The great R75/ZT corrosion hunt

simdel1 · 20th April 2010, 12:00

Updated with member contributions

Kandyman has reminded me about the club discount that is available at rust master
See the club's web page for more details: http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/inde...age=rustmaster

With many of our cars approaching or exceeding 10 years on our generally wet and salty roads I would expect our cars to start showing some signs of corrosion.

My intention is to weasel out every common cause of corrosion on our cars so that I can either fix it, or prevent it from occuring on my car. Of course, any such work I do will be documneted and posted on here.

I had a quick look around my car the other day looking for early signs of corrosion and these are some of the things I found.

1) Rusty bonnet

As you can see, the edge of my bonnet that sits against the rubber seal has started to rust where the paint has ruubbed off.

2) Bumper rubbing

Unfortunately i only took the photo after i'd already put some insulation tape over it as an interim fix. The bumper has been rubbing on the frame at this point on both sides of the boot opening. The exposed metal has just started to rust.

3) Front slam panel.
I don't know if my car is an unusual example, but my slam panel is particularly rusty.

4) Under body bracketry
Many of the under body brackets and mountings seem to rust very easilly.

5) Upper door trims
These tend to rust from the inside out!
http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...ad.php?t=58823 - How loz1971 corrected this problem

- ...when it gets bad!

6) Door wiring loom entry points
(Image provided by Karl_683)

7) Front corners of boot lid

Tell-tale rust marks:

8) Underside of bonnet (behind sound insulation material)

9) Nuts and bolts (particularly in the engine bay)

Obviously, none of these things are major, but I intend to keep my Rover on the road for as long as possible, so i'd like to start attacking corrosion now before it gets too bad.

If anyone has any comments on my plan, or can suggest additional areas to concentrate on, i'd love to hear it.

Ta!

Apologies, this post has become a work in progress. More updates, details, links and images to follow...

loz1971 · 20th April 2010, 12:14

See my thread about the door trims, there may be rust there you cant see, also the lower rear suspension arms rust (the ones the rear springs sit in) noticed a hole appearing in mine!

EnEnGee · 20th April 2010, 12:15

It has been reported in the past that the leading edge of doors has been identified on some cars, particularly around the wiring loom entry point, though I mention this without having actually experienced it myself.

The underside of the car appears to be pretty well protected and certainly on my two (51 and 02 reg), I have seen little corrosion on the actual body structure. One area I where I have identified the start of minor rust was around the bumper beams up under the boot floor. There was an area where mud and road debris seems to accumulate. Have a look with a torch while lying on your back and shining a torch up behind the bumper area. It helped that my Tourer is Moonstone Green which showed up clearly, but the darker colours might not be so obvious. I have Waxoyled and painted this area to nip it in the bud.

But as you mentioned, the suspension members do tend to rust. I have started a programme of wire brushing and Hammeriting the bits I can easily access without dismantling.

karl_683 · 20th April 2010, 13:29

I've had rust around both the rear door wiring looms, all fixed now though. The was also some surface rust on the underside, however that is now fixed and waxoiled. But the suspention arms are in a state, am sorting out this week before the national meet.

Dave Goody · 20th April 2010, 13:34

Front corners of bootlid where they rub on boot seal is a regular Dave

capese21 · 20th April 2010, 13:43

On the rear hatch back door by the hinges I have a little rust.

Ed

rrobson · 20th April 2010, 14:48

i thinks its safe to say any two parts that are touching or have rubber / plastic between will eventually rust due to fact that they both move independently of each other, which will remove the layer of paint/sealer. this includes things such as all doors, bonnet, boot lit ( ive got some on the corners closest to back window on a saloon), edges of the body that touches the bumpers, and even on the edges of any metal component simply down to the effect of weathering.
has anyone taken a look at some of the suspension components recently? i guarantee there will be some rust there

crofts · 20th April 2010, 19:59

I think it was Ken that mentioned he had found quite serious rust on the underside of the bonnet. Not obvious due to the sound deadening but evidently condensation forms there.
Not difficult to remove I understand and is one thing I have been meaning to do for some time.
If you see a white deposit on the engine side of the sound deadening it is a fairly sure sign of condensation. Mine shows it at the left and right rear.
I had thought to insert my Waxoyl 'wand' between felt and bonnet and giving it a good dose..........forgot ! !

Platemaker · 20th April 2010, 20:23

I have seen several bubbling up from within the leading edge of the bonnet corners.

carlpenn · 20th April 2010, 20:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Goody

Front corners of bootlid where they rub on boot seal is a regular Dave

I have that on the offside of my Bootlid the nearside is fine.

Haven't seen any other signs of rust, was wondering how long it would be

There are the obvious areas of course - on suspension parts etc but nothing major. (touch wood)

