posted by
someone claiming to be Russell
on
Mon May 31 09:45 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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I can't believe it but my 240 has major rust on the floor pan, OK maybe its not major for some of you guys but its major for us californians since cars just don't rust here, even in the junkyards!
I had the trailing arm bushings replaced recently and the mechanic pointed out some signs of rust on the floor pan from underneath. I was surprised but thought ok I'll probably will have to cut out a section of the floor pan with a jigsaw and rivet a new flat piece of sheet metal, no big deal. But today when I took the seats out and lifted the carpet up I was horrified to see its actually rusting at the seam of the reinforced seat hump. I have no clue how to fix something like this or if its even possible for a weekend mechanic like myself.
Any suggestions or recommendations ?
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Fear not- take it from a northerner, that's not too bad. Check out this pic of my buddy's '67 Chevy project, now THAT'S rust:
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MSW, I think that you've mistakenly posted a pic of my 1986 240 wagon!
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Was this car in California its whole life? Or was it used in the salt belt, then later moved to California?
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posted by
someone claiming to be Russell
on
Tue Jun 1 03:21 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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Yes, its been a california car through out, however, when I got it there was a 1/4" gap between the windshield and the seal on the driver's side. Apparently the windshield was replaced - improperly I might add. I plugged the gap with some clear RTV and its held up so far (2yrs). I checked passenger side fearing the worst but it has no signs of rust anywhere, in fact this is the only rust on the whole car from what I can tell.
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OH THE HORROR!!!
Well I can say for sure that you are not alone, and there are some good suggestions here. I will pass on a sampling of what I have done in the same situation with my ongoing 242 restoration project. My solution is the use of fresh steel arc welded into place. Makes for a nice solid repair that will long outlast the car.
Me thinks I will get a rust free car the next time around....
--
Happy Bricking!!! - Richard - '87 245 DL , '82 242 GLT - Half a million km between them!!!
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posted by
someone claiming to be Russell
on
Mon May 31 12:23 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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Thanks everyone for the help. My main concern is that in case of an accident I just don't want the seat flying off.
Dave, your rusted floor pan area appears to be almost exactly the same as mine except that mine is rusted under the seat platform too but only along the seam/edge. What kind of a mesh did you use to fill the holes ? just a fiberglass mesh or a steel mesh etc ? I have used POR-15 in the past and do have some left over, but I've never tried their "kit".
BTW, your signature is missing a </a> at the end. Without it, it makes all the subsequent posts a link when viewed on a single page i.e. Print All view :)
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The mesh came with the kit, the darn thing ended up being strong as all getout. From the looks of the pics I don't think you have much to worry about as far as structural strength goes once it's fixed.
Thanks for the heads up on the link, I'll fix it now.
--
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245T 190K+
'88-240 190K+
'92 745Ti 150K
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com
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I agree with daveshan. POR is the only way to go.
If you must path in new sheet metal, get similar type sheet (trunk lid or roof as donor), cut to fit and paint with POR before install and then seal with RTV and undercoating.
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Hi Russell, I got bit the same way on a 244Ti that I bought a while back here in San Diego. Mine was much worse however, POR-15 makes a trunk/floor pan resto' kit that works wonders check the quick index of my site for a bunch of pics of the fix. It held up for years with no further problems and when done that side of the pan flexed not a bit when my 220 pounds bounced on it.
Check your firewall, on mine there was a 1" plug missing right in the corner where the firewall meets the fender, it was behind a brace and the only way you could see it was with a flashlight. This allowed rain in and the carpets would stay wet for a long time causing the rust.
This is not a death sentence for your car, just a bit of a pain.
Good luck.
--
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245T 190K+
'88-240 190K+
'92 745Ti 150K
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com
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Seems like improper drainage or something spilled inside. Alas, I didn't expect that either during the inspection :(, being that it is a SoCal car.
For salt-belt DIY repair, POR-15 or similar would be recommended. Being in this hot dry desert, I say just wire brush as much rust off, treat it with off-the-shelf rust neutralizer, then coat it back over with rust primer (and undercoat for the underside). I never had any issues with such a repair on my old '79 (ex-Massachusetts) 245.
After treatment, for the missing metal, hit the seam with 2-part epoxy and rivet a metal plate over it, also with epoxy on the edges. For this, one with a longer working time (like 30 minutes) will give some allowance.
-- Kane
--
Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40
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Russell,
Darn. Major darn. What you have is a beautiful parts car. Looks like the windows were rolled down for the month of January. Ouch. There is a possibility you can find a clean sub frame in a junk yard, but there is a lot of cutting and welding to do and replacing the fiberglass undercoating. Probably better off looking for an up grade to a 93.
I have caulked both of my 88's because of damage to the fiberglass from hitting road debres(sp). Yours was caused by standing water from a major leak, not driving through the surf like a dune buggy.
You have our sympathies,
Klaus
--
95 854T, 88 780, 88 245
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posted by
someone claiming to be Russell
on
Mon May 31 09:49 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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To calrify a bit more, this is on the driver's side of the car right about where the rear of the driver's seat is bolted or where the passengers will put their feet under the driver's seat.
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posted by
someone claiming to be Bondo..Capt. Bondo
on
Mon May 31 14:52 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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Had exactly the same discovery waiting for me on an 88 wagon I bought, except on the passenger side. The heater core had been leaking, apparently for some time, and when I pulled all the carpets and insulation that's what I found. I used a sawsall to cut it all out, ground back the egdes, fiberglassed it. After that dried I squeeged JB Weld over it, after that dried I painted it on top, and iused aeorosol undercoating undernrath. You could never tell it was there. I'm sure yours may have had a similar malady in the past...Oh, God!...you better hope it doesn't have a leaky core...major full weekend job, there!
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