mtcookson

iTrader: (2)

So yeah, Indiana was definitely not very nice to my car at all. The more stuff I take off in the back, the more rust I keep on finding. After seeing the passenger's side I'm definitely thinking this car was no longer safe for the road. It also makes me wonder about the rust recall. I definitely had issues with fuel filler tube but the passenger's side is actually the worse of the two. Definitely wash your car, moreso the underbody, very, very, very, very well in the winter if you live in a salt state or yours may up looking like this:

(Note: the pictures are of the rust after scraping and poking to get the barely hanging metal out. On the outside of the wheel well you likely would not have even seen the rust without scraping the coating off... not a good thing.)

Passenger's side interior:





Driver's side interior:



http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020244.JPG

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020246.JPG

Passenger's side exterior wheel well:

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020247.JPG

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020248.JPG

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020249.JPG

(this one could of course be seen without scraping)

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020250.JPG

Passenger's side interior behind seat:

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020251.JPG

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020252.JPG

Driver's side interior behind seat:

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020253.JPG

Passenger's side exterior:

(little blurry, sorry about that)
http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020255.JPG

Driver's side frame rail:

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020256.JPG

Driver's side wheel well:

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020257.JPG

Passenger's side frame rail, mostly surface but there is a little bit of structural rust:

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020258.JPG

Rear underbody, surface rust (but eventually structural most likely):

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020259.JPG

One of the worst spots, as far as size goes, this is the rear passenger's floor pan...:

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020260.JPG

Passenger's upper wheel well, you can't see it but where inner portion of the wheel well connects to the outer I could see light through it:

http://www.machzracing.com/Maxima/Rust/P1020261.JPG


So yeah... what I thought was going to be a rather simple exhaust manifold and intake piping setup for the new turbo turned into an all out rust repair job... at the very least my Maxima will almost be like new when done... almost...

And please, please, please keep your cars washed very well in the winter or else it may end up looking like this and I don't want to see someone have to go through this either... especially someone that's not absolutely insane enough to actually try fixing it like me.

bvtran

iTrader: (3)

most new car gets about 5-7 years of rust warranty, how are we going to get rust recalls knowing that's been over 12 years? My car was originated from NY so I had holes everywhere in the rear and sides too. I just patched them up with jpwell and aluminum foil so water can't get in. I hate rusts man. It ate everything.

mtcookson

iTrader: (2)

We already have a recall, its on the fuel filler tube (http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr...ype=DrillDown). I'm just wondering if its not really the full case of the rust in the back though. I know at the very least if you do get Nissan to actually fix it, they'll likely only fix the driver's side no matter how much rust is on the passenger's side.

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

Jeez-o-pete dude!!

I thought my car had rust issues,it doesn't hold a candle to this...

Thanks for making me feel much better about my car.....



On a serious note though,i would seriously think about sending this car to the junkyard dude,that rust is severe to the extreme!!

You could get a 3rd gen shell in much better condition for much probably cheaper than it is going to cost you labor/time wise to fix this one....

Hell,scrap metal is up to $9/per hundred lbs here right now...

mtcookson

iTrader: (2)

I was thinking about finding another one... but I have no money and they are very hard to find around here, plus I'd like to start learning how to weld body type metal with the new welder so it'll be a good learning experience at the very least.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

Don't forget to start practicing right by the gas tank


J/K


the best thing is to just hunt up a better body, and use this one for practice.

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

but is another car going to have less rust? these are not new cars anymore. they are starting to be in the "vintage" age. you're going to need to repair rust one way or another in many 3rd gens you find on the road unless it spent all it's life in the south.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

well, I typically look for ones without rust.
mark already knows where the trouble spots are, so he can find one that doesn't have the rust.
they are out there, I had one already, I'll probably find another one.

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

My wifey's gxe has 0 rust,it was a one owner car....It spent most of it's life in new jersey,obviously it was well maintained and iirc it was garage kept most of it's years...

Black92GXE

iTrader: (3)

no rust here .... Oklahoma isn't known for its harsh winters and road salting...

btw, that is a shat load of rust dude - i would seriously look for another and practice on that one. I tend to agree with you that it likely ISN'T road safe.. wow

MAXIMUS G EKSUS

Hey,

Well I thought I was the only one with a max full of rust on this forum, I guess we are 2 now,although it is not as worst as you actually think it is. When I look at cars the same age as mine where I live, I think that mine is in better shape than most of them. Don't worry your structure is not that bad at all. Although it looks like it is gonna fall apart, I don't think it will. I mean if we compare your cars to the people that live in the south of ths U.S. of course ours look like crap. You must compare to northern cars believe me there are some way worse mobile than yours.