20th April 2010, 12:00	#1
simdel1 Posted a thing or two Rover 75 Connoisseur SE CDTi, Porsche 944 Lux, MGF Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Stamford Posts: 1,088 Thanks: 4 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts	The great R75/ZT corrosion hunt (updated 26/04) Updated with member contributions Kandyman has reminded me about the club discount that is available at rust master See the club's web page for more details: http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/inde...age=rustmaster With many of our cars approaching or exceeding 10 years on our generally wet and salty roads I would expect our cars to start showing some signs of corrosion. My intention is to weasel out every common cause of corrosion on our cars so that I can either fix it, or prevent it from occuring on my car. Of course, any such work I do will be documneted and posted on here. I had a quick look around my car the other day looking for early signs of corrosion and these are some of the things I found. 1) Rusty bonnet As you can see, the edge of my bonnet that sits against the rubber seal has started to rust where the paint has ruubbed off. 2) Bumper rubbing Unfortunately i only took the photo after i'd already put some insulation tape over it as an interim fix. The bumper has been rubbing on the frame at this point on both sides of the boot opening. The exposed metal has just started to rust. 3) Front slam panel. I don't know if my car is an unusual example, but my slam panel is particularly rusty. 4) Under body bracketry Many of the under body brackets and mountings seem to rust very easilly. 5) Upper door trims These tend to rust from the inside out! http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...ad.php?t=58823 - How loz1971 corrected this problem - ...when it gets bad! 6) Door wiring loom entry points (Image provided by Karl_683) 7) Front corners of boot lid Tell-tale rust marks: 8) Underside of bonnet (behind sound insulation material) 9) Nuts and bolts (particularly in the engine bay) Obviously, none of these things are major, but I intend to keep my Rover on the road for as long as possible, so i'd like to start attacking corrosion now before it gets too bad. If anyone has any comments on my plan, or can suggest additional areas to concentrate on, i'd love to hear it. Ta! Apologies, this post has become a work in progress. More updates, details, links and images to follow... __________________ Simon The Simdel1 Fleet: http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/447/sigmgf.png Last edited by simdel1; 26th April 2010 at 11:50..

20th April 2010, 12:14	#2
loz1971 Posted a thing or two 2000 (W) Rover 75 CDT Connoisseur SE (manual) Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Cornwall Posts: 1,050 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	See my thread about the door trims, there may be rust there you cant see, also the lower rear suspension arms rust (the ones the rear springs sit in) noticed a hole appearing in mine! __________________ Always be hopeful!! http://www.smileyshut.com/smileys/ne...ncing-baby.jpg "Plus It's not a man purse, it's called a satchel...Indiana Jones wears one"

20th April 2010, 13:29	#4
karl_683 Loves to post Jaguar X-Type Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Peterborough Posts: 323 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I've had rust around both the rear door wiring looms, all fixed now though. The was also some surface rust on the underside, however that is now fixed and waxoiled. But the suspention arms are in a state, am sorting out this week before the national meet. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] Member No. 494 - Visit my DeviantART Profile: http://karl683.deviantart.com/

20th April 2010, 13:34	#5
Dave Goody This is my second home 15 years of 75s & ZTs now an XTrail Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Danbury, Essex Posts: 3,761 Thanks: 18 Thanked 88 Times in 56 Posts	Front corners of bootlid where they rub on boot seal is a regular Dave __________________ ZT 190 X Power Grey The Only Colour is this Dark Silver!! When I was a kid I was scared of earwigs because I thought they actually lived in your ears. I was even more terrified of cockroaches!

20th April 2010, 19:59	#8
crofts I really should get out more....... 2003 Rover 75 Conn. SE Auto Tourer 131 ps CDTi Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bristol Posts: 2,512 Thanks: 38 Thanked 67 Times in 55 Posts	Bonnet I think it was Ken that mentioned he had found quite serious rust on the underside of the bonnet. Not obvious due to the sound deadening but evidently condensation forms there. Not difficult to remove I understand and is one thing I have been meaning to do for some time. If you see a white deposit on the engine side of the sound deadening it is a fairly sure sign of condensation. Mine shows it at the left and right rear. I had thought to insert my Waxoyl 'wand' between felt and bonnet and giving it a good dose..........forgot ! ! __________________ Rover 75 CDTi SE Connoisseur Tourer (2003) In desirable STARLIGHT SILVER (now restored to it's former glory with all the chrome !)

20th April 2010, 12:15	#3
EnEnGee Posted a thing or two CDT Tourer (SORN) & 2.0 V6 Saloon Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Sittingbourne Posts: 1,058 Thanks: 2 Thanked 11 Times in 8 Posts	It has been reported in the past that the leading edge of doors has been identified on some cars, particularly around the wiring loom entry point, though I mention this without having actually experienced it myself. The underside of the car appears to be pretty well protected and certainly on my two (51 and 02 reg), I have seen little corrosion on the actual body structure. One area I where I have identified the start of minor rust was around the bumper beams up under the boot floor. There was an area where mud and road debris seems to accumulate. Have a look with a torch while lying on your back and shining a torch up behind the bumper area. It helped that my Tourer is Moonstone Green which showed up clearly, but the darker colours might not be so obvious. I have Waxoyled and painted this area to nip it in the bud. But as you mentioned, the suspension members do tend to rust. I have started a programme of wire brushing and Hammeriting the bits I can easily access without dismantling.

20th April 2010, 13:43	#6
capese21 This is my second home MG ZTT 180 Sports Auto. Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: London Posts: 3,930 Thanks: 18 Thanked 180 Times in 143 Posts	On the rear hatch back door by the hinges I have a little rust. Ed

20th April 2010, 14:48	#7
rrobson I really should get out more....... 75 tourer cdti, MG ZS 180, nissan terrano & 1.8t rover 25 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pontefract Posts: 2,643 Thanks: 17 Thanked 295 Times in 218 Posts	i thinks its safe to say any two parts that are touching or have rubber / plastic between will eventually rust due to fact that they both move independently of each other, which will remove the layer of paint/sealer. this includes things such as all doors, bonnet, boot lit ( ive got some on the corners closest to back window on a saloon), edges of the body that touches the bumpers, and even on the edges of any metal component simply down to the effect of weathering. has anyone taken a look at some of the suspension components recently? i guarantee there will be some rust there

20th April 2010, 20:23	#9
Platemaker I really should get out more....... MG ZT-T 160, MG ZT 180. Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: N/A Posts: 2,384 Thanks: 27 Thanked 24 Times in 20 Posts	I have seen several bubbling up from within the leading edge of the bonnet corners.