Drip Channel rust/repair (1 Viewer)

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TexFJ

SILVER Star
Joined
Jan 11, 2020
Threads
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Location
Texas
OK, so my little bubble turned into a little more. I decided to scratch it with my fingernail and it stated revealing itself.


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I then decided to take the drimmel tool to it and noticed that I will have to pop the channel off and reattach a new one or a portion of a new one.

does this channel just get tap welded and glued to the pillar? I'm sure this is a common repair right?


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I suspect you need to keep going until you get all the rust off, and see how big the hole is. At that point, I would weld a small plate of 22ga metal over the hole, sand and clean it up, and prime/paint. I don't think you need to tear apart the whole gutter - it's all welded together.

But, since you're in TX, the roof caulk in the gutter may be shot from UV exposure, and may be what led to this pillar problem. You need to eliminate water getting into that area by stopping the entry and then parking indoors.
 
Ya, the tough part is that I'll have to take a part of the gutter off in that area in order to know if I have a big hole or not. Do they still make the gutter available for sale (6126490A01)? I can't find the OEM version but there is the whole gutter available on Cool Cruisers, anyone bought this?

I think it's a sign that I have to re-caulk all the gutter. What's the best solution? 3M sealer?
 
I'd stop what you're doing. You'll make a mess of the gutter if you keep on digging.
Protecting the gutter is easy.
Just spray an anti corrosion inhibitor (Borsheild, Corrosion-X, etc) into the top gutter at the roof using a spray straw and let it drip down and around the gutter.
Do it regularly and it won't rust anymore.
 
I'd stop what you're doing. You'll make a mess of the gutter if you keep on digging.
Protecting the gutter is easy.
Just spray an anti corrosion inhibitor (Borsheild, Corrosion-X, etc) into the top gutter at the roof using a spray straw and let it drip down and around the gutter.
Do it regularly and it won't rust anymore.

That was my other option I was considering, but I always wondered how well the inhibitors and encapsulators work. looking at the Eastwood versions.

For regular maintenance, I'm assuming I would have to take the caulk out, spray the inhibitor and then recaulk every 3-4 years?
 
If it will be chronically exposed to TX humidity and salt air, it will be difficult to keep corrosion from returning.

If you (metaphorically) stood on your roof and looked down at your rain gutters, how is the caulk in the gutter bottoms? If it's peeling and sun-fried, that is likely the cause of much of this.
 
I think the PO did more than just paint a few spots. I'm guessing he painted the gutters as well so not sure what's underneath. It all doesn't look too bad. it's just the two symmetric spots on DS and PS.


 
Other side is at it as well....


 
I had the same issue. It's caused by the rain gutter caulk failing, and not being repaired soon enough. This is how I fixed it.

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Both sides cleaned up well, patched if necessary, then welded back up.

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Both sides cleaned up well, patched if necessary, then welded back up.

Is the A pillar rain gutter just tacked to the body? If so, did you remove with same size rotabroach you used on the door skins in your build thread?
 
Is the A pillar rain gutter just tacked to the body? If so, did you remove with same size rotabroach you used on the door skins in your build thread?

Spotwelded, yes. 3/8" rotabroach i think, but you can go bigger/smaller depending on your preferences.

You do have to cut the raingutter at the top to separate it from the section that runs above the door. You can see where I cut here:
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OK, so my little bubble turned into a little more. I decided to scratch it with my fingernail and it stated revealing itself.


View attachment 2351929

I then decided to take the drimmel tool to it and noticed that I will have to pop the channel off and reattach a new one or a portion of a new one.

does this channel just get tap welded and glued to the pillar? I'm sure this is a common repair right?


View attachment 2351931View attachment 2351933
Oh fudge. Mine looks worse without taking any paint off. I shudder to think what I'm going to find underneath....
 
This seems cheap enough and should do the job. Anybody try this?

Amazon product ASIN B07XMB89SP

No, but if this is the one job you need it for, it may do the trick. The rotabroach set is much more expensive, but I find I use it quite a bit.

Oh fudge. Mine looks worse without taking any paint off. I shudder to think what I'm going to find underneath....

Whatever you do, don't just sit on it. Its only going to get worse.
 
Well I was a little overzealous on drilling out the tack welds on the DS, made some holes. Did a better job on the PS.

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Cleaned things up and got as much rust as possible with steel brush and dremel tool. Then I applied the Eastwood rust converter on the DS but I didn't think I needed to do same on PS.



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The metal srips are eaten up by rust. Wondering if they're still good to put back on... this is my current plan.
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@GLTHFJ60 , I'm thinking of priming with encapsulator then remove around the weld areas before I put back on the pillar. Did you do anything like that? Also, I know I screwed up on the DS, it's going to be a PITA welding with those holes, any tips?
 
I can't really see what your "screw up" was, but yes, I converted the rust, then painted with a weld-through primer, and welded them on.
 
Also, I know I screwed up on the DS, it's going to be a PITA welding with those holes, any tips?

I would try to weld them up and grind them smooth before you put the gutter back on
 
I can't really see what your "screw up" was, but yes, I converted the rust, then painted with a weld-through primer, and welded them on.
Screw up was drilling the thru holes in the pillar and not just the plate. I’ll have to close pillar holes up before welding plate back on.
 
You might want to consider spraying some Eastwood paint inside the pillar while you have the holes. Use the wand that comes with the frame paint.
 

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