Rust repair help. Side skirts. Wheel well corners.

How to repair this side skirt rust ?!
Stop it from spreading...?

Wow, that is bad :/ Cut out the bad pieces and weld in new metal. And put Dinitrol inside the skirts.

Rust belt region....If you have that much already, bet there is more. Not worth spending hard earn cash on a rust bucket....

You'll find lots more rust on the fender as you clean it off.. an all-new fender is likely the quickest and cheapest way to go.

The question will be what you find when you pull the old one off... no way to know until you do, certainly no way to see it over the interwebs.

I was kinda hoping someone was going to say, to spray it with a rattle can of “Rust Reformer (converts rust to primer)”...

Too far gone I'd say to put too much money in it. I'd double check your strut towers front and rear to make sure they have no rot. It sucks that once these cars get some rust, it spreads fast. A deer took mine out before I had to stop driving it back in 2011....

tdidieselbobny said:

double check your strut towers front and rear to make sure they have no rot.

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Excellent idea, before going much farther.

If the towers are starting to go you'll have to decide how much money you want to spend... the towers are structural and a very good indication of what else is going on since they often start to go first.

check floor pan by pulling carpet up and seats out. strut towers and fuel fill area in the trunk as well. if all of those are in great shape, then you have something worth putting time and money into if you can weld or learn to weld yourself.
I highly suggest you look up Birdmans restoration.
These MK3's were made with rust from the factory under the primer and base coat, no seriously they actually where.

in any case, a job like this, you need to strip down the car and find all the rust by removing all the undercoat and paint. its a huge job and you can go at the parts you can see but it will come back very quickly.

I know you use this for a DD so having the car down is a problem, which is perfectly understandable, however, you will need to address the corrosion before it starts to compromise structural integrity and puts you into the ditch. The alternative is to find a better condition mk3 from down south and transfer everything over to that chassis and in the process renewing everything.

I have a pretty decent condition Mk3 but that's because it spent a lot of winters off the road. It still has a hole in the passenger rear floor that needs to be addressed.

It's off the road now and in the garage with a big list of maintenance items attached to it! I should take it out and wash it again before stuffing it back in the garage for the winter.


Rule of thumb on rust is what you see is probably 10% of what's actually there.


Steve

From the photos you may have a case that's too far advanced to be worth repairing. Check the frame rails, around the fuel cap, door bottoms, B-pillar, trunk lid around the license plate. Those are all target areas on these cars.

My son's '98 gave him more than faithful service for 10 years but we finally had to retire it when our mechanic confessed he was afraid to put the car on a lift. The engine went into a Vanagon. It's a shame, as these are wonderful cars. Just not well rust proofed.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

From the photos you may have a case that's too far advanced to be worth repairing. Check the frame rails, around the fuel cap, door bottoms, B-pillar, trunk lid around the license plate. Those are all target areas on these cars.

My son's '98 gave him more than faithful service for 10 years but we finally had to retire it when our mechanic confessed he was afraid to put the car on a lift. The engine went into a Vanagon. It's a shame, as these are wonderful cars. Just not well rust proofed.

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Likewise the donor for my B3V conversion was a 98 Mk3 with a sketchy engine carrier. I'm sure it was a similar situation with the body too, I recall that it was a repaint so I'm sure that there was some rust 'repair' that was done at the same time.

Again, if you're committed to the Mk3 platform you're going to need to find a southern carcass and even then you might find some rust. I would love to find a Mk3 Golf 4 dr that I can use to build a 20th anniv GTI TDI clone. To find a decent one I'll have to look around in Texas I'm sure.

Mk3 was always criticized for being pretty mundane but I always found it to be a competent platform. The VR6 was never my favorite but the TDI had decent reliability as long as you did your maintenance.

Steve

I believe those rusty skirts started when as a new owner I mistakenly put the floor jack on a spot that was not the designated jack point. Crunch. Bent that area pretty badly as the metal was thin and not made to support the car weight. Learned quickly where to find that jack point arrow pointer icon. Damage done though. Now what do I do, pull away all the rusty shards down to strong enough metal, then what, blast it with “Rust Reformer Converts Rust to Primer” to stop it? I don’t want it open to the road salt this winter gotta kimono it now before the first snow.

Rust started from many years of Salt covered roads in the winter. All Northern MK3 are like that. Drive the car till you can find a better less rusted ride.

Chris_TDI_98 said:

then what, blast it with “Rust Reformer Converts Rust to Primer” to stop it?

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Unfortunately there's no magic spray to stop that rust (no more than a magic elixir for your oil, coolant, or fuel. )

Jacking from the wrong point helped expose some of it, but it's not the cause of the rust. The car is several decades old and made of steel... it's rusting out, as they all do... in spots they all rust out at.

The *only* way to know how much work is involved in fixing it is to tear it down... and you'll find rust under the rust you already know about, hundreds of hours of potential work, tons of cash on parts and supplies... and meanwhile it will be rusting somewhere else that you don't know about yet.

Not the diagnosis you want... natural to not want to hear it... but them's the facts.

OP wants to fix rust with rattle can, fix fuel leak with a snakeoil fix, and make it supper secure!
Sorry to say OP but this car is a lost cause.
Prove us wrong and go learn how to weld sheet metal good and start the years of searching for parts or make them. You can still buy some of the body repair pannels.
LOOK UP BIRDMANS REBUILD

I wouldn't bother...cars depreciate but maint and bodywork prices don't...a 20 yr old car costs the same to repair as a 2 yr old car no matter if it's a clutch job, paint job, bodywork, brake work, AC repair.....

labor rate is based on the guy doing the work, not the year of the car....as goes with parts prices...

0die said:

I wouldn't bother...cars depreciate but maint and bodywork prices don't...a 20 yr old car costs the same to repair as a 2 yr old car no matter if it's a clutch job, paint job, bodywork, brake work, AC repair.....

labor rate is based on the guy doing the work, not the year of the car....as goes with parts prices...

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I agree that this car may not be worth repairing, but why would the car's value determine whether or not you fix it? I just had a timing belt, struts and shocks, intercooler, and replacement (non rusty) front fenders put on an '02 Golf that has 365K on it. Why? Because it's an economical, great running car that'll most likely run another 100K miles. Doesn't matter what it's worth. It's not for sale.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

I agree that this car may not be worth repairing, but why would the car's value determine whether or not you fix it? I just had a timing belt, struts and shocks, intercooler, and replacement (non rusty) front fenders put on an '02 Golf that has 365K on it. Why? Because it's an economical, great running car that'll most likely run another 100K miles. Doesn't matter what it's worth. It's not for sale.

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Agreed, if it were mine I would do everything I could to keep it going as long as body integrity wasn't compromised too badly. I'd do the maintenance that makes it reliable despite how rough the undercarriage looked. I'd also try and make sure that it was sealed up tight so that I wasn't taking on water.

Just because it might not look the best doesn't mean that it doesn't get a person from A to B in a very inexpensive manner, and that deserves to be maintained.

Steve

I scrapped a 95 3 years ago. I bought it for $500 to get one door and bumpers off it. Then sold the rest to the j/y for $350. That body had zero rust or damage. Just a dead 2.slow. Think it'd be well worth a trip down south for anyone else wanting a mk3 rather than trying to battle 20 yrs of rust.

Is there no way known to science.. to stop rust oxidation from spreading further on a car than it already has ?!

Yes, but probably not permanently.

I cut out what rust I can and weld in new metal. I also treat with Jasco metal prep before painting.

To just stop it for a short time, Fluid Film. It'll only last 6-9 months but I've had good luck with it.

Anything can only do so much though, sometimes the rust is too much to overcome, and the rust always wins.

With corrosion that bad on the sills I'd be carefully inspecting the strut towers and other structure. It's likely that this car is beyond saving Mk3s have bad rust problems, something about the steel just doesn't resist corrosion very well compared to the earlier, and later cars.

ok guys...i never said junk or toss the car....

I just said I wouldn't bother trying to repair the rust...just continue to drive it as is and get some use out of the car until either the body gives out or the engine blows...

I wouldn't spend anything other than essential maint (filters, oil, brake pads, belts, etc) on that car...next $$$ repair comes up

Then it's time to move on and salvage whatever is of value, ie hard to find body, trim, interior, mechanical, etc parts that are still in good condition and still of economic value to the public/ebay/forum...

but sadly I think our cars are on the backside of the "popularity curve"...most of the TDI fans have gravitates to the newer TDI models as the used prices have dropped to within reach...I've seen the first gen TDIs for dirt cheap now, a notable drop in asking prices on CL as more 2nd/3rd gen TDIs make their way to CL at lower and lower prices...

I probably won't get much of anything when it's time to move my B4V...which is very soon I think...

Jetta SS said:

I scrapped a 95 3 years ago. I bought it for $500 to get one door and bumpers off it. Then sold the rest to the j/y for $350. That body had zero rust or damage. Just a dead 2.slow. Think it'd be well worth a trip down south for anyone else wanting a mk3 rather than trying to battle 20 yrs of rust.

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I would certainly buy a rust free carcass from Alabama, that would be awesome.


Steve

lot of rain and mud in the SE...I've seen plenty o rusty cars in AL...too many muddy dirt roads results in wet mud stuck in fender wells for weeks/months on end before getting cleared out, if ever...rednecks don't wash cars much...I should know...I'm one...or think I am...lol...no wait, I still have all my teeth...

not every car sees constant country dirt roads but it's a lot more than you northerners (no insult intended, I didn't say Yank..lol) think...

0die said:

lot of rain and mud in the SE...I've seen plenty o rusty cars in AL...too many muddy dirt roads results in wet mud stuck in fender wells for weeks/months on end before getting cleared out, if ever...rednecks don't wash cars much...I should know...I'm one...or think I am...lol...no wait, I still have all my teeth...

not every car sees constant country dirt roads but it's a lot more than you northerners (no insult intended, I didn't say Yank..lol) think...

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I know what you're talking about esp. the dirt road trailer parks, fortunately they're in the minority. I've also seen some that spent their lives parked near the river or the coast with rust issues. Aside from that just the typical carpet stains from when your spit cup falls over in a hard corner.

Abacus said:

To just stop it for a short time, Fluid Film. It'll only last 6-9 months but I've had good luck with it.

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I forgot about this stuff. I should buy some to keep the Rotbox on the road for as long as I can. The rockers are terrible, but it’s still drivable...

-Todd

Fluid film is awesome stuff, I use it liberally in the late fall, seems to last through the winter as long as you don't do any undercarriage washing during the winter.

I actually pull out the fender liners and spray it back in behind them just in case salt brine spray gets flung back in there.

I think I have a couple cans left from last winter when I stocked up, should be enough for this winter too I think.

Steve

Hmmmm.... do I go with aerosol cans or the pro undercoating kit.....?

-Todd

Pro undercoating. The aerosol cans don't last long and contain a thinner Fluid Film. They're handy but the bulk container and gun are much better.