Rust issue on my enr34

[skyline78]

Hey guys , I am just wondering whether my enr34 rust are repairable and able to comply to australia import or not ? 
 

I had attached the photo of the tower structure that is quite rusty . 
 

and if it repairable , will it cost me a fortune ? 
 

the enr34 is very rare and more rare than the gtr r34 and I don’t feel like wrecking it and sell the parts  . 

[SteveL]

  On 26/04/2021 at 11:04 AM, skyline78 said:

Hey guys , I am just wondering whether my enr34 rust are repairable and able to comply to australia import or not ? 

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Anything can be repaired, it's just a matter of how much $$$ you're prepared to throw at it.   That said, if this car hasn't been complied I doubt you'll find a RAWS that will  touch it, not to mention getting a RWC would be a problem (in Vic, at least) even if you could get it complied    The rust in the shock towers is the biggest problem.   The paint cracking indicates that there's lots of corrosion between the steel plates.  The corrosion product (rust) causes the plates to 'pillow' locally and the distortion cracks the paint, which just makes things worse.     It's an instant red flag AFAIC.    There's a lot of work involved in repairing that corrosion damage properly.

 

[joshuaho96]

Those strut towers are toast. You need to cut out the entire panel and replace it, how many panels need replacement is hard to judge from those photos but at the very least the top panel needs to be replaced as the metal is basically nonexistent there and the ballooning in the panel is because the rust has caused the spot welds to fail. As for the rest of the chassis it's hard to say. Your underbody photos don't really show anything serious but you didn't really take a photo of much either. Get the car on ramps or something and take photos of the rocker panel pinch weld area, subframes, and chassis rails.

[toranarod]

this is what I found under my car and I fixed it. I spent 3 months with a welder and replacement panels. If you have never done this before you need help. there is more going on here. Please contact me if you need advise, its a complex job but it can be done and you can be very happy with the results 

I did this during covid lock down, it keep me busy and at home. 

My car had the same rust in all the same places as yours especially in the boot and wheel arches.   

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by toranarod
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[junkie]

Top quality work on the red car

[iruvyouskyrine]

Yeah wow great job on the red one. Did you make replacement strut tower tops from sheetmetal or did you have to find a whole other car to cut them out of?

I think i may have to have a look at my R34 tonight lol, didnt realise it was a common spot for them to rust

[toranarod]

  On 27/04/2021 at 1:49 AM, iruvyouskyrine said:

Yeah wow great job on the red one. Did you make replacement strut tower tops from sheetmetal or did you have to find a whole other car to cut them out of?

I think i may have to have a look at my R34 tonight lol, didnt realise it was a common spot for them to rust

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All the R34 and R33 have some rust in the towers. even the donor panels that where supplied by JDM wreckers had some kind of rust that need to be sand blasted and treated before welding in.  the pics below are the donor parts I managed score r34 for the right side and R33 for the left side. the last photo are both left and right after chemically treating them to a zinc bath. They where also sprayed with a copper primer before welding in.   

In my opinion even if you are siting back reading this article and thinking your skyline is rust free it is not. All r34 are a ticking rust bomb the sooner you pull up the Sturt tower cover plates clean and treat them weld them back down the better.    

Edited April 27, 2021 by toranarod
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[joshuaho96]

100% agreed that just about every R33/R34 has rust in the strut towers. Here were mine:

Also the other common spots:

My understanding of this stuff is that's it's better to fix it when it's in this relatively mild state as opposed to when many panels require replacement.

[Robzilla32]

What about the R32 or do we just have rust everywhere else?

[maddy400r33]

Agree with early treatment. Plenty of rust converters out there. That info on how to prevent it. 

Nissan never got the memo of rust prevention. That overlaps need treatment before application, along with sealant, rust protection, primer and paint in all those important areas. It's nothing new. Cars have been rusting here for decades. 

[niZmO_Man]

  On 28/04/2021 at 9:17 AM, Robzilla32 said:

What about the R32 or do we just have rust everywhere else?

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It's part of the package

[joshuaho96]

  On 28/04/2021 at 9:17 AM, Robzilla32 said:

What about the R32 or do we just have rust everywhere else?

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From what I can tell Nissan was actually somewhat less cheap about rustproofing on the R32s compared to the R33/R34, my car was worked on almost simultaneously with an R34 and it was pretty striking to see how even from the R33 to the R34 you could see a reduction in applied undercoat to save those few pennies. I don't really know that the R32 has those kinds of guaranteed rust spots like the cowling area, A-pillar drainage areas, fuel tank mounting points, and front strut towers. From what I've seen though rust tends to crop up in places like where the door/hood hinges connect, rocker panels/pinch weld areas, etc. 

