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| Best rust prevention for Geo Metro frame horn?; I am currently swapping engines and fixing some rust. | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 31 2012, 11:43 AM (1,446 Views) | |
| cwatkin | Jul 31 2012, 11:43 AM Post #1 |
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The engine swap between the two 1994 Geo Metros I discussed earlier is going pretty well. I am still waiting on some parts and can't wait to get this car going. All I need now is the timing belt kit I ordered and I will have a completed engine ready to drop in the car. I will do the timing belt and the cam seal as soon as the kit arrives, likely tomorrow. I am also going to do some welding and rust prevention on the right side frame horn that has a couple rust holes. The neighbor kid came down and did some welding for me but I want to touch up a couple locations, plus he didn't get the area right under the tie rod. I have ordered a small flux-core welder similar to what he used from Harbor Freight for $100. He used a Hobart 125 which was slightly smaller than the unit I am getting so I hope this will be OK. The reviews of this unit looked ok and I only plan to do light duty welding anyway. I want to also weld this frame horn before putting the engine back in and give it a good coating of rust prevention paint/undercoating. I undid the outer clip on the tie rod boot and pushed it in/cranked the steering wheel all the way over, which got the boot out of the immediate welding area. I also plan to make a shield to protect the boot from heat/sparks. I plan to use cold galvanization compound followed by rusty metal primer, followed by automotive undercoating on the outside of this area once it is welded. What is the best way to really make sure this rust doesn't return, especially from the inside out? I haven't given the area under the car a good look but maybe there will be a hole I can access to spray something inside of the frame horn. If so, I plan to pressure wash as much as I can through the hole and then do a similar treatment there once it dries for a while. If there isn't a hole, should I drill a small hole for this purpose? Also, anyone have better suggestions for rust proofing? I will let everyone know once it is back together and running. Conor |
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| geostang | Jul 31 2012, 12:49 PM Post #2 |
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I would skip the cold galv compound, its not made for this type of use and can mask and make rust worse down the road It will be difficult/expensive to fill the interior frame with anything liquid, best to FOG it real good with some type of spray I would go for the rustoleum rust reformer and perhaps a long tube attached to it to get it in the frame. I would also test the straw to get a spray/mist not a stream and mod the straw as needed to get more of a spray out of it. Taking the spray nozzle of one product and attaching to the straw end might be a way to go. Looking for a nice misting spray on something you can work back and forth in a small hole while turning to just lay it on thick Ill be doing this soon as I have been stripping my 92 xfi to bare metal and priming. The rust reformer is only for rusty areas, which you wont be able to see, so I would follow up with some good undercoating using the same method a few days or even week later, as there will be pools of that other stuff in there with little air to speed drying. http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=40 You might find reformer in a can, fill the frame, drain and reuse on other side, i think thats overkill and the fog method should work just fine. I have zero rust on my frame and horns, but I am going to get into the inside and do some preventative stuff to them. ( I got a 92 xfi, garage kept, 60,000 miles with almost zero rust at an auction for 350 ![]() So I am doing a total stripping cleaning protective process inside and out, the insides done and almost the entire outside has been stripped to metal (AIRCRAFT REMOVER and a scraper > sand paper) and then primered using rusto's auto primer. If you are trying to prevent rust out you may want to pull the fenders off, there is an area on the outside of the engine compartment hidden under the fender that rusts and you wont know until it breaks through the engine compartment. I didnt strip that, acid wash with naval jelly then used truck bed liner spray. this gets all the way up to the front of the door area. Also, the hinges for the doors and striker plate, the body rusts under them, I pulled them, sanded em down, and cut out 1/32 inch rubber gasket material and placed between the hinges and body to protect the newly primered surfaces. |
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| Nyquil-Junkie | Jul 31 2012, 09:52 PM Post #3 |
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I used Eastwood in frame rust encapsulator/rustproofing. it comes with a long tube to snake in all the places inside the horns. and it's thin watery stuff so it leaks out all the cracks and seals those too. |
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9:24 AM Jul 11