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I noticed yesterday that I had a nice 2" high line of rust from the bottom of the passenger door all of the way down the entire door yesterday (first time out in daylight and not at work in a long time, with our brutal year-end closing schedule). Then went to the other side, and yep, have some starting in the back corner of the driver's door. And the panel between the back of the driver's door and the rear wheelwell is done for as well; the material is physically wavy from it, which is a horrible sign. Took it to a body shop I trust, and they symbolically put a shotgun to its head and pulled the trigger.
So that means that the Smurfmobile experiment is officially on its last legs. I'm hoofing it to Queens on Saturday to look at an 05 Civic Si (which is probably the car I should have had in the first place). I'll be putting up a parting out thread here eventually, but if anyone wants to go through my build thread for anything in particular that they want, let me know - I've got a ton of stuff that may not be most peoples' taste, but you never know. I won't be giving anything away, but the prices will surely be insane!
It's been fun. I'll probably check out the info here every so often, but I'll more admit to drifting away from here over time than most people who get rid of their Benzes admit to when the did. Thanks for all of the help over the years to those who have been helpful. Wish MB had done better with rustproofing, but I can't cry over spilt milk.
Man, who's gonna be left, with both you and Ed going off the reservation?
Honda? Really?
Have had my crx since 1994, and only left me stranded once, when the original starter blew up two years ago. My Benz has been through a total engine reassembly, a sunroof, 4 bouts of rust repair, a pumpkin, window regulators, intakes, s/c tubing, you name it. And no matter what you do to a Mercedes manual, it still drives like a truck.
Tommy, you're describing what seems to be pretty serious rust issues. How the rust get so bad undetected? Did it come from inside the panel and eat its way out?
Common rust area in the front fender and doors are basically replaceable parts. But the rear quarter panel-fender is not a replaceable part - any serious rust issue there would require welding in new steel and that would likely cost about $1500 per side.
How did the rear quarter panel get infected with rust? Did it form from inside the rear wheel well or from below,... from behind the plastic side skirt on the hidden metal rocker panels. I think the plastic side skirt promote rust because drainage in the rear quarter of the plastic side skirt is lacking - it's the lowest part of the plastic side skirt - so it just collects mud! Wet salty mud! Between the top of the plastic side skirt and body of the car are black rubber seals that shrink over time,... insert another Mercedes seal for life joke here,... thus, as car gets washed or rain on,... water with some of the small particle dirt flows past these rubber seals into the inside of the plastic side skirt,... and settle on the bottom of the inside of the plastic side skirt,... salty wet mud,... creating an idea environment for rust to form on the metal rocker panel that's hidden.
Along the bottom of the plastic side skirt are about 9-10 plastic T20 expansion screws,... take them off an examine the depth of the mud from inside the plastic side skirts. At the rear of my plastic side skirt, it was about 1cm thick and a foot long,... and my car has 70,000km and garage kept.
To take off plastic side skirt, you'll also need to take off the size 8 or 10mm hex bolts along side of bottom cover,... If you take off entire side skirts you will break off some plastic clips (expect to pay about $30 in total to replace). My suggestion would be to just flex out the plastic side skirt away from the car so that you can apply a strong water spray to wash along the inside bottom of the plastic side skirt. Also feel along the metal rocker panel for rust spots that'll need to be taken care of.
And drill a few drainage holes near the rear at the bottom of the plastic side skirt.
Another issue is larger dirt particles get between those rubber seals above plastic side skirt and body of the car,... and as car drives along and creates movement between panels,... these larger dirt particles starts to act like sandpaper digging into the paint until it hit metal and creat rust.
Well it's been beaten by winter,... let it be your winter beater! And your other car will be your summer car which will last longer since it won't see any snow and salt.
Tommy, you're describing what seems to be pretty serious rust issues. How the rust get so bad undetected? Did it come from inside the panel and eat its way out?