Anyhow, you can go ahead and fix it, that's what I did. It will definetely improve the look of your car.

By the way, some ways to prevent it from rusting after your are done your work are as follow:

1. Go and get a rust treatment before the winter each year. They pretty much take oil and spray it everywhere underneath your car so that the rust can not build up. I did this 2 years in a row and no rust has came back. As for the washing goes, I don't recommend it too often in the winter (if you did a rust treatment) because it takes off most of the oil off and then, your metal is exposed to new salt.

2. Another trick I tried this winter is that I bought a tube of black silicone goo, (I can't remember how to call it !) and I also bought some soft ashphalt( you know the type you put on the roofs of houses) and I put it in spots where I believed it needed more protection i.e. around fenders, inside wheel wells,underneath rocker panels etc... Conclusion...no rust has appeared after the winter.

Finally,I realized that the worst time for a car in the winter is when the winter settles and when it comes to an end. In between it is not as bad as some may think (other than for the engine functionality).The salt is very active in those times, when it is very cold, municipalities use sand, not salt so it is not as worse.

Sorry if this was a little long !

keep us updated,

Bye

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

same here...one owner...garage kept.

mtcookson

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, Kansas doesn't seem to be too bad either. I have a Q45 from Chicago... subframe is completely rusted. I have a few Z's from various Kansas areas and the subframes look like new... its just amazing.

I've definitely thought about getting another Max but I just can't find them, especially in my price range.

Regardless... if anyone sees a black on black or charcoal/black or any variation of a dark color in and out Maxima with no moon roof... let me know.

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

I found one.....



But it's in the driveway,and i think teh wifey would shoot me if i sold it...

mtcookson

iTrader: (2)

wtf...

don't get my hopes up like that. i'd have to sell a few things to afford it though

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

A much cheaper fix would be to find a good rear end and cut it off...couple inches below the roof alongside the back window on each side. Second cut in the weld seem in back floor board. I really messed up my Max several years ago and just replaced the whole rear end. Cost about $2k for parts, labor, and painting the whole car. No problems and car is straight when aligned (tires). By the time you might work on fixing what you've got, you may have that much or more and then still have to contend with those "little" spots left that will re-infect the areas you fixed. The way body shops put cars back together, they are actually stronger than before because they add in additional metal and inner metal frame peices when reconnecting the frame.

mtcookson

iTrader: (2)

That's definitely not a bad idea, I'll have to keep an eye out for some junk Maximas around here that I can do that to.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

I would never feel safe driving in a car that was 2 cars put together like that.

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

Certainly I was concerned at first. But, I tell you no problems and I drive the car hard! Took to Nissan a couple years after to look into the rust recall, they said "no signs" and the guy was shocked to learn actually a different rear end on the car. Told me they would never have looked at it. Either way, doesn't need it.
Body shops do it all the time, especially with upper end sports cars and classics. They install a smaller diameter frame section into the existing one and weld it all together....= stronger than before. This is more common than you might think!

mtcookson

iTrader: (2)

Most of the car is glued together anyways... that's scary enough.

jaguax

iTrader: (1)

Wow, I've never seen one spot of rust on my GXE anywhere, which I found to be very impressive... Perhaps it is hiding where I can't see it, or maybe the rustproofing is just that good. But then again, there are guys with 94's in this thread who are complaining about rust... So maybe I really do have it and I just can't see it. At any rate, it's not my car any more.

goon9

iTrader: (13)

Wow.,.. I though ti had alot of rust problems.

I replaced my passenger floor, spots in the wheel wells, and need to do a couple post in the door jams...

Wow...

Black92GXE

iTrader: (3)

Insurance companies pay to clip cars all the time... just not cars this old b/c that would make them a total loss b/c of the expense in doing it.

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

or out west

Jon94SE

Yeah that's not looking too good for a 90's car but that isn't a rust problem, my 69' vw would have put that rust to shame with the battery about to fall through the floor (or lack there of) in the back.