How to avoid rust...

I do not know exactally what Subaru does but most cars are built today from galvanized steel. Some is 2 side galvanized but I think most is only one side because it is tough to weld. (Renault actually dips the whole car in a vat of zink after welding together). After frame is constructed, body is cleaned and dipped in a phosphatizing bath followed by a baked on epoxy/zinc coat before painting. Worse thing that happens is bubble formation when body is in bath and part does not get coated inside. This can result in an area that rusts from the inside out where steel is not galvanized or coated. Zibarting is not recommended on modern cars and can actually be a corrosion source since they drill holes in the body to do the treatement. Maybe if you can access that door area and dry out and spray with something like Rustoleum, you can stop problem but if rust is bad from inside out, you may have to repair or replace. Frank

Thanks for reply. I'm pretty sure that water is pooling along the bottom of the ledge and there just happened to be a chip in the paint at the point in the door where the rust is.

I'll just lightly sand the rust off and touch it up with Tremclad. As long as nothing else rusts around there I won't worry about the water leak.

-- Dominic Richens | snipped-for-privacy@alumni.uottawa.ca "If you're not *outraged*, you're not paying attention!"

I don't expect this is so, however the Haynes manual shows how to take the door apart so I'll do this and make sure it's clean and the drain holes are clear.

cheers!

All cars these days are manufactured with the rust proofing method outlined by Frank or in some way similar. I also agree with Frank regarding the rust proofers. It is not recommended to rust proof. Just make sure all the drain holes are clear and clean and if so every few years pull off the trim panels and access the door insides to clean the bottom of the doors where the drain holes are. That is if you are keen to do it. Dirt/dust build up is the biggest enemy as it traps the salts etc and when it gets wet from the rain it stays damp and thus causes the corrosion. A good clean out of these areas periodically will keep them rust free.

Actually, my observations come from work I did over 10 years ago on plastic body panels. The "paint shop" in an assembly plant where all the finishing is done accounts for about 1/3 of the cost of an assembly plant. All this was in effect them and I assume things are even better. My 10 year old Nissan has zero rust. All I do is try to wash it frequently when roads are salted. Frank

Rust NEVER Sleeps..........

When I brought the car into the Subaru dealership for a pre-sale inspection, the mechanic said he personally didn't recommend Ziebart, but this car was particularly well done and all the drain holes he knew of were clear, so there was no harm done.

I nodded knowingly and said "Ah!", but until now didn't really have a clue about what he was saying :-)

-- Dominic Richens | snipped-for-privacy@alumni.uottawa.ca "If you're not *outraged*, you're not paying attention!"

I have a Legacy wagon 95, and I live in Montreal. Here's where mine has started to rust:

- Bottom of the front doors, inside where you see the "seam", where the outside sheet is folded over the inside sheet and there's a line sealant glued on. It starts at the rear end of the door. You can open the inside, clean it to remove dirt (that keeps the area moist) and maybe shoot some oil there, but few can be done, as this area is hard to reach.

- Under the plastic moulding that covers the sheet metal, between the rear door and the wheel well. Not much to do there too. Removing the moulding to check can do more damage, as the snaps will remove the paint.

- The antenna mount.

- The handle of the rear hatch requires oil regularly, the metal base of the handle is rusted. But the hatch itself is perfect.

For an 8-yr old car in my area, this is very good! This generation of Legacy is far better than the previous one for rust protection.

For the door/window seal, you can add a closed-cell foam strip in the open space (that space where you can slide your finger in) of the seal, to add more pressure of the inner lip to the window and door sheets.

Put LPS-3 in every crack, crevis, hole, and place you can find and it will slow the rust down. Better to do it before the rust starts though. Get it in the bottom of the doors (might have to pull a panel), coat the bottom inner edge of the doors, inside the fenders, etc. I even put it on the lower part of the paint all the way around the car. Turns blackish (from getting dirty) after awhile but I'd rather have blackish LPS-3 than brown rust. Clean it off in the spring.