HIDDEN RUST

One of the excellent articles on the Dutch MR2 owners club web site, is headed "Beware of Leafs". Unfortunately the previous owners of C337 YDG never did avail themselves of this intelligence with the result that some corrosion has set in at the foot of the door pillar on the driver's side.  

This is not that easy to spot being completely hidden when the door is closed. Its a fair bet that a lot of MK1 owners have this problem and are not aware of it. The picture below shows the corrosion made more visible  in this shot having been treated with "Kurust".

Having discovered this assault on my MR2's integrity, a cursory poke with a screwdriver showed that this part of the body seems to be double skinned and the metal behind the rust area seemed sound. A good scrape with a sharp tool and wire brushing revealed the rust to be confined to the area in the photograph. 

Getting at this part of the body is not that easy, and my first thoughts were to get the door off. This seems to be a fairly easy procedure, but I would advise anyone trying to do this, before taking off the trim, disconnecting the wiring loom etc, to first try slackening off the bolts on the door side of the hinge. In my case, three of the four bolts eventually loosened but the third succeeded in breaking a 12mm socket and finally when attacked with a good quality ring spanner preferred to have its head modified rather than turn. So it stayed put and I had to do the best I could with the door fully open and the door restraining strap disconnected to give a few extra mm's in working space. Clearly door removal gives superior access but the job can be completed with it in place.

Having treated the area with a rust inhibitor, the area was leveled with  filler. With the door on,  it is difficult to smooth the filler  and the best method seems to be to put a piece of cling film over the filler whilst it is still soft, and use one's fingers to press the filler into all the areas of the damage and to level off the edges. Leave the cling film on until the filler has hardened and then peel off leaving a smooth repair ready to be painted.

This is one of those jobs that no one else appreciates the existence of but at least you get the peace of mind knowing that at best the rust is not going to get any worse. Its a good idea to check both sides of the car for debris and muck in this area.  A high pressure hose seems to be the tool to use. There appears to be a cavity behind this area and the front wing lining, and I guess the real fix is to get in there for a really thorough check.  Next spring may be...