Prevent the common rust

I am lucky as my 92 EB has no visible rust on the rear fenders upper area or lower tailgate. What if anything can you do to prevent future problems in this area? I would love to preform some preventative maintenance to forgo the rust problems that plague these area on my and I'm sure a lot or the Bronco zone members.

Thanks

Mike

wash it and make sure it doesnt sit. Mud and crud build up and hold moisture.

have you poked around on the inside of the fender?

Mike G said:

I am lucky as my 92 EB has no visible rust on the rear fenders upper area or lower tailgate. What if anything can you do to prevent future problems in this area? I would love to preform some preventative maintenance to forgo the rust problems that plague these area on my and I'm sure a lot or the Bronco zone members.

Thanks
Mike

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There are a lot of things you can do, but it will take a bit of work. If you get your head inside the rear wheel well and look along side the quarter panel you will note a ***** design by Ford to prevent rust, or a great design to sell more trucks. The "Mud Guard" is in fact a "Mud Collector". You will note a nice gap designed in facing the rear and one facing the front. Check out the Bronco major rust areas on the side, (the B post and the back corner of the 1/4 panel), did you ever wonder why? You are looking at the answer. Those gaps allow the mud and crud to be thrown right into some nice shelves that are designed to catch it.

My solution for that problem was to redesign the guards so they seal against the quarter panel and don't allow crap to be thrown in those places. Further I went over the areas with a rust preventer and then used a high quality undercoat. I also did the same for all the exposed underbelly of the cab. Of course if the rust already has a head start on you the job may include metal replacement.

The tail gate is the bane of all Bronco owners. As far as I can tell is that the water drainage isn't at the lowest point in the bottom of the gate. When I replaced mine because it rusted out I went through a process of cutting drainage holes right next to where the skin wraps on to the inner gate. Usually they start rusting right between the two surfaces because the water sets there and eventually gets past the sealing caulk used to seal seam. I scraped out the caulk, used a rust converter preventer and then sealed it with an ample coating of POR15, (did this with all the seams and coated the inside of the tail gate with it and the bottom surface outside the gate where the wrap holds on), naturally I did this with no guts inside the gate. I did the same along the inside and outer surfaces that contain a skin wrap contact area.

I did basically the same thing to the inside of my front fenders when I replaced them, works for doors also.

Someone said, and I don't remember who, "Rust never sleeps". You can only keep fighting it back, if you relax for a year, you will see it creeping back. Oh yah, another area is in the area between the front floor boards and the fire wall section that attaches to them. If you look behind the front wheel well splash guard there is an oval hole, which is supposed to have a rubber plug, often it is missing and allows water and dirt to collect in there also rusting out the front part of the floor board. Speaking of floor boards, especially on the driver side. The rug holds moisture and rots the floor board out. It is probably worth it to you to remove the seats and take up the entire carpet to check the condition of the flooring.

Keep in mind, if you find places where it is starting to rust through, the only long term solution is to cut the rusted area out and replace it with new metal. Watch those little round blisters or rust spots you see on the surface, they are often only the tip of the ice burgh.

Good luck,

seabronc, i thought it was interesting that my 68 camaro had a rust proof design that allowed the air to go through the front 1/4, through the door and through the rear 1/4. all places that rust and were full of pine needles

great writeup there.

shift1313 said:

seabronc, i thought it was interesting that my 68 camaro had a rust proof design that allowed the air to go through the front 1/4, through the door and through the rear 1/4. all places that rust and were full of pine needles
great writeup there.

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mine collects pine needles the same way on my 78 camaro

Good stuff!

Esp The "Mud Guard" by our pal Seabronc!

I cut the "guard away where it meets the 1/4 panel// I wash this area everytime I wash da Bronco;

& attack the ever-forming rust there every spring, summer & fall

pine needles ! same thAng here.

I cover the cowl vent with one of those magnetic air duct covers during needle drop time ; Home Depot, etc sells em. Got em for free ...

But...I get lax at times and those needles drop all year now it seems & find a way in; like they do on the gutter guards.

