Sleepless in Seattle

I recently bought an S4 and am currently working on pulling the motor out and noticed there was some frame rust in the bay and I want that disease out of there!! lol

I've looked around for any topics and havent found any; was wondering how exactly do i go about treating this? I also noticed rust in the holes for the seats as well (where the seats bolt to the chassis) when i pulled them out to clean the carpet from mold. I really dont want to have to have the thought of my seats breaking off while driving.

I dont know much about body work other than basic painting and am looking for some help from other enthusiast. Any guidance?


- m a t t .

jap speed

Well for the frame, there is a company called Rust Bullet (http://www.rustbullet.com/) which helps eat away at the rust and replace it with solid, paint-able material. For the underbelly on the car, I would go with the black shell but you car read on on the different descriptions and what they are best used for.

As for your rust holes in your floor.... You wont like this but the only way that I know how to fix that is to cut out the bad part(s) of the floor and weld in new metal. Good-luck.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

rust bullet seems good on paper but I haven't heard anything about it when I was looking for ways to fix my rusted rocker panels. imo, I wouldn't trust an all-in-one product to convert/protect from rust. seems like its appealing to the "do it easy, but not as good" crowd. if anyone has experience with it first hand, chime in as I am just speculating from the info given on their site.

lots of guys on here swear by POR-15 for rust prevention. they also have something called metal ready that is a rust converter that you use before applying POR-15. that stuff dries rock hard (like truck bed liner) and is self leveling so you can brush it OR spray it on. I used it on a section of my rocker and it actually strengthened the weak metal a bit. look them up if the metal is still strong. tap your frame lightly with a hammer to see if it bends or breaks. you may need to weld in some new sections. remember, LIGHTLY tap the area. don't go trying to dent it up on purpose. welding on a frame should be done by pro's so if you don't have a lot of metal fab or welding experience, take it to a shop if it needs any work. good luck, keep us posted.

Sleepless in Seattle

@FC Fan: Alright yeah. I'll most likely go with the multiple sprays as i dont like taking shortcuts when it comes to cars. Pet peeve.

I'll deff keep you guys posted, i'll be starting a build thread in a few days and i'll try and take a photo of the rusted sestion to post here. Thanks for the replies guys, i'll post on again after work today.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

I'm not saying that rust bullet is junk. I have no experience with it but I feel better using something to convert the rust and then something to encapsulate/prevent further rust seperately rather then an all-in-one solution. I haven't heard anything on rust bullet from members here. I just know that a lot of people love POR-15 system and say it pretty much rust proofs whatever you use it on if you do it right. good luck

Sleepless in Seattle

Heres the update with the photos of the rust. I did the hammer thing and the rust sounds kinda like a dong instead of a ding. I'm guessing that means its bad? or am i wrong?


And the engine bay covered in lime..

PvillKnight7

iTrader: (16)

lime?

jjcobm

iTrader: (18)

You didn't search enough : )

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/s5-convertible-tii-extras-swap-project-pictures-877625/page2/

If its already rusted, you must clean it up to the bare metal and remove traces of rust. I used rust-bullet as a rust-preventative, not as a rust remover. If you just have patches of corrosion it is meant to stop it from spreading, but will never remove it.

And another 7 is a victim to the leaking brake master cylinder falling on the frame rail. Mine has that exact same crap, except it never got to the point of rust. Just needs new paint.

By the way, if you apply the rust bullet properly, it leaves a nice hard finish that is hard to chip. I am thinking of finishing my front frame rails with it when I get the car off the stands.

Sleepless in Seattle

apparently i didnt hard enough. haha

thanks for the link and the pointers. Appreciate man.

Sleepless in Seattle

oh also, what did you mean brake cylinder falling on the frame rail?
its just super rusted...i dont knwo if its good or not, but i dont wanna go find out my brakes dont work one day and wam. Matt sloppy joe on the windshield.

if your talking about the first pic, thats just the alternator sitting where the batt should be. I got the car with the water pump housing removed and the fan aswell. The alternator was still attached by a wire but laying on some hoses so i detached it and sat it on the batt thing,

jjcobm

iTrader: (18)

The brake master cylinder usually ends up leaking onto the frame rail on the drivers side. The brake fluid removes all the paint and eventually leaves the rail to bare metal. With exposure like that rust will start to show up if you don't take care of it. That is why your frame rail most likely is like that in the first place. It is common.

If it is not leaking now, it might of been replaced in the past.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

^yes, probably the best "cheap" route you can go and it does work well. looking at your pics, it doesn't look like its eating through yet so its probably mostly still fine. just use the 50/50 water/acid and then cover with primer. I'd throw some truck bed liner from a spray can on both of the rails in that area after. might as well try and avoid problems like this in the future.

