Rust On Strut Towers

[Wacky Dee]

Been doing some reading recently and came accross some rusty old topics ... regarding rust on strut towers. Then I looked at mine today and lo and behold the drivers side one is completely f**ked. I mean there are like 3 big paint bubbles and a few cracks and you can see rust underneath. The only semi positive, it seems to be only the top plate not the strut tower itself *cross fingers*.

On the passenger side there's only one small rush patch about a cm big ..but yeah that needs looking at too.

I'm very curious to know if this is a common issue on Skylines because I've found a few threads with people having the same issue. Is it possibly VERY common just that people arent paying attention to it ?? I never noticed myself until I looked for it today..

From some of the previous threads I where people got quotes to get these fixed it's not a cheap fix either ..$1000-2000 easy. Plus I have atleast another 3-4 rush spots that need cutting/welding on the underbody/wheel arches. But atleast those are not structural like the strut towers so can maybe wait until I save up some moulah ...or some cleaning/rust converter/bog can do the job for the next few years..

Would it be a BAAAAAD idea to just have the top plates on the strut towers cleaned, put some rust converter and bogged ? Or would that just slow ..or possibly mask the issue? How important is the top plate ? It seems to be only about a mm thick and I'm not quite sure wtf it's for ..extra strenght so the shock doesn't push through the strut tower on a big pothole ?? (If so why oh why didn't they just design the strut towers with a thicker metal)

Anyway, if you're bored ..and not too scared to look, have a look at your strut towers please and post your findings here together with year/model. I'm gonna take some pics tommorow.

Edited June 22, 2009 by Delta Force

[Wacky Dee]

$400 to get the strut towers cleaned, rewelded and protected (from underneath too) ..and $300 for some cutting/welding of outer rear guards that have rusted through in the same spot and get some surface rust from various underbody panels cleaned and protected..

So $700 all up to be rust free ... came a bit unexpected but it'll be a relief knowing there's no rust on the car. Gonna post a couple of pics of the strut towers shortly.

[Wacky Dee]

[(B1) MR_fanny]

ive got tiny and i mean tiny spots of rust on mine. looks more like surface rust too. do you think the extra stress from your aftermarket strut is one one of the causes?

[KwS]

Interesting. my 97 GTS25T is rusting in a coupe of spots (which seems to be common over here), but its different to yours.

as per the red line in pic, mine is rusting the seam of the engine bay and the guard. Im also getting a couple of bubbles in the boot, where the little rubber stoppers (which contact on raised up bits, between the rear window and the boot opening) hit. May pay to check there too. if you need pics, let me know and ill take some.

[some_cs_student]

I had more rust than you had around the strut tower area, had it over various parts of the car as surface rust.

Used a metal brush on it to remove the surface rust re-sprayed with an anti-rust spray over it and its fine.

I had rust converter but that's usually used only for deeper rust, I used anti-rust paint on top of it just in case I can't remember the exact details.

The first "job" I had done for rust treatment, I could see the rust through it a month or two later, I think they just sprayed over it...

[Wacky Dee]

how long ago did you do that ? did it come back in any way? Just worried about doing a quick job like that myself since these are structural points with a lot of stress on them

[some_cs_student]

Approx 6-9months ago, did not come back, but was a little further away from the strut itself, if your alternative is someone "cutting" the rust out or similar you might have to replace the strut tower....

Those little cracks don't look good near your strut tower, is that paintwork or something deeper? I only had surface rust...

[Wacky Dee]

it's the top plate ..don't think the tower itself is rusted through. The welder looked at it from below etc and he said it's just because they joined the tower and top plate like that the top plate is rusting.. he reckoned cutting the rusted top plate, and welding a new one over the tower will fix it for good as he'll protect it from below this time which nissan should have done from the get go

[cosmic starz]

it's the top plate ..don't think the tower itself is rusted through. The welder looked at it from below etc and he said it's just because they joined the tower and top plate like that the top plate is rusting.. he reckoned cutting the rusted top plate, and welding a new one over the tower will fix it for good as he'll protect it from below this time which nissan should have done from the get go

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your car looks like it has been heavily accident damaged and poorly repaired in the past - the fit and finish seems very sub-standard in comparison to a pristine undamaged R34

[Wacky Dee]

what are you basing that on? the rust on the driver side strut top plate ??? From my research it appears pretty common..

