JD101b

I think I found more rust...this time above the front windscreen where the roof meets the windscreen:





It appears to be underneath rubber stripping. However, this rubber is much more rigid and cannot be pulled back as easily. I'm going to try and pry it with a rubber putty knife and get an aerosol straw in.

Question: does anyone know what is immediately behind this rubber trim? I'd like to fill the cavity with grease (I've switched to Lucas Red n' Tacky grease/anti-corrosive) however I'm concerned that the empty cavity is backed by the interior headliner - I don't want to shoot grease into the cavity only for it to soak into the headliner...big problem there!

P.S. the hazy looking metal immediately next to the windscreen is coated with grease and I have yet to clean it!

PeriodCorrect

When you apply grease or white lithium under the windshield seal, does it leak out onto the paint underneath? If so is it is easy as wiping it off?

places

Is this it? Better than wd40 anti-corrosive?

JD101b

Yes. I sprayed A LOT into the crevice behind the rubber stripping and eventually it started to seep out. I sprayed enough so it seeped out along the entire perimeter of the window. I figure that of to starts to come out of the weather stripping, it has completely filled the area and covered every bit of metal. After I finished spraying, I wiped it off and washed the car (it needed to be washed). However, I had to use dish soap to remove the grease. It's quite sticky and not easily removable even with a lot of Dawn and multiple passes. That's good though as you want the grease to be resistant to spray and chemicals that might dissolve it.

JD101b

I'm not sure if its better, but it's a thick, long lasting grease fortified with anti-corrosive chemicals. It is much thicker than WD and seems to be much more resilient to spray and soap which means it's much more likely to last. However, that also means it won't aerosolize as efficiently as WD40 and might not hit every bit of sheet metal underneath. That's why I pumped so much in there - to ensure that it would fill up every bit of space.

I switched primarily because I couldn't find WD40 anti corrosive in my local stores - evidently there are supply chain issues pertaining to WD 40.

I have the same grease in a tub and I'm probably going to brush it on to the sunroof surround in the next few weeks. I'll open the roof (something is wrong with the motor because it always sounds like someone it shifting a manual without touching the clutch lol) and attempt to coat the underneath of all the metal surrounding the actual sliding panel. As I mentioned before, there doesn't seem to be a large cavity surrounding the side and rear windows, and I can't even get a straw into those areas (I can insert one perhaps 1/2 an inch but no more). Not sure how I'm going to spray anything in there - I may go with a thin oil (maybe even regular WD40), spray it at the top and just hope it drips down. I really, really, don't want to take interior panels off to get to the backside of the sheetmetal.

I'd like to have the chassis professionally blasted and repainted with a heavy duty anti corrosive epoxy (something like coal tar epoxy) but due to cost and complexity I'll probably do an oil undercoating for now. But I also want a body panel coating done that doesn't require holes in the body panels. Not sure where to find that service.

GWill336

Check out this guy's post https://clubgwagen.com/forum/viewtop...197272#p197272

JD101b

Thanks for that link! I've looked around in the region (I live in NYC and Massachusetts but go through CT all the time) for a good place...it's great to see a shop that actually knows G-class vehicles.

GWill336

I am in MA but so willing to make the trip down if they can really rust proof it. Underneath as well.

JD101b

I'd like to have the chassis painted with marine coal tar, but I think that will be a project for next year. In the meantime, I'm going to see about a fluid film undercoating as well as a treatment of ALL sheetmetal.

djjoonie

There's a joint where the roof and the glass frame meets and they are pinched welded together right under the rubber trim. So there are no access to the headliner from the outside, so you are safe to lift and apply grease.
you can see from the previous photos that i posted as *Update*

Did you actually see the rust there? or u are just assuming because of the bubble?

djjoonie

There's a joint where the roof and the glass frame meets and they are pinched welded together right under the rubber trim. So there are no access to the headliner from the outside, so you are safe to lift and apply grease.
you can see from the previous photos that i posted as *Update* (#261)

Did you actually see the rust there? or u are just assuming because of the bubble?

JD101b

I managed to peel it back a bit, but not enough to expose the area underneath the bubble. The assumption is rust, because it looks very much like the bubbles under the rubber seal on the front windshield, and because it's a G-class which is made out of rust.

Anyways, I managed to get the straw in and filled the cavity with the grease. Same procedure as before.

djjoonie

I believe it is highly unlikely rust under there since the rubber trim is too sturdy for the rust to actually deform that trim unlike the flappy windshield trim. but anyways it will stop the progress even if its rust since you applied the grease there.

JD101b

Possible. I just don't want to take any chances at this point. I'm thinking about a new G (2019 or newer) but even if I do buy one, I'm going to keep this one.

JD101b

Pressure washing and de-salting the chassis:


I use the undercarriage attachment to spray the chassis with dish soap then "Salt Away" which helps further remove salt deposits on the chassis.

Also, I tested out the Red n' Tacky grease against the direct stream of the pressure washer. After 10 seconds there was still a thick layer of grease. Impressive.

JD101b

From an oil change today...the tech said the chassis looks great.

PeriodCorrect

Has that been treated at all? Looks mint. Hard to imagine you had body rust with an undercarriage this clean.

Here is mine:

JD101b

Never been treated. I just pressure wash it with soap frequently and use fans + a dehumidifier to dry it out.

Floobydust

Ugh! This spring I had a sudden eruption of body cancer on my 2014! All the usual body spots - windshield frame, door window frames, rear door. I'm going to have to do some serious PM, but the door frames are going to be tough.

JD101b

Sorry to hear. Can you post pictures?

ThreeGs

Has anyone had any success with Mercedes covering rust damage after the factory warranty has expired? I just found a bubble on my 4x4 but it’s past the original warranty (and extended warranty doesn’t cover it).

JD101b

Yikes. Sorry to hear. Can you post some pictures?

I reached out to Mercedes and they fixed some of the rust on my G. I'll try and dig up the contact info for that particular department (getting there was not easy - took many days of calls to finally get to the right spot)

JD101b

Thought I'd make a quick video about how to rust proof the rear door hinges on your G-class.

Note: In the video I said to use LPS or WD40 Corrosion Inhibitor but I'd skip those oils as they are potentially flammable. Use a good spray grease with a high drip point such as B'Laster Surface Shield or Lucas Red n' Tacky aerosol:

Hope you enjoy!

You Tube

JD101b

Found some corrosion on the rear frame member running over the gas tank.

I've hit it with some spray grease for now but I think I'm going to schedule an NH Oil treatment relatively soon. NH Oil is, as far as rust inhibitors go, pretty good - certainly better than Fluid Film.

leftylefty

How do I get in on this class action lawsuit???! 2014 G550 that has always lived in dry climates,
100% MB dealer maintained, and always garaged. 76k miles. I pulled the passenger side rocker trim off and discovered this: