02 Jetta wagon hatch rust

I

intro

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2007
Location
MA
TDI
02 Jetta Wagon
Hey folks,


So Vw never honored the rust claim around the hatch glass when they did my fenders. Last fall I had done as best a job as I could in grinding down rust and putting some POR 15 on there, followed by primer and paint. Well, the rust is back with a vengeance and actually seems worse...all around my glass. I couldn't get under the seals when I did my DIY attempt and so it was only temporary.

Now I'm faced with trying to eliminate this again, once and for all. Looking for the cheapest/least troublesome option of the following:

-Pick up a mint hatch in the wrong color with broken glass, for $49. I guess I would try and remove the glass and then prep and paint as well as I can with paint matched cans and clear, then ask a bodyshop? a glass guy? to swap my good glass onto the new hatch. Have no idea how much that would cost, but I'm guessing $100 or so?

-Pick up a almost mint hatch in my paint code, but with a tiny bit of rust bubbling up in the bottom right corner of the glass, and according to the seller, on the inside in the same spot, for $200. This seems the best option, but much like my current hatch, I'm afraid of what is under the seals.

- Just have the body shop repair my present hatch. No idea how much they'd charge. $350? 400? Probably too much.


I would love to have this car looking good for years to come but I just bought a house and priorities have shifted.

Any advice is welcome and appreciated.
 
SFHGolfTDI

SFHGolfTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Location
Ventura, CA
TDI
2002 Jolf GLS TDI - Reflex Silver (purchased 2011) | Previously: 2001 Golf GL TDI - Indigo Blue (sold 2005)
Why not try car-part.com for hatches in your color in other (rust-free) parts of the country and see if you can get one shipped in?
 
I

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I'd go with the car-part idea and find the best one you can locate (and afford) in your paint color. Worth a day's drive to get one that isn't rusty. The issue with these hatches is the weld breaks at the bottom corners of the window, and then moisture gets in. Once it starts you won't stop it with paint.
 
I

intro

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2007
Location
MA
TDI
02 Jetta Wagon
Thanks. Car-part seems hard to navigate, and no photos.

So if paint doesn't stop it? Re-welding it will? The one in my color for $200 is in good shape aside from that small corner patch of rust forming. Maybe a pro fixing something that small would be on the lower end of things price wise.
 
I

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Not fixable as I understand it. You could have it re-welded (which would require removing window, trim, and weatherstripping) and it'll happen again.

Car-Part isn't so tough. You can sort results by distance or price. I looked for 2003 Jetta Wagon (more of those, same hatch), Tailgate, and then you choose a wagon. Doesn't matter what engine.

What color is your car? I saw blue, white, silver, black, and green.
 
I

intro

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2007
Location
MA
TDI
02 Jetta Wagon
I think I'm getting it now, used the vin this time. I didn't see any way to specify wagon in the drop down, unless it's SW. I wish there were pictures but there are some close enough to go check out. Indigo blue on mine as well. :)
 
J

JETaah

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Location
mi 48836
TDI
96 B4V, 2005 BEW Beetle, 2005 Jetta Wagon
By now (4years later) it's rusty again. J/k but maybe not
 
imbrian

imbrian

Active member
Joined
Aug 31, 2019
Location
vt
TDI
03 jetta wagon
lets say you get a gate from carpart and its good enough....ive to replace my rusty witha good one, but before i do that i want to bullet proof it as much as possible. my gate is about to rust all the way across the bottom lip, the corners are shot, but everything else is great, so....if theres a fault in the corners does that also lead to the bottom lip rust? or from somewhere else? repairing the fault at the glass is doable without too much intrusion(glass remov, etc.), methinks...tho dont know that way yet......then rustproofing the interior of the gate is def. doable .....what about the lip? is the only known fault from the glass corners or? its 2019 vs 2005/latest and there aint an endless supply of gates that are worth the effort, ive got two to repair and one to pick up as replacement, the repl can be, and may well be, amended heavily with bedliner, with appropriate prep in the tinder areas. not too interested in aesthetics/resale, more in do the job to last longer than you. at least, in this instance. the gate will eventually rust, even if i get super-anal, so what do y'all think?
 
I

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
You can make the window corners look better, but it probably won't last. Those welds i mentioned above are most likely broken and it'll just continue to rust from the inside.

I haven't seen Wagon tailgates rust on the bottom lip, although my '99.5 Golf had a little of that before I had it painted. I don't think it was hard for the shop to clean up.

I'd find a clean one and use that instead of trying to repair yours.
 
imbrian

imbrian

Active member
Joined
Aug 31, 2019
Location
vt
TDI
03 jetta wagon
thanks indigo. what if you work it from the inside? clean it up, por15(?).......if the problem is inherent from factory theyll all rust so why not head it off? even the handful of 'clean' ones ive seen have bubbles starting. and half those have ripple.bubble starting on the lip.


repairing mine is afterthought really.....main objective is to keep my future replacement intact as long as possible. if i dont find a black one whichever one i get gets bedliner-d black anyways.....


what ya think?
 
J

JETaah

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Location
mi 48836
TDI
96 B4V, 2005 BEW Beetle, 2005 Jetta Wagon
intro said:
Hey folks,


So Vw never honored the rust claim around the hatch glass when they did my fenders. Last fall I had done as best a job as I could in grinding down rust and putting some POR 15 on there, followed by primer and paint. Well, the rust is back with a vengeance and actually seems worse...all around my glass. I couldn't get under the seals when I did my DIY attempt and so it was only temporary.

Now I'm faced with trying to eliminate this again, once and for all. Looking for the cheapest/least troublesome option of the following:

-Pick up a mint hatch in the wrong color with broken glass, for $49. I guess I would try and remove the glass and then prep and paint as well as I can with paint matched cans and clear, then ask a bodyshop? a glass guy? to swap my good glass onto the new hatch. Have no idea how much that would cost, but I'm guessing $100 or so?

-Pick up a almost mint hatch in my paint code, but with a tiny bit of rust bubbling up in the bottom right corner of the glass, and according to the seller, on the inside in the same spot, for $200. This seems the best option, but much like my current hatch, I'm afraid of what is under the seals.

- Just have the body shop repair my present hatch. No idea how much they'd charge. $350? 400? Probably too much.


I would love to have this car looking good for years to come but I just bought a house and priorities have shifted.

Any advice is welcome and appreciated.
Click to expand...

I have found that a lot of body shops will not guarantee rust work...if they want to approach it at all.

Once rust gets into the seams you will not be able to seize it unless you dip it in chemicals and get back to square one pure metal. That does not sound inexpensive to me.

I have often wondered about all these car shows where they take a rusted out shell of a car, sand blast it, and then put in gobs of metal fabrication into it. There is never any reference to sealing or rustproofing so I guess you will not be leaving the car out in the rain. Surely not a daily driver in anywhere but the Southwest US.
 
imbrian

imbrian

Active member
Joined
Aug 31, 2019
Location
vt
TDI
03 jetta wagon
def. understand about body shops and rust work. the crux here is a few spots on vw gate that are known to suck, right? the process i see is yank the gate strip it down of stuff and work the badly areas........low corners, lip, and anywhere your specific gate has issues, maybe behind the lic.plate?.....theres significant framing/metal in the way enough to make it a pita, but methinks a solid days work, specifically at the corners, may give you an extra couple year rustfree.....


keep in mind this isnt a repair gig im talking about, im talking of getting a good gate and bulletproofing as much as possible ya ken?



did they fix the bug before ending mk4? are 04/05 gates less likely to develop rust?
 
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