The car was only in a minor accident but NOT on the driver side ..the passenger side wheel guard was repaired/repainted but I don't think it was anything more than a minor prang.

[cosmic starz]

what are you basing that on? the rust on the driver side strut top plate ??? From my research it appears pretty common..

The car was only in a minor accident but NOT on the driver side ..the passenger side wheel guard was repaired/repainted but I don't think it was anything more than a minor prang.

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quote -'the fit and finish seems very sub-standard in comparison to a pristine undamaged R34'

what part was difficult to understand? alternatively, your car may have been water (flood or salt water immersion) damaged in the past - out of the thousands or R34 in Aus very few would display the condition in your pics (and these would have been either accident or water/corrosion damaged, it is not a normal ex-factory condition - all the R34 I have seen appear as good as new around the strut towers and I have seen a lot

[Wacky Dee]

So you're basing this on what ... the fact you've never seen it before? Maybe you weren't paying attention? I had the car for more than a year and only spotted this when I LOOKED FOR IT. Search on SAU and just see how many ppl have had rust on their strut towers just like this.

There's nothing wrong with the fit and finish of the engine bay, it IS factory it hasn't been resprayed. MAYBE due to the prang on the LHS guard the impact was strong enough to move the strut brace ever so slightly and the strain on the plate and the way it (ON ALL 34s) is welded to the tower allowed for a minor gap to appear which trapped moisture.

Anyway, I don't know why I even bother responding to you I've never seen you make a useful comment on any topic, it's always just conjecture or smartarse remarks.

Edited June 27, 2009 by Delta Force

[cosmic starz]

<br />So you're basing this on what ... the fact you've never seen it before? Maybe you weren't paying attention? I had the car for more than a year and only spotted this when I LOOKED FOR IT. Search on SAU and just see how many ppl have had rust on their strut towers just like this. <br /><br />There's nothing wrong with the fit and finish of the engine bay, it IS factory it hasn't been resprayed. MAYBE due to the prang on the LHS guard the impact was strong enough to move the strut brace ever so slightly and the strain on the plate and the way it (ON ALL 34s) is welded to the tower allowed for a minor gap to appear which trapped moisture.<br /><br />Anyway, I don't know why I even bother responding to you I've never seen you make a useful comment on any topic, it's always just conjecture or smartarse remarks.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

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boo hoo pass the tissues lol - just in last few new posts another SAU member expresses appreciation for my input to problems he was encountering - your unhappy just go suck it ! you got a rusty lemon wear it, don't tell the world some bs that R34 are rustbuckets - they aren't

[Wacky Dee]

I've seen enough to conclude that it's a fairly common issue due to a manufacturing fault, I never said R34s are rust buckets. if they were they'd be rusting everywhere especially with all the salt on Jap roads.

Edited June 28, 2009 by Delta Force

[PM-R33]

I can comment on this. A few months back my mate was looking at buying a R34 and we went to have a look at one for 18k. It was immaculate inside and out until i asked to have a look under the bonnet. Both strut towers were rusted out like i have never seen before. Repairable rust, yes, however why go to the hassel when buying a car. So obviously my mate didbn't buy it. The car definetely didn't show any signs of being in an accident that i could see.

Food for thought.

[KwS]

It seems common, down here in NZ atleast, for nissans in general to rust in that sort of area. I have seen S13, S14, R33, and R34s with some form of either rust, or rust repair in that general area.

None of those were due to accident repairs either, that guy above is just an asshole, that thinks he knows everything.

[Wacky Dee]

the panel beater I took it to looked at the towers and top plate and he reckoned it's just the way they were welded together in factory that caused it .. In any case, the crap is getting cut out and new plates welded on and whole area protected as we speak .. should be all done by tommorow

[toranarod]

I know this is an old topic.

Is there any re manufactured replacement panels in Australia theses days for the strut towers. Anybody know of a supplier. Best re Rod   

[GTSBoy]

Yeah. Nah.