How much corrosion should I be seeing?
 

Hi all


2006 Hawkeye Impreza WRX which I have owned for about 2 and a half years - not garaged overnight but sat in a clean private driveway.


Just wondering how much rust/corrosion I should be seeing underneath for a 12 year old car?


From what I have managed to see being underneath there seems to be a fair bit - rear anti roll bar looks terrible and had to have some welding done last MOT on the rear arch tower.


Is this normal for a car this age? My classic import was in much better condition underneath than the newage.


I will try and get some pictures snapped and uploaded at the weekend - perhaps I'm been overly concerned.

12 years on salted uk roads takes it's toll, do what i did remove each part and have shotblasted and powder coated, 93 classic which has been in uk from 2005

If its had a meeting with the welders wand, its not looking good......

What do the sills look like with sill covers removed, (if the car has them fitted).

check condition of rear wheel arches/ front cross member, these will give you a good indication of overall condition of car

Has it had any rust protection applied in its life?

I haven't had any done since I owned it and I can find out easy enough from the previous owner if he did anything protection wise. I'm assuming it's completely pointless having the underneath of the car treated without having any potential areas sorted first? The rear ARB looked pretty corroded to me when I was underneath it.

Ok the rear ARB is a replacment part so a nice shining new can be fitted.


The reason i ask if you knew about the car having any underbody protection in the past, is it could have saved it from the usual corrosion issues a car gets after 12 years on UK roads.

As its had welding done to the strut tower its obviously got rust issues, how bad?, (how long is a peice of string). by checking sills/wheel archs/front- rear sub frames you can gauge how bad.

I have 15 years old wrx, its had corrosion protection applied ever year from new, used every day in ALL weathers has zero rust anywhere.

Partners 13 year old jdm wagon looks brand new underneath, never seen road salt in its life.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...ff9d25b01e.jpg

I am gonna get it assessed when it's in for MOT and see what needs looking at and start to replace parts like for like where possible tidy it up underneath and have it protected as I go

Check out the rear arches for bubbles
Suspension turrets
Rear of sills
Could be £700-£1200 to replace arches
Fuel pipe from petrol tank £150
Arb bars
Wishbones
Rear & front subframes
Various nuts bolts and bushes
Budget on £1500-£2000 for new bits
Labour to strip down and fit new ones and under seal
£1000-£1500 maybe
New brake pipes £200
Bearings replaced and disc guards that rust away
£500-£600
Handbrake assembly maybe £600
Refurbished calipers maybe £200
You could be looking at £4000-£7000 for restoration work

But worth every penny

What products have you been using in your 15 year old WRX for rust protection and was it an easy DIY job?

Sorry just court your post...

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...b54f1b731d.jpg

I used/borrowed a mates 4 post ramp when i was working, I worked as a Recovery driver, restoring classic cars as a hobby.

Now its car ramps,& wheels off, its not a nice job, easier using aerosols, unless you have a compressor,as then you can use the cartridges (a lot cheaper).

DINTROL underbody & cavity wax. its not cheap but believe me prevention is much better than working on a car riddled with tin worm.

In better weather jack it up, remove all plastics wheel arches/sill covers & bumpers, yes its a pain but it is well worth it,especially if its a keeper. top it up over the years, on scoobs concentrate on wheel arch/turrets,sills/subframes.

o and wear a face mask & disposable gloves.be safe.............:thumb:

I'm in the same boat on a 06 blob. Underneath is rather frightening. Subframes, ARB and mounts are a mess.

I've had it off the road over winter, now 4 months, and have stripped what little underseal there was from nderneath where I can, namely the floor pan all arches, transmission tunnel etc and have put POR15 on with dynax uc over the top and dynax s50 in most cavities etc. I have not taken anything significant off like subframes etc because I don't have the experience, or equipment to do so (car on stands) plus over the 4 months I've realised that every bolt I try to undo just shears.
However this does really need doing as the rear chassis leg (above the black box in that picture above) and above the fuel tank I can see rot. Losing the battle really, just fire fighting now to keep it at bay.

if anybody wants to come drop my subframes that'll be helpful :)

Sounds like fire fighting going to be the best you can do!!. For an 06 plate it sounds like the underbody has'nt been treated with anything over the years.

Keep doing what you are doing to hold it back, that really is the best you can do now that corrosion has taking hold. :mad:

Save up and get a JDM!!!