People that know about rust please offer advice.

[TreatSmash]

I just spent the last two days rust proofing my wheel wells and working on a couple problem areas I found.
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First set of pics is the notorious rear quarter panel rust spot, I wire brushed off as much as I could and then gave it a coat of Rustolium followed by a coat of Cosmoline RP-342. Thoughts?
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Second set of pics is the cover for my LH rear AHC shock absorber. I am trying to come up with a way to fix this without replacing the whole thing. The rusted part is really just a dust cover right?​

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I am considering clipping away the f***ed part, wrapping some sheet metal or something around it, and securing it with a metal clamp. Thoughts?​

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Final pics are the finished product in the front 2 wheel wells.​

 

[Kabanstva]

Spray some fluid film inside that hole that rusted through on the bottom of the quarter panels. About the shocks, maybe you can put a rubber shock boot on them instead of that metal shield that rusted away? A lot of people don’t run dust covers at all on aftermarket shocks (Dobinsons, icon, king, etc). Some people install rubber boots just zip tied to the shock.

 

[SteveH]

You need to seal the hole in the fender to keep dirt out of your quarter panel. You might use galv. steel flashing (thin is ok) and rivet it in place, after creatively bending it. It will be hidden by the mud flap. Then, slather axle grease all over the whole area to entomb it in grease and reinstall the mud flap.

 

[TreatSmash]

You need to seal the hole in the fender to keep dirt out of your quarter panel. You might use galv. steel flashing (thin is ok) and rivet it in place, after creatively bending it. It will be hidden by the mud flap. Then, slather axle grease all over the whole area to entomb it in grease and reinstall the mud flap.

My big brain thought to leave the hole so water would drain out.

 

[nissanh]

If youd like, keep it open but inspect time to time for rust. That hole give you access to spray fluid film. If you drive on salt roads then you must close that hole. Also clean the drian holes located at the bottom of each door.

 

[TreatSmash]

You need to seal the hole in the fender to keep dirt out of your quarter panel. You might use galv. steel flashing (thin is ok) and rivet it in place, after creatively bending it. It will be hidden by the mud flap. Then, slather axle grease all over the whole area to entomb it in grease and reinstall the mud flap.

I also use the mud flap delete from cruiser Phil so it's easy to assess.

 

[TreatSmash]

If youd like, keep it open but inspect time to time for rust. That hole give you access to spray fluid film. If you drive on salt roads then you must close that hole. Also clean the drian holes located at the bottom of each door.

Yeah I just pulled the drain plugs out. I don't drive in snowy places.

 

[nissanh]

Yeah I just pulled the drain plugs out. I don't drive in snowy places.

Also clean the sunroof drain if it has not been cleaned. Dont forget to lube the mechanism!

 

[uHu]

For the shocks, you can cut off the remainder of the shields and replace with a plastic pipe. It can be done with the shocks in place, just pull it off the lower mount.
Cut:

Fitted:

(The silvery is Por15 or similar, covering the rust)

 

[SteveH]

My big brain thought to leave the hole so water would drain out.

My rear quarter was missing the large plastic plug in the side of the quarter behind the bumper (I suspect it was left out at the factory) and the entire rear quarter panel and all the jack parts look like a vacuum cleaner bag's contents were dumped on them. A gap/hole in your fender will suck a lot of crap into this quarter panel, which is filled with electronics, possibly a subwoofer, and more. As you drive, the truck pulls a vacuum, and this sucks dirt through any holes and distributes it. Hence, my suggestion to seal the hole.