[RallyBob]

I had my left rear lateral suspension links rust out and break while driving my '91 Sentra last week. Closer inspection reveals the right side is not far behind. Fortunately I wasn't cornering when it happened or even driving fast, but there was no real warning. Damn New England salt!

Bob

 

[sunnysentra]

wow, what happened?

My gas tank rusted at the driver side where the rubber piece that is on the seam to keep the rubber lines from cutting, I smelled gas and saw a spot around the rubber, pulled it off and gas came out!! it rusted through at that piece. it collects dirt!! I had to replace the tank, the filler neck was rusting also. the rubber pieces, the rubber fuel lines, the pump was old, so I got a new one. the Rust ate the plastic and pitted the fuel sender due to the plate that attaches it to the tank rusted. and that was under the seat!! Damn Humidity!!!

Did your rear strut mounts Rust through Yet?? they will. take a screw driver and poke around the seams of the top hat of the strut attachment points. It is seam sealed with a small bead. They really need to use thick body seam sealer there. it cracked and got water and dirt in there and rusted. I cut and fabricated and welded in new pieces. then seam sealed that really good!! mine does not see rain or snow anymore.

good stories! show me some pictures [email protected]. I will email you some pics of the tank!

 

[RallyBob]

Did your rear strut mounts Rust through Yet??

I welded up my right rear strut top about 2 years ago. This past weekend I found two huge holes in the right side wheelhousing, all covered up by the seam sealer and undercoating. Water was pouring in here. I patched those for the winter. I'd say this is the last year I'll have this car, time to retire it soon!

My tank I replaced about three years ago, got a leak on the bottom (rust pinhole). My friend Tim replaced his tank about 8 years ago, same rust as you described!

These cars are getting old...

Bob

 

[i r teh noobz]

My sentra has always been pretty rusty, so I wasn't suprised when it started leaking water onto the floor from under the rear seat. I pulled the seat out expecting a small hole, but found that the entire perimeter of the bottom and back cushions is gone! My seatbelts were less than an inch away from the rust on both sides, so I removed the belts so nobody can sit back there. I sprayed the holes full of expanding foam insulation to keep the water out, and its working good so far. Once the winter is over, its time for a new (to me) car. This will be B13 #2 that has been lost to the rust.

 

[sunnysentra]

the only thing that has saved mine, is that I had it new since 1992. I painted the entire undercarriage with Rust oleum oil paint with Brush. got all of the fuels lines, brake lines, the links, the entire car. I even pulled the bumpers and painted the metal bumpers. I tried.

painting did not save the rockers!!!!!

The rocker panels always go on the B13's Its from underneath where the drain holes are where the seams come together. I removed from the driver door back to the rear fender. blasted the inner, painted and then got new metal and made my own rocker, using a baseball bat to bend and curve it out. I did not want to buy tools to do this shaping. I used my vise as the crimper and hammered it out. amazing it came out with hours of shaping. I drilled and pop-riveted the thing and ground them clean to teh surface. it worked.

Most of the car is in excellent shape. I have maintained it by painting over and over. I live in Southwest PA, so the salt was a killer.

 

[sunnysentra]

My sentra has always been pretty rusty, so I wasn't suprised when it started leaking water onto the floor from under the rear seat. I pulled the seat out expecting a small hole, but found that the entire perimeter of the bottom and back cushions is gone! My seatbelts were less than an inch away from the rust on both sides, so I removed the belts so nobody can sit back there. I sprayed the holes full of expanding foam insulation to keep the water out, and its working good so far. Once the winter is over, its time for a new (to me) car. This will be B13 #2 that has been lost to the rust.

Post up some pictures of that! it sounds like a major re-building! Just go to mexico and buy a new B13 Tsuru!!!

 

[RallyBob]

The only thing that kept the rear of the car together was the reinforcements I welded to the lower links about 9 year ago. At first I thought that maybe my reinforcements had trapped the salt/dirt/etc, but the drain holes worked fine. As well, I had dipped the arms into a vat of paint, so they had full coverage. The inside still had paint on it!

The forward edges had simply been sandblasted clean, and then rotted out with exposure to the salt.

For simplicity, the new arms I made were from 1" round tubing, TIG'd to the OEM eyelets from the factory links. It was the only extra material I had laying around at my shop, and it was the Friday after Thanksgiving. So you do what you gotta do!

Bob

 

[i r teh noobz]

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s37/vgames33/1130082310a.jpg

That's all I took. Its pretty blurry since its a cell phone pic. I'll try to snap another with my camera when I put the seat back in.