BlitzSix

Hello,

My 00 hatch is perfect on one side, but the other side there is rust starting to form :/. I'm going to take care of it in the summer. But the thing is, although I want to do things right, I don't really want to throw a grand at a body shop to fix it perfectly at a car that's worth two grand and is a daily driver which sees winter...being realistic, that's just not a great use of money..

Anyways, it's just starting to bubble at the rear quarter, so I'll just grind it away. I don't think it will be necessary to weld any new metal in. However, under the good old infamous rubber piece which goes around the wheel arch, there is rust... and since it's so thin I don't think I can just grind it away, it's probably rotted though. So... I'm not sure what to do. I might just do the prep, then get a body shop to do their thing in terms of getting that arch perfect (with new metal), and then I'll put body filler (just a tad)/primer/paint. Not really sure how the body shop is going to do that though, doesn't seem like an easy task...

But, what do I do with that rubber piece. Do you guys just throw it away since all it does is make it worse? Should I throw mine away now, even before I fix it since there's no point to them? Or do you leave them since they actually protect something?

Also, I was wondering, why did Honda make that arch bend, such that it's parallel with the ground? Is there a point to that? I don't really see the point of it being like that... why not just cut it away or roll it upwards the same way one would do if you're trying to run big wheels and you're rubbing?

Just want to know the best way to do this as I want to do it right the first time and not have to bother it again..

Thanks.

cinci00si

transplant, cut it out beyond the cancer and replace with new

94EG8

I disagree, $1000 is a whole lot cheaper than making car payments. And if a competent bodyshop welds in new metal (you can buy wheel arches pretty cheap, cheaper than it would cost to pay someone to try to fudge something together with sheetmetal) and does the finish and painting work you can expect it to last another 3 - 5 years before you have to look at it again. Thats pretty cheap running if you ask me.

The rubber piece is there to keep the paint from chipping and peeling, order a new one from honda when you're done the body work, fill it with a rust inhibitor (rust check will do nicely) and put it on.

If it was cut the paint would peel even quicker, if it was bent up more it would trap even more road salt, dirt, mud and water.

98civdx

buy a 1/4 pannel extension and replace what you need to replace or the whole damn thing up to you,
if your not good with cut off tools or, grinder, or welding i would have a shop do it,
but you doing the prep will save you money as long as you do it good and the shop doesnt have to fix anything...