A lot of good information here.

Thanks All!

Mike

I have little tiny blisters on both rear 1/4 I'm freakn out a bit I hate rust how can I fix it I don't want holes?

A picture would help, but the only way I can think of is to remove the blister and see what is underneath it.  If those blisters are on the edge of the wheel well, you are probably looking at the first external signs that the welds between the skin and inner wheel house.  That is generally the tip of the iceberg.  The only way to long term fix the problem is to cut out the rust and replace it with new metal, Bondo only hides it for a year or so.   Depending on how serious the rust actually is will determine you options.  Metal replacement panels are available from our sponsor http://shop.broncograveyard.com/Bronco-92-96/products/1163/ , http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/FD/full.aspx?Page=15  or a local professional body repair parts supplier.

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Well now y'all have me thinking that I should take a look under my fender flares. I should have too much issue though. I live in Arizona and it's pretty dry most of the year.

If you want to stop the rust, you can get to the back of the quarter panel to clean out the mud and gravel, and attack the rust from behind.   I removed the plastic trim panel above the wheel well inside.   I then used a jig saw to cut large access holes and taped the edges to minimize blood loss.   You will find a shovel full of dirt setting on the wheel well against the sheet metal.   I used a wire brush and a garden hose to clean this area and when dry, used POR-15 and fiberglass cloth to patch the rust holes from behind.   In my case I cut the access holes on three sides and bent the flap open.   When I finished I bent them back and taped the cut area to be water tight.   I personally believe this is a better repair method than having someone weld in a repair panel, because the repair panel will start rusting from the back the day it is installed.

PS: My outer wheel well had a couple strengthening grooves stamped into it that were open just above the tire.   In every rain the tire threw water up and into these open slots which then ran down right to where you see the rust on old Broncos.   Remove the tire and look up where the inner and outer wheel wells join.   If Your slots are open calk them shut.   My guess is they were supposed to be sealed, but mine were not.

Nelbur is correct, once you have dealt with the rust, no matter how you approach the subject, you need to do a thorough sealing of the metal (both sides) and all seams.  POR15 is a great product but prior to applying it you need to use a rust killer like Metal Ready, or Picklex to **** flash rust.  Welding patch panels is problematic because welds are a major source of rust problems no matter if it is a spot weld or a solid weld. I prefer using structural epoxy (Fusor 108 and 112) to attach body panels as opposed to welds.

The fact is, rust is always trying to attack your metal and if you are not on top of it, it will win.  Proper metal preparation is necessary prior to any type of sealing and repair.  Painting over metal with any product will eventually fail if the metal is not properly prepared first.  All those cracks have to be cleaned dried preprepared and sealed.

Nelbur, I disagree with your conclusion , "My guess is they were supposed to be sealed, but mine were not.".  That was designed in failure to sell new vehicles.  That isn't the only place the Bronco is designed to catch and hold dirt and moisture.  Among many, the B-posts, lower door skins, rear corner of the 1/4 panel, tailgate support, tub support, tail gate, are among the most serious.  All of these problems could have been fixed by Ford if they really wanted the vehicles to last, but they didn't and the fix is easy.

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Hello guys so why is it that all bronco rust on the bottom of tail gate and rear Conor panels and how can I fix it or do I just need to replace the tail gate Also how do you post pictures on this I'm new to this form

You will find the answer to that in the third entry from the top of this thread.  Please do not tag your problems onto some one else's thread.  You will get better responses by opening your own thread even though it is on the same subject.  Not being a hard A$$, that is just the way it is.  You can try a skin replacement if the gate frame is not rusted out.  Best option is replace with a new one and use your hardware from the old gate.  Post pictures by clicking on "More Reply Options" at bottom right corner of the reply.  Select Browse, select picture to post and then click on "Attach This File"

Good luck,

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If you want to continue on your question about rust, please open your own thread using the "Start New Topic" selection.  Select the forum that applies, then click on "Start New Topic"

Thanks for the heads up bro