · 11-30-2009, 08:52 AM

yes the rear wheel wells inside, sorry for the vagueness I spent 4 hours removing f*ing sound dampening from the trunk area haha, was not in the best of moods when I posted.

I do have a welder, but wasn't sure the best method to tackle this.

Will post up the pictures at lunch.

ChemeXJ · 11-30-2009, 04:04 PM

I cut out the rust and then some and used body panel adhesive and rivits to cover the holes with new sheet metal.

Take off the endcaps to get to the qp's from the outside. I didn't have rust down the entire quarter panel but I cut a 4" wide rectangle out of the hole thing. This gave me easy access to get a grinder in there and get out all the rust.

I then painted it with a POR-15 like product and put in the new sheet metal. The body panel adhesive is extremely strong. The rivits probably weren't even necassary but they hold things down while the adhesive dries and its easier to leave them in. Make sure you seal them over as well.

I put my end caps back on so wasn't too concerned with looks. If I was I might have done it in diamond plating and cut the patches to cover the hole lower qp. When all was done I prettied it up on the outside with bondo, painted with rustoleum then undercoating. Here are some before and after pics from the inside because I am not going to take my endcaps off.

Before:

After:

Sorry these are the biggest pics I could figure out how to get on here. If you want better ones pm me your email and I will email you over larger ones.

**Gnl.Weirdness** · 11-30-2009, 05:11 PM

nice nice nice.

Yeh I have a bunch o rust, mainly I just wanna figure out how to get it OUT and get new metal in.

So here is my dilema. First the fuel line guard. I was able to fin 2 of the rivets, that GOD DAUM industrial sealant they use over generously is hard to get out. I tried a torch, gasoline, and good old muscle, muscle worked the best, but didn't get me far after 30 minutes (I don't have a ton of said muscle haha).

Next, the left wheel well

And the right

Thanks a ton for the posts so far.

ChemeXJ · 11-30-2009, 05:16 PM

Yeah, that is much worse than mine was. I was able to get to the drivers side without removing the gas line shroud by cutting away a big rectangle on the outside of the quarter panel and using that to access the wheel well.

ChemeXJ · 11-30-2009, 05:28 PM

You may also consider this mod Cut Lower Rear Quarters...(pics and write-up) - NAXJA Forums -::- North American XJ Association If I were you I'd probably just do this and instead of folding I'd just put in a new piece of sheet metal thats flush with the rest of the floor. I would also try and preserve the end cap mounts since I like the stock look. Some like it without them and the cut & fold.

But here is what I am talking about when I say I cut an access hole. The dashed red line is where I cut. Some of it was good metal but for the sake of easy access I cut it anyway and replaced it. Just make sure to leave an inch or so to use to secure the new metal to. Excuse my drawing but it is only a crappy mspaint of the lower qp.

**Gnl.Weirdness** · 12-01-2009, 12:34 AM

yeh, pretty merked now so I should prolly reead thisin the am lol

diskman_1 · 12-01-2009, 02:54 AM

Don't worry, it's fixable..

My '92 after I cut all the rust out....

Fresh steel being welded in. Turned out great. Lots of metalwork though...

**Gnl.Weirdness** · 12-01-2009, 07:52 AM

awesome, so just cutting from the outside and then working from there is the best method?

I def know it can be repaired, but man I am gonna need to get better at welding before I try and tackle it haha.

Are there any aftermarket replacement panels/wells that can be procured?

ChemeXJ · 12-01-2009, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enlighter

awesome, so just cutting from the outside and then working from there is the best method?

I def know it can be repaired, but man I am gonna need to get better at welding before I try and tackle it haha.

Are there any aftermarket replacement panels/wells that can be procured?

I don't know if it is the best way or not but it works. Its pretty near impossible to get to the little crease form the inside. Also body panel adhesive if used correcty is just as strong as welding. I've seen it tested in a tensile tester and the metal failed before the adhesive... I used pop rivits to hold it in place while it dried. Speaking of pop rivits it looks like your trying to chisel them off. The best way to remove them is to drill them out...

**Gnl.Weirdness** · 12-01-2009, 04:45 PM

yeh wasn't trying to chisel, was just getting the sealer off of them and then was going to drill them out.

**Gnl.Weirdness** · 12-14-2009, 09:49 AM

uhg, this is gonna be such a pita project haha.

Oh well, more fodder for the build thread I guess.

**Gnl.Weirdness** · 03-19-2010, 12:26 PM

So I did the right rear wheel well. Almost ALL of that metal was good, none broke through. And all the brown in the base there, that was all just dirt. I scraped it and vacuumed it, then blasted the last bits out with an air gun.

Then wire brushed by hand as best I could, laid down a TON of metal ready, and then lathered it all in Por-15.

I am going to keep my eye on it over the coming months, worst case scenario I have to cut it out and weld/rivet new stuff in. This is a good fix I feel in the meantime.