common rust problems

Post by **1.4 Volvo 34o** » 27 Apr 2007 08:36 pm

on my 340 the out side rear wheel archs have rust holes. i would like to know where the most common rust areas are and, what i could do about the rust on the wheel archs.

Post by **classicswede** » 27 Apr 2007 08:54 pm

common rust areas

wheel arches

sills

rear jacking point - inner sill

rear chassis on ends of cross bar

front wings

front pannel

door tops by the glass

5 door models the seam from wheel arch to sill inside of door

and probably quite a few other places.

Reapair pannels are available for the arches but if still in early stages I will fabricate and weld in repair patches.

Post by **classicswede** » 27 Apr 2007 08:57 pm

Missed a very important one.

The front spring cup on teh stut. Mud gets trapped in there causing them to rot out. Give them a good check over.

Post by **1.4 Volvo 34o** » 27 Apr 2007 11:27 pm

thanks you've probably save my 340 now i know what to check

Post by **IvanAE86** » 30 Apr 2007 09:43 pm

Dont forget the right rear inner fender, behind the metal fuel breather pipe. That bit is rotten on a lot of cars too.. for the rest the abovementioned things are all correct.. especially the sills around the jacking points are very weak. also look for flattened chassis rails caused by experimenting with different jacking points. Did anyone mention the front panel behind the headlights, specifically around the towing hooks.. also a very nasty spot.
Truth be told, 300's are pretty nasty in the rust department,, but then what do you expect from an 80's econobox type car..

Post by **petefarrell360** » 30 Apr 2007 11:18 pm

A pillars and door pillars and under the windscreen!

Bottom front corners of the front doors, about 20 mm in from each edge.

A bad example can rust anywhere! Prevention is the best method, and knowing roughly where to look is always useful!

Pete

Post by **jtbo** » 01 May 2007 07:52 am

Strip car so that it is only a chassis, then sandblast it completely, fix problem areas, sandblast again, dip whole car to cold zink bath (was it only 300C?

), take it out and repaint with good layers of paint, repeat procedure for hood, bootlid and doors.

Now you can enjoy rather care free motoring for next 5 years or so, if you do careful rust proofing every year, then it might last next 20 years quite easily if there was no rust hiding inside structures, if so then you need to cut it bit more

It should not be too expensive either, sure costs a lot but not anything insane, biggest problem is amount of work and space needed.

Post by **srtames** » 23 May 2007 01:47 pm

A lot ff rust is caused by the bad drainage of the front wings. Water gets through the wing gutters and rots the bulkhead and near the macpherson struts. Best to remove the wings to treat and put lots of sealer on when replacing wing.
Good luck for a Forth Bridge job, Steve