Rust takes hold

[lorriman]

My 2 year old V6 Sport has succumbed to that old enemy rust. It has broken out at the bottom of both front doors where one of the rubber strip clips is attached to the door. The garage was about to repair it, then they discovered that the rust had perforated the panel, so rubbing it away isn't an option.

So they're replacing both doors next week. Apparently 34 hours labour. Just as well it's all being done under warranty.

A sobering thought for us all though. Check the rubbers around the doors and make sure they don't hold water like mine did 'cos before you know it your baby will be a pile of iron oxide.

Picture below a bit rubbish, but shows how innocuous it appears. Amazing how much damage it has done.

Top marks once again to Mitsubishi Warranty!

[firefly]

Corr! That's impressive - a mitsubishi that rusts like a ford!!

:lolz:

Must be thirsty work replacing doors then - how many coffe breaks can you fit in 36 hours?!

[lorriman]

Must be thirsty work replacing doors then - how many coffe breaks can you fit in 36 hours?!

The doors come unpainted and without all the bits such as window, electrics, mirror, rubbers, lock mechanism, so all this has to be added by the garage. They need to prime it, paint it, laquer it and then feather it into the rest of the car. 34 hours is about right, but it has to be left for ages between each stage.

I don't know what hourly rate the garage gets from Warranty, but you can bet it's a lot more than the guy who does the work.

[KiwiTT]

Thanks for the tip. Will watch out on mine, as I have an older car. :(

[Jimbo]

Shame the comparitivly good weather conditions in Japan mean that the VR4's only get a 3-year body guaruntee, but if it's any help, then all UKDM galants like my old V6-24 and your Sport were treated enough to warrant a 6 year guaruntee on the bodywork so your warranty should be ok for a while yet, mate.

I was a passenger in mine the other weekend and was in a position to see the start of some rust on the sills inside the driver's side of the sunroof.....oh, and my stock exhaust corroded to the point of destruction 2 months after I bought it - it's only 3 and half years old FFS!!

[Jimbo]

While we're on the subject - can anybody give me any pointers about the recommended waxoil protection? What sort of price am I looking at for the underbody on mine?

[banjo]

I did mine myself, you need a ramp otherwise you're lying on your back and it's not easy. The garage that services our cars let's me use his ramp.

If there's any surface rust you really need to rub it with emery paper or a wire brush and treat it with one of the rust eater products. When dry, wipe with a cloth. I used the underseal version of Waxoyl for exposed surfaces, then spray with the liquid version.

The Waxoyl spray gun is not very good, it hasn't got enough pressure and you have to drag the can around with you. I bought 2 pump-up weedkiller spray dispensers from B & Q made by Hozelock, a 2 litre one and 3 litre one, the bigger one is good as has a long polythene tube with an aluminium tube and adjustable nozzle. The small one has the nozzle in the top with the handle. Don't worry, you can pump these up so the waxoyl comes out with very high pressure, it's not too thick, 'specially this weather, or when cold mix some white spirit/turps in or warm up.

I also adapted with some o's and s's of polythene/nylon tube and jubilee clips of different diameters the Waxoyl spray gun tube to fit the large pump so I could do the inside of doors, chassis rails etc.

Do be thorough, and it's not easy. There are plastic plugs inside all wheel arches, easily removable. I also removed the interior light micro-switches and squirted inside these. Don't forget to clean inside rear wheel arches and spray the suspension, also fuel tank feed pipe. There is also a plastic plug (each side) at the bottom of the rear wing, adjacent to the exhaust.

Don't put too much inside the doors/boot lid as for the next 3 months the excess leaks out.

It's a dirty job, which takes quite a long time to do but these cars do need it if you dont want probs later on. I've done all my cars, Granadas, Senators for the last 20 odd years using Waxoyl and it does work, if you do it properly. Not all Japanese imports are prone to rust underneath though, my daughter's Toyota Starlet Turbo is Galvanised so I haven't bothered.

I also give it the once over before Winter each year.

Happy squirting!

[Jimbo]

Cheers Banjo, thanks for the excellent tips, mate!

I really want to do it myself so that I know it's been done right, but it's a bit impractical for me at the moment to get under the car at home.

:idea: Maybe I could build a full size ramp out of old Lego and meccano???

[lorriman]

I've had a call from Mitsi Bristol and they have finished the car. They not only ended up replacing the doors, but they have completely resprayed both sides of the car cos when they came to match the paint it didn't look quite right.

I used these guys when I lived in Weston-super-Mare, but now I'm further north don't get to take it to them for servicing. They really do a top job and their bodyshop work is just great! And it hasn't cost me a thing!

[Nick Mann]

Top banana!

Hope the job is as good as you think it is when you pick it up. I guess It'll be good to have it back!

[lorriman]

The paint job was as good as I had expected. Both the nearside and offside have been resprayed to a very high standard. The whole car was washed, polished and valeted. Top guys at Mitsubishi Bristol!

All I have to put up with now is my wife complaining about the smell of fresh paint. You just can't win can you?