[toranarod]

The metal in the strut tower areas is thick enough if you get to it before it gets to bad or as bad as my car you don’t need replacement panels just a good clean with a sand blaster and some chemical treatments and you saved your car form some major damage.    

 Another spot to check and to treat even if it’s ok is the gutter channels. All cars eventually suffer in this area because its almost impossible clean all the decaying and debris from theses location.

[iruvyouskyrine]

Are you saying if you treat it early enough you are able to fix the problem without having to cut the strut tower apart? I might throw some pics up here and get an expert opinion. I have absolutely zero skill with any body/metal work

[toranarod]

  On 29/04/2021 at 5:53 AM, iruvyouskyrine said:

Are you saying if you treat it early enough you are able to fix the problem without having to cut the strut tower apart? I might throw some pics up here and get an expert opinion. I have absolutely zero skill with any body/metal work

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Throw up some pics.  

[joshuaho96]

  On 29/04/2021 at 5:53 AM, iruvyouskyrine said:

Are you saying if you treat it early enough you are able to fix the problem without having to cut the strut tower apart? I might throw some pics up here and get an expert opinion. I have absolutely zero skill with any body/metal work

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I've heard of some people stopping the rust by using a needle to inject lanolin oil/grease, if you get rid of the oxygen in there it can't keep rusting.

[SteveL]

  On 29/04/2021 at 10:09 PM, joshuaho96 said:

I've heard of some people stopping the rust by using a needle to inject lanolin oil/grease, if you get rid of the oxygen in there it can't keep rusting.

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This is just a variation on the fish oil method, but it's a delaying tactic only not to mention very difficult to actually do with things like that R34 strut reinforcing plate.   If you wanted to go down that path, you'd be better off using a an inhibited corrosion wax like this:

https://ppcco.com.au/bilt03.html

This is the aerosol version designed for cavities but I think also available as brush on.

These are mass produced unitary steel body cars.....rust is inevitable without integrated corrosion protection.    Some manufacturers moved to zinc plated panels in some situations, but that's expensive and very uncommon when these cars were made and even now.   The move to thinner HSLA steel sections (lighter cars) didn't help.

The R34 strut corrosion problem is caused by the fact that they included a reinforcing plate (probably because of the width of the tower) without decent corrosion protection for the cavity between the plates.    Corrosion was inevitable, just a matter of when it appeared.    Short of zinc plating the sections, inhibited primers and wet-setting (inhibited sealer) would be the way to go (as in aircraft) but never going to happen on these sorts of cars in production.

The only way to treaty the R34 issue is to do what some people are already doing - remove the plate, remove the rust, treat the area (phosphoric acid based converters only please), weld if necessary, prime, seal, etc, etc.    Personally I would zinc plate or even galvanise the re-inforcing plate before putting it back and, of course, weld-through primers.

R32's have a different strut tower design so don't suffer the same problems, but there are still overlap welds so may well do so in extreme situations - eg salted roads.     Having just done a lot of rust repairs on my R32, believe me, they definitely have their own problem areas - sills, rear-wheel arches, etc

Christ, I'm back to lecturing (shudder....).

 

  

[Rusty Nuts]

  On 29/04/2021 at 11:47 PM, SteveL said:

Some manufacturers moved to zinc plated panels

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My old BMW E36 came new with 7 year warranty on the Body. Its rust free after 25 years. Although the clear coat is falling off in sheets.

Edited April 30, 2021 by Rusty Nuts
additional information

[jmknights93]

  On 26/04/2021 at 3:54 PM, toranarod said:

this is what I found under my car and I fixed it. I spent 3 months with a welder and replacement panels. If you have never done this before you need help. there is more going on here. Please contact me if you need advise, its a complex job but it can be done and you can be very happy with the results 

I did this during covid lock down, it keep me busy and at home. 

My car had the same rust in all the same places as yours especially in the boot and wheel arches.   

 

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Good job, those repairs look mint!

[toranarod]

  On 30/04/2021 at 1:39 AM, jmknights93 said:

Good job, those repairs look mint!

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This R34 will live on. With all the body work repairs behind me I am now enjoying the car a lot going on nice Sunday drives and looking forward to the fun stuff like turbo up grads and things like that. I inspect the body regularly for any sign of corrosion and even thou I cannot see it its always lurking somewhere.