1988 320i : Renewal

[curves.asia 0]

supposed to use ATF fluid if its a ZF rack which they pretty much all are

Yeah, found that out this morning before heading out for the buy. Thanks anyways

[curves.asia 0]

Went to get some Dot4s, DX3s and all the shenanigans. Gave her a wash, wax and polish too today

Looks can be deceiving based on all the internal problems happening right now:

[curves.asia 0]

Finally found the culprit that's been leaking into my passenger side:

Turns out it was right behind where the a/c vent towards the upper corner exiting the windshield air vents :|

[DarinD 8]

Looking hellaclean buddy! I'm sure you will sort the rust during your break no sweat. Hit me up when you want the tools.

[curves.asia 0]

Just an update on what I've been doing.

- Rained pretty hard this morning so there's a pool in the car. Dried that out in a jiffy and then moved on checking the leakage points on the passenger side and the drivers side.

- Found that the leakage point on the drivers side tie in with that hole in front where the battery tray is, then moved on to find that the leakage point on the passenger side...

- ... Has been fixed before, with some sort of a sealant. Unfortunately that wasn't done perfectly so water was dripping out of the edges. So that's been confirmed.

- Prioritised and decided to fix the bigger hole (battery tray section).

- Dad had some sheetmetal lying around the garage so thankfully can be used.

- Cut, bended the sheetmetal to fit the affected area and prepped the area to be grinded... Only to find that we don't have the disc needed to grind, so will need to pop into Bunnings for them along with screws and riveting tools for the metal.

- Had a bit of time in between and found out that I could clean the intake with the brass brush, so did that

So the next few days:

- Grind out the rust around the affected area on the battery tray.

- Going to double seal the area: applying one coat of sealant before putting on the sheetmetal to act as a "glue" and then rivet, before sealing them again.

- As for the passenger side, will need to scrape out the old repaired sealing and properly doing it.

- Then I can put the carpet in once it's confirmed fixed.

Photos will be up tonight, so keep an eye.

[*Glenn* 854]

I'm not trying to be negative, but glue, screws, rivets & sealant does not fix rust in the structural areas you have indicated in this thread. I admire your positivity & desire to move on.. however as I said before, you need to check this vehicle more thoroughly before spending more money on it.

[dubman 39]

How long do you plan to keep the car? Once carpets goes back in, you won't realise its rusting again until it leaks.

Don't rivet.....because those holes will be a nightmare once it starts rusting again. I just poked two fresh holes in my firewall because it rusted through, time for panel beater to cut and weld.

+1 for what Glenn said. It's PITA and expensive to do it twice.

[curves.asia 0]

I'm not trying to be negative, but glue, screws, rivets & sealant does not fix rust in the structural areas you have indicated in this thread. I admire your positivity & desire to move on.. however as I said before, you need to check this vehicle more thoroughly before spending more money on it.

How long do you plan to keep the car? Once carpets goes back in, you won't realise its rusting again until it leaks.

Don't rivet.....because those holes will be a nightmare once it starts rusting again. I just poked two fresh holes in my firewall because it rusted through, time for panel beater to cut and weld.

+1 for what Glenn said. It's PITA and expensive to do it twice.

I may have been a little too eager on this but disregard the riveting part; we're only going to cut and treat and then seal - at least it fixes the leaking problem rather than leaving it to rot. I know that as long as we do it right it will stay that way.

Glenn, I've checked and checked the whole car in and out and those two parts are the only ones of concern. And thanks for the feedback tho, I agree with the spending money part. The ones I've been doing so far I haven't spent a heap lot as we have bits and pieces and tools right here in the garage.

Dubman, this car's gonna be a keeper for quite a while. The carpet will only go in after everything's done and water tested.

Again I think as long as these are treated the way they should and correctly it will keep the car safe and happy and also myself a happy person to enjoy his ride

[curves.asia 0]

So here's the photos:

Previous owner, or the one before that had tried to fix this one on the passenger side behind the glovebox... was quite a messy job.

Extent of the battery tray problem, eventually will be cut out and treated properly.

After cutting, shaping the sheetmetal to the affected area. As is, will be sealed on after all the rust has been cut and the rest treated.

Perhaps no one's done this but, this shows how much I love my E30

[e30ftw 410]

Hmmm, If you really loved your e30, you would fix it properly!!

You can cover it up all you want, But damn dude.....

[curves.asia 0]

Hmmm, If you really loved your e30, you would fix it properly!!

You can cover it up all you want, But damn dude.....

I'm still young and there's heaps more of experience to gain but yeah, damn

[Allanw 1071]

Thinking about this... I might be wrong, but someone will pipe up...

Isn't that where water would leak OUT of the well under the scuttle panel???

