Long Term Rust Prevention?

MrShip

Veteran Member
Joined
May 24, 2015
Location
Canada
TDI
2015 Golf TDI DSG
I've been doing some reading on some of the rust-prone areas of past Golf's and one of the spots I keep hearing about are the front fenders; mainly the sound-deadening foam at the top of the wheel well.

I'm planning on keeping my golf for the next decade or two, so I'm wondering if there's any proactive methods of cutting down on rust. I'm already getting it rust-proofed at Krown each year (without drilling holes to keep the body warranty). Would it be worth it to pull my fenders and clean/oil spray the back of them? Or would it cause a potential issue with the warranty down the line?

Thanks!

References:
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/fender-and-wheel-well-arch-rust-tsb-and-repair-on-vw/
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=387456
 

yatzee

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 4, 2004
Location
Montreal, Qc
TDI
see sig
we really know nothing about how the MK7's will hold up to rust - that's part of the fun buying a brand new model.

VW has stepped up and paid for any fenders needing to be done, so I wouldn't be concerned. I'd be more concerned about keeping up with stone chips and any other paint damage that might happen during your ownership.
 

BeninNB

Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2013
Location
Toronto
TDI
none
Modules

I installed antirust Module, the one that connects to the battery.
I used to work at a dealership and actually saw a car rust a few days after the owner took the module out. It had a big dent with bare metal showing and owner said it happened a year ago. There was no rust on it until it was disconnected. Very surprising. I am a believer after that.
 

MrShip

Veteran Member
Joined
May 24, 2015
Location
Canada
TDI
2015 Golf TDI DSG
Sorry for digging up an old thread, but I thought I'd share some of my findings after the 40k inspection.

I pulled the wheel well liners on both the front and rear. Behind both rear liners everything was immaculate (minus the dirt). I added some extra Krown spray to a few exposed holes and put everything back.

The fronts were inspected last week and I'm *extremely* glad I did. I came across the following:

  • Lots of wet dirt/leaves stuffed behind the front liners
  • Wet foam on top of the liner
  • Wet foam stuffed behind the wheel, just ahead of the door hinge
  • Orange rust specs forming behind the mud-flaps on the outside of the fender (most likely due to rubbing)
One thing to note, it rained a few days prior to this but the foam was still soaked. I squeezed the ones by the door hinge and about 1/4-1/3 a cup of water came out.

I'll post pictures as soon as my phone cooperates as it's quite eye-opening. From the looks of this, I'll be doing this twice a year when I switch my tires over.

In the meantime I've removed the foam on top of the liners, cut the bottom few inches off of the ones behind the wheel and removed the front mudflaps pending some incoming RallyArmor ones. Haven't noticed much/any of a change in sound since playing with the foam.
 

MrShip

Veteran Member
Joined
May 24, 2015
Location
Canada
TDI
2015 Golf TDI DSG
Here are the pics from the past weekend:






This is the line where I cut the soundproofing foam:
 

sands80

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2014
Location
Michigan
TDI
2015 Golf TDI 6MT SEL
Thanks for the pictures- I'm planing on washing out the insides of the wheel wells before the street salt starts flying - does the foam that is between the door hinges and the wheel removable or is it glued to the body?
 

MrShip

Veteran Member
Joined
May 24, 2015
Location
Canada
TDI
2015 Golf TDI DSG
It seemed removable to me; just had some rustproofing wax/grease on the body side. It's a press fit between the body and fenders.
 
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