Rust Rust and Rust

[strykr14]

Well, I am 2 months into owning the 92 SHO wagon and this thing continues to try my patience. I have replaced the entire saggy ass rusty rear suspension, rotor to rotor. Had to sawzall all the old suspension bolts off. I'll get a job killing cute puppies before I do that again. Painted the undercarriage behind the gas tank as well (after wire brushing the crap out of it). I cant het the gas tank out because the strap bolts are so rusted that when I tyrn the bolt, the fastener cuts into the floor. %$#%$!!!

I have purchased every front end part I can think of(thanks to 92SHOfff) - it's all rusty crap on the car. new radiatoras well, and I think it needs a new Ypipe as to. Now I think the battery is shot. But it did pass smog - thank god for small miracles!

Anyway, I have wirebrushed the whole undercarriage - what fun - and I have not found any holes. Flakes of metal coming off, alot of surface rust but no holes, I plan on spraying it with rustoleum primer, then rustoluem flat black. If I no longer drive it in the winter will that stop the rust? - or will I put my foot through the floor some day?

Tha sad thing is is that my 70K 95 GL wagon (which will be my winter car when we go out east) is in much much better condition - Not a spot of rust on it.

 

[zak]

Power wire brushing closes up pores in the metal which will not allow a rust converter to penetrate. The pores will trap moisture/salt etc. and continue the rusting process even if you try to seal the surface by paiting over it. I found this out the hard way when using POR15 to restore some quarter panels on a car I had.

Best bet is to sand the surfaces back open, using 40, 60 or 80 grit sandpaper (yes you can power sand), then use a zinc phosphate (e.g. MetalReady from POR 15 or similar Eastman product) to "convert" the rust into a primer. Then top coat with a paint that is compatible with the conversion you just did (not standard auto paint).

Good luck - zak

 

[1995SHO9]

sorry to hear all that shit dude. I'm not a big body guy, so I really can't help you out on this one.

~Johnathon~

 

[strykr14]

So, even primed and painted, it will continue to rust?

 

[zak]

Because you power wire brushed it (correct?) If you just manually wire brushed it to remove the loose stuff you should be ok.

 

[strykr14]

wire brush on the end of a craftsman 18 volt drill. You guys are scaring me. This car also needs paint due to hail damage. I am seriously wondering if I should just drop the subframe in the car pictured below

 

[kikkinasphalt]

So, even primed and painted, it will continue to rust?

paint it with undercoating and you will be fine. even if you trapped water under the undercoating it needs air to start rusting, and with it sealed up with undercoating that cant happen.

 

[strykr14]

I think I need to find a tree, sit under it and think awhile...

 

[kikkinasphalt]

I think I need to find a tree, sit under it and think awhile...

take a beer w/you

 

[strykr14]

Shit, I hate to canabalize ti but the more I look at it the more my white one looks to be in better shape. If course, swapping everything over is not going to be a cakewalk either.

 

[zak]

wire brush on the end of a craftsman 18 volt drill.

That would be the exact approach I used on the quarter panels of an old Ford I was restoring, rust came back in about a year and a half. The POR-15 guys explained the phenomena to me.

Rubberized undercoating is in and of itself porous.

Rust is a pain, and these chassis are worthless. A 95 wagon is going to be noticeably stiffer chassis than a 92 wagon, Ford did some tweaks to improve chassis rigidity throughout the Gen II years . . .

Not trying to scare you, just pass on the wisdom I learned the hard way. A sandblaster can quickly reopen the smeared over porosity from power wire brushing but is messy.

zak

 

[strykr14]

It's a bummer, I don't know wether to continue or cut my losses and do an engine swap w/another car - example, I found a Sable wagon, 93 3.8 w/blown head gasket, perfect body, no dents, scratches, or rust - $350. I am hesitant to do a swap w/my 95 - it runs too well to chop up.

I am really wavering here, as I am not wanting a SHO just to get me around, I want a nice car that will only be summer driven - that's why I am hesitant to pump $'s into this one. On the other hand, I am not sure electrically what needs to be done for a swap - Like what exactly I would have to grab from the dash besides the computer and it's main wiring harness. Here's what I'm dealing with:

 

[Pro*banshee]

HAHAHAHAHAHA That's bad rust for you?

 

[strykr14]

Like I said, no holes that I could see but man, My 95 has not one spec of rust on it.

 

[Pro*banshee]

http://shitmanfuckit.com/subframe.jpg

 

[strykr14]

ok, well, I don't have that big a problem yet!

 

[strykr14]

I had a body guy come out and look at the car - he says it is solid and worth fixing. No holes in it that we can see so I am sticking with this wagon. I had found a nice sable w/a perfect body but it was biege - who wants a biege SHO? I could do the flip and swap into my white one but 1. white one runs perfect, 2 I would have to swap everything and I would want the black interior so it would be a shitload of work. I even thought of putting the 95 slo drivetrain in the sable and putting the SHO wagon's d/train in my white one but that would be more work then what those hobbits had to do in the lord of the rings movies.

I'm going to POR-15 the crap out of the floor and the car will no longer be winter driven si I think it will be OK. Restart work on her tomorrow.

 

[crazy_canadian]

You can do it with POR 15, and if you see rust is starting to show later on, before it starts to really eat trough the metal, just do it again the right way.
Think about it, but it's relatively inexpensive, but time consuming.

 

[IM Buddy8]

http://shitmanfuckit.com/subframe.jpg

Is this from my car? HAHA Same thing happened couldn't steer..

 

[Shoman594]

Ya man thats actually not bad rust. I have seen the underside of some SHO's where actual holes developed.... You could hit it with a wire wheel, sander, or use a chemical rust stripper. You could even use soda or sand blasting.

That white wagon looks great by the way.