Trunk Project (or, how to stop rust)

From Dave Harrison: Yes, we will have to compare trunk projects. I did some more work on mine, and now have a nice hole in the body just behind the rear driver's side tire. looks as though water has been dripping down from the rear roof pillar, along the inside of the rear quarter panel, down in between the quarter panel and the tire well (a nice trough in there) and sitting in the gunk that BMW squirted down into the pit. also turns out that that area opens up to the ground. hard to explain with out pictures...if you trace the line on the quarter panel as it round the tire, on the chrome strip, and follow it down until the strip ends. there is a screw that hold the end of the strip to the panel that is visible if you are sitting on the ground looking at the side of the car. right there is where the sheet metal from the quarter panel and tire well and maybe even the trunk bottom meet--and leave an opening. BMW put a thick foam/rubber compound there to seal it, but that doesn't work, or in the very least, let the water stay there a while. I tore out the foam gunk from the inside, which a previous owner had cocked over with silicone, which took a good bit of work--tis hard to get in that crevice between the panel and the tire well from the inside of the trunk. there is surface rust all the way down. luckily, the rust doesn't extend far from that crevice, but it will be a job to get rid. I will have to get a liquid rust remover to get to it. I also washed the car and traced the water that has rusted the bottom of the spare tire well. it was coming in from the driver's side tail-light. I removed the tail-lights and the chrome panel that stretches across the back. rust around the screw holes. the gasket around the tail light will probably be augmented with silicone. I should be able to do it without it showing. you might want to check these same areas on yours...and crawl into the trunk and peer forward along the inside of the quarter panel as it meets the rear door. nice cave in there. mine are stained with rust, the driver's side much worse than the other. dj

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