The rain gets in through the vent under the windscreen, that rust hole is where it's rusted as some water has been sitting and the battery has leaked at some stage, and there will be ANOTHER hole inside the scuttle well, where the water is getting into the car - you need to get inside that well and find the hole that goes down into the car.

I think.

[Michael. 2313]

Hmmm, If you really loved your e30, you would fix it properly!!

You can cover it up all you want, But damn dude.....

Indeed, if I found rust like that first thing I would do is drop it off and my panel shop.

If you can't afford the repair, fair enough, sell your BBS wheels and get some bottle caps for the time being

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

If you can't afford the repair, fair enough, sell your BBS wheels and get some bottle caps for the time being

nah nah nah you dont understand, fixed rust doesnt bring bitches

[curves.asia 0]

Thinking about this... I might be wrong, but someone will pipe up...

Isn't that where water would leak OUT of the well under the scuttle panel???

The rain gets in through the vent under the windscreen, that rust hole is where it's rusted as some water has been sitting and the battery has leaked at some stage, and there will be ANOTHER hole inside the scuttle well, where the water is getting into the car - you need to get inside that well and find the hole that goes down into the car.

I think.

I think the rain gets in through the vent under the windscreen into where the mid-section where the drain spout is i.e. the elephant trunk that drains it unless it's clogged up which would pool water and overflow. I assume the drains have been clogged and overflowed for quite a while as I've taken that out and pretty much the drain was clogged with mud and bits of nature.

We used a blunt end of a marker pen to poke through that hole from the outside and it pretty much went right into the cabin right above where the front speakers are.

But since you've mentioned this, I might give it another check today and double-confirm my findings

[curves.asia 0]

nah nah nah you dont understand, fixed rust doesnt bring bitches

I'm pretty sure rust brings in the bitches more rat styles!

[dubman 39]

Take out all sound deadening (grey pads) on firewall, inspect for rust and leave them out.

[curves.asia 0]

Got most of the stuff needed for the rust cutting-out, primer and paint + sound deadener today - got a bargain

Should be worked up in the next week or so before I head back to work on the 14th

[curves.asia 0]

Take out all sound deadening (grey pads) on firewall, inspect for rust and leave them out.

Yup, taking the car out of service tomorrow to get some serious time so I can show some love to the Browny. Will take all the sound deadening out tomorrow as well

Edited January 6, 2013 by curves.asia

[dubman 39]

spotted you yesterday coming out of Royal Oak roundabout. Was in a Corolla haha, but yea, rust's a bitch. Just keep digging, be brave tho, not always good to see it rot away. I hope that's the only spot you find. Remove the front loom holder and metal plate, take a look in front of HVAC unit also. Good idea to clean out rust fragments that flow out around the elephant trunk hole/drain.

[curves.asia 0]

spotted you yesterday coming out of Royal Oak roundabout. Was in a Corolla haha, but yea, rust's a bitch. Just keep digging, be brave tho, not always good to see it rot away. I hope that's the only spot you find. Remove the front loom holder and metal plate, take a look in front of HVAC unit also. Good idea to clean out rust fragments that flow out around the elephant trunk hole/drain.

Haha my car isn't exactly hard to spot eh... Front loom holder, you mean all the stuff behind the glovebox?

Any tips on how to get clearance on behind the glovebox?

[e30ftw 410]

I'd say he meant the cover that's at the back of the engine bay against the firewall, the one that holds the engine loom, and when you remove the cover you can get to the air blower motor, theres a drain around there which I think you may already know about.

[dubman 39]

^ what he said

[curves.asia 0]

I'd say he meant the cover that's at the back of the engine bay against the firewall, the one that holds the engine loom, and when you remove the cover you can get to the air blower motor, theres a drain around there which I think you may already know about.

^ what he said

Ah yes, I've checked that, thankfully there's no rust apart from dirt and nature. Already did the elephant trunk cleaning as well as cutting the edge to make a bigger outlet so that bigger debris won't be dislodged in the future.

[curves.asia 0]

Started the clean-up today, starting with the grinding followed by treating it with Kurust.

It's also good to note that Kurust was only added onto the metal once everything's been grinded out i.e. the rust. It's a water-based thing that changes the metal compound to prevent spread in the future.

So I spent the day grinding out all the rust from all the rust bits and Kurust-ed them out. Now leaving it overnight to "eat" through the metal before coating with KillRust Epoxy Gloss enamel paint tomorrow, letting that dry for another half day before doing the floor pan over with 3M sound deadener.

The process here is grind - treat - coat - fill/seal.

As for the holes, the same process, except filling them over with Sika high grade sealant, which water seals it before sanding it off to smooth it off before coating again with KillRust.

Fingers crossed.