I've been down this road before on this car; one front quarter panel was replaced, have had both rear wheelwells done, the hood, and both doors as well. The rust is in different spots each time, so yes, indicating that all panels are rusting out from the inside out. I'm officially giving up on the whole damn car. I have to say that it will be nice to have a car with a functional headliner again, a car that I can work on fairly easily, with mods that you don't have to order from one guy standing on a busy street corner in Stuttgart, etc. And probably the best part will be to not have to read the awful Star on the can anymore or pretend that other MB owners at local meets are not snobs who have absolutely no knowledge about cars at all. Do I sound bitter?
I have really no interest in going down the road of trying to repair the rust again. Mostly because say I get it fixed, it will come back sooner rather than later, and I have no interest in watching something decay in front of me (also why I'm not married ). And, say I get it fixed - you know what that means; the front SAM will go, or a seal will blow, or the S/C will need to be rebuilt, or I get another pumpkin blowout. Without rust, this car would only be worth $3-4 k now I figure, especially with all of the customization that no sane human would really want to buy. So I see no upside at this point.
I am looking forward to sloshing in regular gas and getting in the 30 mpg range again soon, though.
The current plan is to strip it as much as possible for whatever I can use on a future build or realistically sell here or ebay, and call a tow truck (I'll be keeping the OZ rims for sale) to tow away the remainder crap, either for a few sheckles or free, whatever works. Meaning that most likely two-piece Racing Brake rotors for the C32 brakes, the C32 calipers, the Eibach sways, the Koni yellows with less than 20k on them, and some other stuff probably will just rust away. But if someone here wants any of that stuff, I would entertain having my local indy remove as much as possible before tossing the carcass, with that person paying a share of their time. But I doubt there is much interest in coupe parts these days.
Whaaaatttt. Noooooo. Not smurfffyyy. This forum w/o your sarcasm would be too straight forward :P
1 - I dont feel like you've ever shared enough about your crx. I love those cars.
2 - It would be really beneficial if you could dismantle the car a bit and maybe analyze where the car's rust started? Other coupe owners could benefit greatly from what you find.
3 - Say it aint so.
Whaaaatttt. Noooooo. Not smurfffyyy. This forum w/o your sarcasm would be too straight forward :P
1 - I dont feel like you've ever shared enough about your crx. I love those cars.
2 - It would be really beneficial if you could dismantle the car a bit and maybe analyze where the car's rust started? Other coupe owners could benefit greatly from what you find.
3 - Say it aint so.
1- Build Link I just got a new rebuilt tranny with carbon syncros last summer, and am working on it this weekend to get it out hybernation mode. Have plenty left to do, so it will turn into my only project car (until I start to mod my replacement for the smurfmobile - trying to keep it stock as long as possible!)
2 - The rust started at the metal. It's an 02 with the sh*tty undercoating, so it can't get any more specific than that. Literally, every part of the car has had rust.
3- Yep, sho is. Tomorrow at noon is my scheduled test drive. Then I'll be back in another Honda, living the dream.
Yeah, it's like when the lemmings all run off a cliff together to their doom.
So far, I'm 0 for 2 on EP3s; seeing one tomorrow in PA near my parents' house. Bad part is that will force me to visit them; good part is a free meal and plenty of space to do some cleanup on my CRX's front bumper from my paint job attempt last year, install some foggies on it, and see if I can put on the parking pole I got from Malaysia, which will be a PITA, cause I'll have to flip the mounting bracket so it can go on the US passenger side.
I still love my coupey, just can't be blind love without looking at what's smart for me to do money-wise.
Tommy
Send a list of parts/prices. I need a new rear valance (between bumper and hatch) My clear coat is peeling....
May be interested in other parts too...PM me between your sobs and tears
It's official.
Bought a 2004 Civic Si yesterday, nighthawk black pearl, just like the crx. Wasn't the color I wanted, but I'll live. 126.6k miles, in amazing shape. Couldn't be happier. Will be picking it up on Thursday after work.
