This video describes how I repaired two large holes in the rear wheel wells of my 99 Subaru Forester. There is also a small part of the video that shows wher…
This video describes how I repaired two large holes in the rear wheel wells of my 99 Subaru Forester. There is also a small part of the video that shows wher…
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Nice.. I was surprised to see that almost every Subaru over 10 years old
has rotted in the same place. Do you live in a cold climate? And how much
salt do you encounter on your roads? Our roads here are salted almost every
day, so its VERY difficult to avoid rust
yeah its due to salt, and I think Subaru is either not using enough paint
or sub standard sheet metal. I have seen old Subarus in the south, and not
a spec of rust, anywhere. But they should know better. They don’t sell
those cars in the south. They are meant for snow. So they should use better
painting technique and thicker sheet metal or something.
I think the advice given here is potentially dangerous. Rust in areas that
might provide structural support to suspension components should always be
repaired correctly – old rusted metal removed and new metal welded in –
seam welded if replacing a continuous piece or spot-welded if following a
factory spot-welded panel-join. Riveting and glueing suspension towers
might lead to catastrophic failure and a serious accident. Selling a car
with bodged repairs hidden from view is even worse.
@cj7135rocks Yeah I live in Canada and they salt the roads a lot. This
issue was brought to my attention by a friend who has the same 1999
Forester he just reached up in the wheel well and said “they’re rotted out,
your gonna need to fix this ASAP”. He showed me how and I wanted anyone
else with problem to know a way to fix it. Thanks for the comment. Scooby
you’d have to cut out all the rust not just rivet a new pannel in or it’ll
just make it rust out faster.
Glad to here you’ve bought a MIG. I’ve recently bought one too to replace
my oxy-acetylene set up. The acetylene is now very expensive in the UK and
hard to get in smallish quantities. You can follow my repairs at double-U 3
times dot nagara do co dot uk slash cars
My old L-series has very bad rust (gradually repairing it) caused by
heavily salted winter roads here in the UK and lack of proper maintenance,
undersealing and washing – not by me but by previous owners.
Thanks for the comments Nick and MechRider89. I am aware of that it might
lead to a weak part of the unibody but it was necessary to get this $1500
SUV back on the road and prevent further water and salt getting into the
back panel. It’s been two years now and It hasn’t failed. I bought a mig
welder this year and will likely fix it right should if ever pose problems
in the future. Thanks for your concern.