Sleepless in Seattle

Ohh. Learned somthing new. :] Is there anywhere i can replace the booster? or just source a part? I'm going to pull the engine sunday so ill snap pics then and try that stuff. let you guys know what happens.

also, stupid question...i suck using google..where can i get vacuume lines for the seven cause all the ones on the motor currently are stiff nasty.

jjcobm

iTrader: (18)

The booster, you can buy one at a parts store or classifieds section or salvage yard.

http://www.hosetechniques.com/ Probably best place to get them from

http://mazdatrix.com/C-SILHOS.HTM Also good, they also give you a chart of sizes

I know there is a guy trying to rip people off charging over $100 on ebay for a "vacuum hose kit". Do not fall for that.

Sleepless in Seattle

Thanks for all the help. really./ Im taking a payday loan out haha cause im imaptient to work on the car.
lol

1990_fC3C_t2

Have you had a good look under the car and under the carpets?, check this out!

http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forum...ad.php?t=62713

gear_grinder

iTrader: (4)

cut out, weld in.

the right way is the only way....

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

If you are serious about it, and willing to make the commitment, then POR-15 is the way to go. For such a small area like this I don't know if it is worth it. Just a wire wheel then some hardware store rust paint will probably do the job.

If you want to go the POR-15 route, remember that it is a system. The instructions must be followed and the products used as designed otherwise they WILL NOT WORK and will just cause you problems in the future. This means bringing the rust down to one level (no product will help if you paint over multiple layers of rust), cleaning it (use Castrol Super Clean or POR-15's Marine Clean), etching it with Metal Ready, then putting on two coats of POR-15 at the recommended intervals. Done properly, POR-15 is a permanent, hard and flexible coating that will work. Done wrong (for example, trapping moisture underneath or not waiting enough time before the 2nd coat), it will allow moisture underneath or not bond, which will just encourage rust. At that point you will have to strip it off (this is absolutely not fun) and start again. Because using POR-15 is a process, I'd suggest something easier/cheaper for what appears to just be minor surface rust.

The most important thing with POR-15 is to keep it off your skin! If POR-15 dries on your skin, you will wear it for at least 3 weeks, if not three months. Trust me on this, nothing will take it off except time.

daviddeep

iTrader: (4)

I had some of that same frame rail rust under the brake master cylinder, probably from leaking while the previous owner used the car. I followed the POR-15 system instructions to the letter; it's not that hard but it is time-consuming. You need to set aside a whole day if you want to do everything per the instructions for time intervals of drying, etc. I think it worked very well and would definitely use it again. POR-15 sells a starter kit that isn't that expensive and has the Marine Clean and Metal Ready that you'll need for a job this size.

YaNi

iTrader: (2)

Spoken like a true expert. I'm glad we have experts like SlideAlliance around to set us straight...

AaronCake knows what he's doing. Uh genius, I'm not sure if anyone told you but self etching primer won't stop rust, it doesn't seal anything. You have to cut off all oxygen to stop/prevent rust. If you don't want to remove 100% of the rust, POR15 (or another rust encapsulator) is the way to go. Just make sure you topcoat the POR15 because it isn't UV resistant.

Sleepless in Seattle

Holy crap...I didnt expect to get back on to this many replies. haha.

Thanks for the help guys. I looked at it some more today and its just surface. Its only on that side too. So, ive lurked around these forums for a LONG TIME and i know aaron cake and slidealliance are pretty big here with rotary wisdom.

If you guys were in my shoes what route would you take? I dont have the biggest budget, but i do have alot of time.

nycgps

iTrader: (4)

I have a bit of rust here and there.

nothing on the main parts of the body ----- yet

I probably gonna let a shop to handle this. Strip everything out, sand everything down to bare metal and repaint the whole frame.

It will cost a lot for sure. probably 5-10K. but at least I wouldn't have to worry about it for the next 10-15 years (paint these days are much better than it was 20 years ago )

nycgps

iTrader: (4)

I dont need to, cuz I dont drive them at winter(FC and FE) I got a beater (Honda FIT) for that purpose

I would love to do everything myself, cuz it really saves a lot of money, its just that I my garage is small, enough room for 1 car only, so I can't do that.

Not gonna do the whole car repaint yet. saving money up to get something else important, will probably do it at the end of year or next tho.

Sleepless in Seattle

I like how straight forward you are haha. Thanks for the help guys, after i get enough pictures and stuff done, im going to post a build. I wanna make the first post extra juicy lol. So i can hook my readers

Sleepless in Seattle

cocain and strippers?

This is off topic,but I'm looking around for places that sell rotor housings for the s4....and. Well. Sh**. THere doesnt seem to be a big market for s4 things. Is it because s4 and s5 housings are the same? as well as rotors? cause my internals are probably not the sexiest. I called a "rotary specialist" and he told me that everyone who polishes them or buffs them or whatever, it doesnt help and that i need to just buy new everything...and then wanted me to pay him 4k for the work.

even though this will be my first rotary build, i'd still like to do most of it myself. Unless its something way out of my skill range.

So anyways..why is there more support on S5? Can i just go out and steal parts from an S5 and bolt to mine without any problems? I just want the car to run first so i can start building from there.