Rust prevention.

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broady81
Posts: 109
Joined: 14 Nov 2010 02:46 am

Rust prevention.

Post by broady81 » 14 Jan 2011 09:02 pm

Right, so my Volvo 340 failed it's MOT a few days ago. The bottom of one of the front struts had almost completely rusted away. Aparently I was lucky not to have had a crash in it. Also, the rear sill next to the wheel arch had rotted away and been welded back up insufficently too.

So my question to you guys: how do I stop this rust happening again? Do you have any suggestions to protect the underbody of the car?

I've been looking at this from Halfrauds:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165594

Any experience?

Cheers

Matt
“the winner ain't the one with the fastest car, it's the one who refuses to lose” - Dale Earnhardt

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trabitom99
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Posts: 4398
Joined: 06 Jan 2007 02:38 pm
Location: Bonn, Germany

Re: Rust prevention.

Post by trabitom99 » 14 Jan 2011 09:08 pm

Well done to that MOT tester for noticing your front strut ... I've had the lower spring cup thingy fail on me, and I'm really glad it didn't happen at Autobahn speeds. Don't worry though, there are replacement panels available (from Hadrian / NOR / Klokkerholm) and the repair shouldn't be too expensive.

Any pics of the rear sill?

Rust is the biggest bugbear of the 300-series with age, the best protection against it is the full Dinitrol treatment. Not that I've done it or anything :oops: , but it will definitely pay its way if you want to keep the car for a little bit longer ...

Cheers

Tom
343 GL Touring B14.1E CVT (155) 98000kms 1980 (sold)
343 L Junior B14.3E MT4 (155) 229000kms 1981 (scrapped)
343 DLS B19A MT4 (155) 167900kms 1982
360 GL Injection B200F MT5 (231) 348598kms 1988 (scrapped)
360 GLT B200F MT5 (302) 230000kms 1988

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broady81
Posts: 109
Joined: 14 Nov 2010 02:46 am

Re: Rust prevention.

Post by broady81 » 14 Jan 2011 09:23 pm

Well done to that MOT tester for noticing your front strut
I know. Good job really.
Hadrian / NOR / Klokkerholm
I'm sorry, I don't recognise any of those companies. Are they European? I'm from the UK that's all :) I did ring around a few Volvo specialists with no luck. I was going to try use one off of a donor car, but I'm not sure how useful that would be unless it was in good condition.
Any pics of the rear sill?
The welding looked fine to myself. But apparently it wasn't the correct type of welding? Should have been MIG welded. It wouldn't have been a problem somewhere else on the body, but it failed because it was 60cm from a load bearing suspension point.

Matt
“the winner ain't the one with the fastest car, it's the one who refuses to lose” - Dale Earnhardt

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trabitom99
*** V3M DONOR ***
Posts: 4398
Joined: 06 Jan 2007 02:38 pm
Location: Bonn, Germany

Re: Rust prevention.

Post by trabitom99 » 15 Jan 2011 08:57 am

Hadrian's a UK stockist:
http://hadrian.dominohosting.biz/hadria ... f/MakeList

The part you probably need is 93-34-284 "front suspension seat".

The majority of the repair panels available for the 300-series are made by Klokkerholm:
http://www.klokkerholm.com
Hadrian sells their stuff ...

Cheers

Tom
343 GL Touring B14.1E CVT (155) 98000kms 1980 (sold)
343 L Junior B14.3E MT4 (155) 229000kms 1981 (scrapped)
343 DLS B19A MT4 (155) 167900kms 1982
360 GL Injection B200F MT5 (231) 348598kms 1988 (scrapped)
360 GLT B200F MT5 (302) 230000kms 1988

Ride_on
Posts: 2262
Joined: 26 May 2009 05:34 pm
Location: Belfast, N. Ireland

Re: Rust prevention.

Post by Ride_on » 15 Jan 2011 03:32 pm

Rust prevention is tricky, especially when you already sounds if you have serious rust already.

The black Waxoly stuff is fine for areas you can see, but the real problems are in enclosed box section and seams. If the car is still solid, which it probably isn't, you can add a rust converter and then a cavity wax, but these need to be properly blasted in. Although a Waxol pump kit is better than nothing.

I'd have to say none of the publically available stuff (eg Halford retail) is any good, and many 300s at this stage in life need a full strip down of the underbody, removal of large sections of underseal and rebuilding of suspension mounting point etc. If your car is good, then cavity treat it, if not repair visible weakness as best you can and say goodbye once it becomes too costly to repair.

Have a look at http://www.rust.co.uk, its not well presented but has some good advice and materials. Used by car restorers.
1980 345 DL_______1987 360 GLE (project car restored to GLT spec and B230FT'd)
1984 360 GLT______1987 360 GLT
1983 360 GLS______1989 360 GLE
1985 340 GL_______1986 340 1.4
1985 360 GLS______1995 940 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate (daily)
1987 340 GL 1.7

mat_91
Posts: 636
Joined: 07 Oct 2009 08:50 pm
Location: nottinghamshire

Re: Rust prevention.

Post by mat_91 » 16 Jan 2011 07:47 pm

hmm best advice is dont own a car haha
but i just clean up wt ever metal i want put some primer on and a brush on some wax oil and just keep your eye on it
i dont think rely there's a paint and forget option :cry:
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