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

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 , but it will definitely pay its way if you want to keep the car for a little bit longer ...

Cheers

Tom

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

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

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.

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