Rear hatch rust fix? (2 Viewers)

[Foehammer]

Sorry I couldn't find this on the forum or searching it. What's the best way to repair some small rust spots on the hatch? It's not too bad as you can tell from picture but I'd rather it stays like this than gets worse.

My thinking was the occasional dose of wd-40 or possibly fluid film just to keep it lubed up.

 

[SteveH]

The photos show the rust you see, there is more you cannot see - likely a lot more. As a short-term fix, remove the license plate light, and shoot a bunch of fluid film (or runny rustproofing of your choice) into the hatch seam. You may want to remove the inner hatch trim or the entire hatch to see what's really going on in there, rust-wise. Skip using WD-40 - it has no usable lifespan in this situation.

Since you're in Friendly Manitoba, unless you entomb that truck (and especially the hatch) in grease, it will continue to dissolve.

 

[Foehammer]

Well damn it everything that's unfortunate. Is there no way to repair it or its gonna be a new hatch in the future when it degrades too much? I'll pull it apart when I have time tomorrow but yeah I'm sure you're right about it being worse than it looks.

 

[SteveH]

If you drown it in grease and check it once/year for new rust, you can likely stop the rust in its tracks. If you ignore it, yes - it will completely rust out. Remove any loose flaky paint and rust, and work axle grease into the rusty surface.

 

[Foehammer]

Thanks bro I'll definitely add this to my routine preventative maintenance cycle.

 

[jlm43]

First step is to seal up your 3rd brake light if you haven't already. Water leaks in around that then sits in the low areas of the hatch. Second, is to see how bad the rust is. Pop the license plate light out and take a look inside. They just slide to one side then the opposite side will come out.

I have a little bit of that on mine and I took all of the upper hatch plastic off and the lights out to see how bad it was. Luckily, it was rusting from the outside and nothing was rusted internally. Honestly, I was surprised, and relieved, to see that. I gave it a good amount of Fluid Film before the truck ever saw any Maine winters and I spray CorrosionX in it yearly as well so I think that has helped quite a bit. I've cleaned it up and keep a good coating of military corrosion preventive compound on it and it's hasn't been progressing. I wipe the CPC off with Naphtha and assess the damage every few months.