Rust, behind RR wheel well....how should I fix it?

[JustinB]

Yeah, long time no post from me, but Ive been swamped with my e30 recently....anyways....

The better question should be how much of a pita will it be? I absolutely have to get rid of it but its over an area next to the trunk where the quarter panel/trunk floor/wheel well sort of all come together. I already have welding work elsewhere to do on the car but this seems to be the worst or most complicated (as far as I can tell) area yet so far...

Anyway, here is a picture-

-The whole car is getting painted when Im done, that white garbage is white paint from SOMETHING (no idea).

How much will I have to be cutting out, obviously all the rust I guess, dumb question. How doable is it as a DIY job without a permanant dry storage area for it, aka garage? =S Just cutting out stuff makes me a little nervous but I certainly can do it. So far I pretty much have a sawzall and MIG welder that I can use. Grinder too somewhere I think. It will have to wait till it dries up. Not like a little bit more is going to hurt it beyond this point :'( I feel really bad for not working on this/anything/the whole car when I could prevent all this years ago...

Does anybody have this area as good sheet metal that can be grafted in? My other 2002 has flares on it, so there is nothing left there. Infact, I MIGHT put the flares on this if I can remove them from the other (worse condition) but that doesnt mean I already dont need the metal. I'm rambling.

I'll definately have to start posting here again, there's plenty of work and suggestions I need help with.

Can anybody help? =x

-Justin

[Guest Anonymous]

buy a patch panel--think they're still available--that consists of the entire opening lip and about five inches of quarter panel (it's kinda half-moon shaped). Start grinding on the existing lip until you no longer find any little discolored spots under the paint (they indicate rust underneath), then cut out the old rusty lip and butt weld the new on it. Make sure the seam is either inside the trunk or the passenger compartment so any pinholes you leave in the welded seam won't allow water in from the backside.

The wrong way: bondo and windowscreen...

cheers

mike

[Guest Anonymous]

Oh yes, no bondo here. Well, or at least as little as possible to finish things off.

Ive been out of the 02 parts world for a while. Any suggestions to who may have these patch panels online or just Max (I dont have their number anyway)? I also may need new front fenders and/or an early nose clip but as I recall even back a year or two ago those clips are stupid expensive. I may have to buy a good used original from someone (Sam, got any? Guess shipping would be a bitch though.) or at least a cut out of one...Unfortunately mine doesnt meet flush with the drivers fender at the bottom though, so I dont know what I can do about that quite yet. I think it got pushed back.

[Jack]

I would suspect that this rust also extends into the trunk floor by the gas tank. That is a common spot for rust and you may find that your qtr panel problem started at the trunk floor joint. Also do a search for some of Blunts post. He has shown his car in resto mode with the qtrs completely removed.

[robspeed]

my rear arches are also rusting!!! its horrifying!!! i think i will solve mine with flares, but that is a ways off and all i can do now is spray the area with rost-off. my pooor lil lisa!! i got to finish the jetta and put her (lisa) away. I AM GOING TO BE SUCKED INTO A FULL BODY RESTO!! I CAN FEEL IT!!!

[Martin]

You should be able to buy fender lip patch panels from a BMW dealer. I was able to do so a couple of years ago, at least. I have since decided to replace both quarter panels...one down and one to go.

The pictures below illustrate why this is a common rusty spot. The factory applied a large amount of seam sealer betwen the quarter panel and the inner fender. Here it is seen from the trunk opening.

Moisture gets trapped between the quarter panel and inner fender, causing them to rust from the inside out. The following pictures are from a donor quarter panel. Even though the panel looked fine from the outside, rust was already well on its way eating through. In this case it was caught in time and the panel was saved.

Many more pics available at my site. See link below. Good luck!