I’m going through this same thing with my '94 Subaru Justy. Rust made it’s appearance about 5 years ago, and I’ve been battling it ever since. It (rust) never sleeps in a cool, damp climate with lots of road salt thrown in. At first the rust was cosmetic, but I’vce found some structural damage while poking around. I hate to part with the car as it owes me nothing…it has been the best car I have ever owned and I know the odds of finding a new car to replace it’s fine qualities are next to nil. Mechanically, you just can’t kill these cars, but the rust is the nail in the coffin…I’ll try to hold out as long as possible but the battle is almost over for me, and I’ll be soundly defeated.
I had a cousin who was given an old Studebaker Lark by his father-in-law. This cousin had attended a health lecture on how the human body shrinks as you get older. He was driving back home from the lecture and found he was having trouble seeing over the steering wheel which he had never had difficulty doing in the past. He thought, “My gosh, the lecturer was right. I’m only 38 and am shrinking already!” What he discovered was that the floor had given way and the seat was almost dragging on the pavement. Get rid of your car before you believe that you are shrinking due to old age.
Many thanks to everyone who responded to our questions about the rusting Accord SW. All the answers were as informative as they were humorous and entertaining. Even my wife and her boss enjoyed them.
Granted, those replies are humorous and I get a chuckle out of them too but keep in mind the issue is a very serious one.
Here’s a rust chuckle for you. While working for VW a guy brought a VW Beetle in and wanted the brakes repaired. Pretty nice looking old Super Beetle in green and not a sign of brakes on it. I drove it gingerly into the shop while using the park brake to stop it.
Once it was in the air on the rack I walked underneath and saw nothing but rust and plywood underneath. The plywood was what was keeping both front seats from falling through the floorboard.
I could even move the plywood a bit, reach up inside and shift the transmission from underneath!
The car was rotted so bad even the plywood he was using as seat bases was about to fall through the bottom. That explained the seat rocking when I was driving it into the shop.
We discovered this guy had lived on the TX Gulf Coast for a number of years and the salt had gotten the better of the car but that did not stop someone from slathering a 100 pounds of Bondo over the body and throwing new paint on it.
Unfortunately, the brakes could not be repaired. The master cylinder, brake lines, wheel cylinders, etc. were all one mass of rusted steel and one could not tell where one part ended and the next one started. The job would have required replacing every single brake item on the car and the owner simply did not want to spend that kind of money on it. (Justifiably so.)
Can’t do anything about ocean salt but if it were my call road salt would be outlawed.
OK4450, Good Story. I Agree 110% With Your Road Salt Comment. Me Too!
Unfortunately the brakes could not be repaired? I think that this just might have saved his (and others) lives. Rocketman
I think the Torino was the only car that also suffered from the frame rusting out! My sister bought a new 1972; nice car with all the goodies. By 1978 it had rusted so badly that the frame was giving away. No body shop would touch it because of the potential liability. It had to be scrapped. They live in the “rust belt” around the Great lakes.
This reminds me of a ride I got home from high school one day from a friend in his VW Bug (happened around 1980). The driver’s side of the car had a piece of plywood that the driver’s seat was on. I had to ride in the back behind the driver because the passenger seat side of the floor had a section missing in the front and you could see the road. I’m going to guess that a sheet of plywood went into the passenger side shortly thereafter.
As far as the OP goes, if the Honda happens to get in an accident it sounds about as safe as a cardboard box at this point. I also would be reluctant to drive it over railroad tracks for fear it might split. Retire it now!!!
Oh, the brakes could be repaired but the owner did not want to spend the money to do it. He had a wrecker come and get the car and tow it away. We never knew what the owner did with this car; junk it, tow it somewhere else and try to talk someone into a patch job (like to see that attempted), etc.
There was simply no way of disconnecting anything related to the brake hydraulics. Even the master cylinder ( steel body) was hardly recognizable as a master cylinder; it was that bad. Even the hex fittings on all of the brake lines, etc. were rusted so bad one could not even discern they had 6 sides to them.
This car was going to need all of the cylinders, shoes, hardware, and every single brake line on the car replaced.
The part I never figured was why in the world the shop that did the paint job did not inform the owner the car was beyond redemption and refuse to throw a drum of body plastic and paint on it.
Rust ? the silent killer
Both cars I have owned have suffered from rust to one degree or another. My project car is a 1968 Cutlass, and while a California car, did come with the factory vinyl roof option which when peeled off after 10 years took most of the roof with it. Aha! Now we know why the trunk would fill with water whenever it rained. This was a replacement vinyl top that my mother had installed when she drove it, but the shop that did it never bothered to paint the roof before putting it on and when the sun cracked the vinyl and the morning dew hit it that was it to the tune of $700 for a new roof from the junkyard and $2,200 for it to be put on, and if I remember correctly $1,500 for a new trunk floor to be put in as well. Fortunately the rest of the car had only minor rust and could be saved.
I feel for ya bouvgirl, a new roof and trunk floor for (my) otherwise solid car was pretty expensive, but I don?t suggest you do the same to your poor Honda.
My 1990 Chevy Blazer full size daily driver shares more the fate of your Honda (spent 18 winters in New Jersey); though with a frame underneath and a change of venue to Arizona at least the rust won?t get any worse and still has plenty of support. When my aunt first gave it to me (and was kind enough to drive it from NJ to AZ to get it here) the paint was in great shape and on the outside it hardly had any rust at all. After a while though, taking a closer look and poking around I discovered I have holes in the body under the door and at one point both seatbelt mounts located inside near the floor behind the front seats fell off and needed to be bolted to the seat bases to be useful. The only thing left covering that hole was a cardboard and carpet interior panel, and once removed you could look at the rear tires FROM INSIDE THE TRUCK. These I had patched with cut sections of tin so at least I wouldn?t end up running over anything that fell off the backseat. I knew the tailgate was weak but one of the hinges had actually completely rusted away. There is a moderate amount of rust underneath particularly near the rear and passenger side door, but what saves it is the heavy frame that came with this truck, for I?m sure it wouldn?t hold up without it.
On a particularly hard right turn recently I heard a thunk which most likely was another body mount that just couldn?t take it anymore and decided to jump ship (evidenced by the shredded rubber underneath on the passenger side. Suffice it to say when I asked my body shop what was holding that part of the truck onto the frame he answered quickly with the word ?weight? and I now make very careful right turns from now on. I was however able to make a rust repair to the tailgate and replaced 1 foot of the rear floor and bolt on frame of the Blazer, so body mounts back there are solid and the life of this 100,000 mile truck is extended, but I know I can?t hold onto it forever.
My advice: The stuff you can see may be bad, but the stuff underneath and hidden away will be much worse. Junk ASAP.