Here's a list of potential parts (I'll set up a "pick from the carcass" thread later this week with pics):
OZ Ultraleggera rims, 18x8, powdercoated smoke gray, very good shape except for rash in two small parts on one of the rims, with one month old Pole Position S04s
H&R 5mm spacers
Ebay 8mm spacers (no hubcentric rim on them)
Supersprint headers *
Eisenmann race dual tip exhaust *
Mangaflow cat (49-state legal) *
Eibach sways *
Koni yellow adjustables, about 10k on them over a little more than a year *
Stock C7 rims, powdercoated matte bronze, very good shape, with snows on (I forget what brand)
Black leather front door panels with Ocarbon dark blue pulls and window switch trim (may separate for anyone interested)
Recaro Speed seat - bought in November 2013, in very good shape
Recaro seat bracket for said seat
Designo mystic blue center console trim (cc, ashtray cover, and part around shifter), with Simoni shift gate surround
Ecu chipped by OE Tuning
Year-old intake tubing / box
Stock stereo (Bose) and cd changer w/ 3 magazines
Used glove box I bought on ebay
A10 radio I bought on ebay
Misc. interior / exterior pieces (like the valence Rick mentioned)
Stock tail lights tinted by yours truly (will sign on inside if desired )
Updated tails
Carlsson front lip, redone in truck bed liner, after a bad accident
Clear fog lights I bought from another member, never installed
Clear projector headlights *
Any items marked with an * would require you to pay my local indy to remove the parts, otherwise, they're going to the scrap heap
What I will do is set up a listing here with prices and such (very reasonable!), and if they don't sell in a reasonable amount of time, they'll go on ebay to the highest bidder afterwards. I want these gone more than I want to deal with lowballers.
It's official.
Bought a 2004 Civic Si yesterday, nighthawk black pearl, just like the crx. Wasn't the color I wanted, but I'll live. 126.6k miles, in amazing shape. Couldn't be happier. Will be picking it up on Thursday after work.
Here's a list of potential parts (I'll set up a "pick from the carcass" thread later this week with pics):
OZ Ultraleggera rims, 18x8, powdercoated smoke gray, very good shape except for rash in two small parts on one of the rims, with one month old Pole Position S04s
H&R 5mm spacers
Ebay 8mm spacers (no hubcentric rim on them)
Supersprint headers *
Eisenmann race dual tip exhaust *
Mangaflow cat (49-state legal) *
Eibach sways *
Koni yellow adjustables, about 10k on them over a little more than a year *
Stock C7 rims, powdercoated matte bronze, very good shape, with snows on (I forget what brand)
Black leather front door panels with Ocarbon dark blue pulls and window switch trim (may separate for anyone interested)
Recaro Speed seat - bought in November 2013, in very good shape
Recaro seat bracket for said seat
Designo mystic blue center console trim (cc, ashtray cover, and part around shifter), with Simoni shift gate surround
Ecu chipped by OE Tuning
Year-old intake tubing / box
Stock stereo (Bose) and cd changer w/ 3 magazines
Used glove box I bought on ebay
A10 radio I bought on ebay
Misc. interior / exterior pieces (like the valence Rick mentioned)
Stock tail lights tinted by yours truly (will sign on inside if desired )
Updated tails
Carlsson front lip, redone in truck bed liner, after a bad accident
Clear fog lights I bought from another member, never installed
Clear projector headlights *
Any items marked with an * would require you to pay my local indy to remove the parts, otherwise, they're going to the scrap heap
What I will do is set up a listing here with prices and such (very reasonable!), and if they don't sell in a reasonable amount of time, they'll go on ebay to the highest bidder afterwards. I want these gone more than I want to deal with lowballers.
Congrats!!
My coupe is gone as well. Currently in a Ford Fusion rental!
04-14-2015, 03:44 PM
, Save the Smurf! 
). And, say I get it fixed - you know what that means; the front SAM will go, or a seal will blow, or the S/C will need to be rebuilt, or I get another pumpkin blowout. Without rust, this car would only be worth $3-4 k now I figure, especially with all of the customization that no sane human would really want to buy. So I see no upside at this point.
)
