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E Class w212 composite spare wheel well rusted through
Hi,
I have recently purchased a 2014 w212 saloon, I was giving the car a once over today and checking a few things, I decided to remove the spare wheel and noticed a small amount of rust in the well, upon giving the plastic tray a small tug the whole thing came clean off in my hand.
I'm not sure if the car has been subject to an accident and then a bad repair or if rust around the wheel well is common on w212 of this age. To me the beige seam sealer seems suspect but without having another car to compare to, it's hard for me to tell.
My plan is to clean up the tray, treat all the rust, paint and rebond it back in place.
I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking ....
Yes it was glued in, but seems to have rusted completely through, gave it a small tug and it just came off 😄.
I'm trying to work out if it's just a bad design or if the car has been repair badly in the past?
Does anyone else have the thick beige seam sealer down the rear part of the well like in my photo, if that's factory then I'd say its just rusted due to moisture/ age
Do they use any corrosive road treatments for ice where you live in the UK? You may want to check your rear subframe for corrosion, which is an issue with these cars.
The heavy and sloppy application of the beige seam sealant seems suspect to me. I don't think it is factory application but an attempt to fix a problem by previous owner of the vehicle.
Maybe I need my bifocals adjusted, but I do not see any "rust-through." That brown stuff around the edge of the plastic well insert looks like some sort of sealant or glue. The grey edge of the trunk floor metal looks like a clean stamped edge, with residue of the sealant previously used. To me it looks like the sealant/glue bond failed and the insert came loose. I would think that if there was truly rust-through, than the edge of the floor, sans insert, would be a very rough, irregular edge.
Now, as to why the glue/sealant joint failed, I cannot hazard an opinion. It could be a faulty glue joint from the factory. It could also be a failed repair, reason for repair unknown.
Can you learn anything from vehicle history or Carfax?
Right about now, I would just clean off that one rusty spot and re-cement the well into the floor. I imagine the dealer service/parts department or even a MB Certified body shop could tell you which sealant/cement they recommend.
Maybe I need my bifocals adjusted, but I do not see any "rust-through." That brown stuff around the edge of the plastic well insert looks like some sort of sealant or glue. The grey edge of the trunk floor metal looks like a clean stamped edge, with residue of the sealant previously used. To me it looks like the sealant/glue bond failed and the insert came loose. I would think that if there was truly rust-through, than the edge of the floor, sans insert, would be a very rough, irregular edge.
Now, as to why the glue/sealant joint failed, I cannot hazard an opinion. It could be a faulty glue joint from the factory. It could also be a failed repair, reason for repair unknown.
Can you learn anything from vehicle history or Carfax?
Right about now, I would just clean off that one rusty spot and re-cement the well into the floor. I imagine the dealer service/parts department or even a MB Certified body shop could tell you which sealant/cement they recommend.
Looks like the metal under the sealant is rusted. Look at the lip after removal and notice its rust. Look at about 8 oclock before removal and notice its bubbling. The sealant reacted with the metal or failed seal allowing good spot to cause corrosion. IMHO
Wow, thank you all for the responses, I'll try to answer some of the questions that were fired back....
The seam sealer does seem messy and i will try and get a look in a few other w212s to see what they look like, if anyone has a pic of theirs please feel free to post it.
I checked the car throughly on its history before buying and no damage has ever been recored against it ( doesn't mean the car hasn't been repaired privately though and not recorded against any insurance)
They do use salt on our roads here in the winter but do not think this was the cause, I think there has been a run of water getting in from the rear bumper / boot lid some how and running round the outside edge of the plastic floor ( the inside shows no sign of moisture getting in, tyre,wheel and tool kit are all like new )
You can see from the photo of the underside how ive gone a bit mad with the sealer in an attempt to stop the water running underneath the car and around the edge in future.
I have now repaired the corrosion and resealed in the boot floor.
I have attached the photos to show how it looks now.
The sealant I used is called "stixall" once you get it on you it doesn't come off easy, I have previously used this to hold some cement in place on a garage roof, 5 years ( and winters) later and its showing no signs of moving.
Time will tell how it holds up, I will keep an eye on the inside now to see if there is any sign of moisture build up that could be a giveaway as to the original cause.
Nice job cleaning that up, I did go out and look at mine to see if I had that as I am in the snow/rust belt. Mine is ok and still affixed. I wonder could the water actually be coming from the top, not leaking in from the bottom?
I'm keeping a close eye on the inside well, so far no moisture, but this thought had crossed my mind.
When you looked at yours did you notice any beige, unpainted seamsealer ?
I have seen other images online showing smaller amounts than mine in different areas of the wheelwell, funnily enough those areas on my car are all painted
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