Ok so I pulled off this piece of... fabric? Not sure what to call it... but it was covering my spare tire. But after pulling it off, I found this...

The way I figure it, I need to cut this chunk off. But what should I replace with it? Has anyone encountered this before??

 

Holy crap!, that carpet must have been waterlogged for a long time if that was under it... Wish I could help, but all we know here in Cali is surface rust...

 

Looks like its mostly the removable frame for the bins that rusted. Get one from a non rusty car.

 

^^thats exactly what it is. the bin frame seperates into two halves when removed from the car. aquire a new pair from another forum member or hit the boneyards

 

Could I weld a fresh piece of sheet metal rather?

 

^You could... I have some extra pieces laying around, they're a little bent though

 

Just curious... what exactly do the bin frames do? I tried to do some research, but I can't get any information. Sorry, I'm rather new at this.

 

How bad is the body below the bins. If water was soaking for awhile the insulation could have done even more damage.

 

Before reassembling, (& if you have a sunroof) you need to make sure the drain lines from the sunroof gutter to the rear exterior vents aren't leaking... most likely way for water to get there would be one of the drain lines being missing/disconnected/broken.

They're just vinyl hoses that connect the drain holes in the sunroof gutter to the outside vents on the B pillars. You get to them by removing interior trim.

 

You could always just clean the **** out of it after u find the water leak, and black carpet it yourself to add some room . In Japan they had a 3rd seat but it didn't pass safety regulations in the USA.

 

Some people claim that the frame bins help reinforce the chassis making it stiffer. I tried autocrossing my car with a firm suspension both with and without it. I found no difference and I would be seriously concerned if there was a difference from that little piece of tin.

That being said, what is underneath those bins is important. You can remove the bins with no problems, but you need to check below them for rust. If you have rust below that... you have a nice parts car or a couple grand of body work that need to be performed.

Make sure you find the source of the water before you fis anything, or you will be back at square 1 very quickly.

 

Ok. So I think I'm going to do d eagz13's idea and use it for a storage case. The rust only seems to be on the top layer and goes ends where the previous owner put a pioneer sound system in. I'll cut out the rust and weld it shut. Thanks for all the advice. I'll be sure to update with pics when I'm done.

 

what are you welding shut? the area where the storage bins bolt to? much eaiser to replce teh frames. heck for the price of shipping i'll send you a pair of bin frames..they are a little bent but they're better than what you have.

 

They are just frames for the storage bins.... spray them with rust paint and don't worry about it. They aren"t structural. Heck most people remove them when they relocate the battery to the rear.

I threw mine out years ago!

 

i have that top layer of metal and all other parts to make that look newish on my parts car if you want it. im in victoria though.

 

I thought the part that is rusted in the picture just onbolts. Unbolt it and get a used one that has the bins.