My opinion is that rust forming on the underside of the top portion of the tailgate is a result of spray from the road getting up inside the drain holes, license plate lights and latch (either directly or by the closed cell foam gaskets getting saturated). That exposed area takes a beating from the elements and anywhere you have salt use you'll eventually start to get rust in and around these areas. Just treat the exterior with POR 15 and touch up paint and then regularly spray the interior areas with fluid film. This should take care of the problem. Any leaking from the brake light should be addressed as well, but I don't think that is the source of these common rust points on the 100 LC's.
Opinions on rust
- Thread starter tobyson21
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
My opinion is that rust forming on the underside of the top portion of the tailgate is a result of spray from the road getting up inside the drain holes, license plate lights and latch (either directly or by the closed cell foam gaskets getting saturated). That exposed area takes a beating from the elements and anywhere you have salt use you'll eventually start to get rust in and around these areas. Just treat the exterior with POR 15 and touch up paint and then regularly spray the interior areas with fluid film. This should take care of the problem. Any leaking from the brake light should be addressed as well, but I don't think that is the source of these common rust points on the 100 LC's.
Mine was sort of like that when I bought it 3 years go and I cleaned it up , put some paint on it and keep it cleaned up. I have not had one problem since but mine is also a 99 and lives in the south now. In the south they close the streets instead of salting them....
I agree its not a 100 series prolem; just use in the northeast rust belt exposure hazards. The funny thing I had LED lights from Pfran that stopped working because of the water exposure which lead me to find the water source. Question for some of ya; why is it that some bolts rust more then others??? the rear hatch latch has 2 bolts on either side and they are pretty rusty but the lights have bolts that are rust free! What gives??
bolts rusty
My bolts were rusty right there too, so bad that the handle right there snapped off one day from rust eating away at it
lol that statement made me laugh
A good place to look for really nasty rust is in the front part of the quarter panel behind the drivers side rear wheel. Remove the plastic shield in the back of the wheel arch and look at the joint where the outer and inner panels have been glued together. My 99' 100 series had the joint completely rusted away and a 2" holes behind the joint. The passenger side had no rust at all. It is the same for my friends 100 series, left side lots of rust and right side no rust.
Okay. Perfect topic. I'd love your opinion. I just "inherited" a 2004 Cruiser from Ohio. My father, past owner, was religious about keeping salt of the vehicle, but ten years of mid-west winters will take their tole. Last night, upon taking delivery, I had my first glimpse underneath. THERE IS NO RUST ON THE BODY. But nearly every bolt head and sharp seam underneath has surface rust. (Bad pic, I know, but it's the best I could get.) Bare in mind that I have lived in California for over a decade and used to cars with absolutely NO rust.
Would any of you be concerned about this?
Would any of you be concerned about this?
I have used a rust converter from Wurth.. its no cheap but its good.
OMG that under side pic looks great to me!!! I will try to get a pic of my underside so you can see how bad looks. I try to rinse thru those spray car wash and regular car wash also but I just don't have the time and I often forget!! The worst is when is snowed then for the rest of the week it stays in the single digits temp for a few days. I often go back a forth thru NYC and the turnpike is horrible; only window thats clean is the front and rear because of the wipers. Even the sunroof gets a coating of that white salt spray. My exhaust is almost completely rotted thru
Have you opened up the lift gate to look inside. If not, unscrew the handle trim and detach the trim panels. Pull the bottom of the vertical sections (left and right of glass) toward the center of the vehicle (one metal clip each) and then pull the handle trim panel straight out, or toward the front of the vehicle (maybe 8/10 plastic retainers). I had a much lighter version of what your rig is showing and it just killed me to know what was going on inside, so I opened it up and it was clean as a whistle inside, no signs of water from above causing the rust. If it were coming from above, there should have been rust all over the inside at the bottom. This seems to be an issue of "contrail" moisture getting in around the tag lights and gate handle, especially from the salty stuff. Unfortunately, you can't really seal around the release, but you can seal around the tag lights, which I did with a little silicone. First, I prepped the areas and then applied some Rust Bullet inside and out. No problems since. Open it up and check out the rest of the inside. It will be interesting to see if yours is the same.
Are the open cell foam gaskets easily removable? Anybody have a "fix" to this or are you essentially stuck with this material that holds water and moisture?
Hook the cruiser to a crane and slowly dip it into a large swimming pool of liquid rust remover and you guys should be good.
