15 replies to this topic

[muller295]

Hi,
After removing some rot on the underside of my mini, there was a fist sized hole 'under' the crossbeam (not sure if thats the actual name, the circled thing on the 1st picture), and when I looked inside it, I saw some beginning rust. (2nd picture, rust on the 'floor' is mostly debris by the way). So now I kind of have access to it, I was wondering if there was something I could do to remove it and what to use to protect it afterwards.
Thanks in advance!

Ps For some reason the 2nd image is turned 90 degrees to left.

 IMG_0051.jpg   36.25K   16 downloads  IMG_2190.JPG   36.15K   13 downloads

Edited by muller295, 29 September 2017 - 10:42 PM.

[sonikk4]

Looking at that personally i would remove the crossmember and deal with that rust.

 

However if you are not up for doing that then i would recommend Bilt Hambers range of products. Bilt Hamber Deox gel for rust treatment and then their Dynax wax.

[muller295]

Ok, thanks for the advice. It would be nice if I didn't have to take it off, but maybe I should for good measure.

Any other opinions?

[MacGyver]

Looking at that personally i would remove the crossmember and deal with that rust.
 
However if you are not up for doing that then i would recommend Bilt Hambers range of products. Bilt Hamber Deox gel for rust treatment and then their Dynax wax.

I'm with him.
You could just spray rustconverter in there and cover with wax but it will just slow it down a tiny bit and make it much much worse later.
Being a structural piece of the shell, I would fix it now.

Ben

[Alice Dooper]

The Bilt Hammer Dynax is great. Couldn’t say on the very long term as I’ve not used it long enough. Easy to work with too, comes in a thinner form for spraying into cavities, I’ve mine stuffed with it.

The crossmember is structural, it would be way preferable to take it off and do it right if you could at this stage. Doing it properly now will save you double the work later.

[Homersimpson]

Personally I would make something to clean it up (like a small wirebrush on a long pole), vacuum it out then spray some rust converter in there, some paint and then some waxoil type product.

 

Looking at the picture it looks like most of the surface is the original paint with a small bit of surface rust.  If its lasted this long and only developed some minor rust it will certainly last a considerable while longer even if you left it alone.

[sonikk4]

Personally I would make something to clean it up (like a small wirebrush on a long pole), vacuum it out then spray some rust converter in there, some paint and then some waxoil type product.

 

Looking at the picture it looks like most of the surface is the original paint with a small bit of surface rust.  If its lasted this long and only developed some minor rust it will certainly last a considerable while longer even if you left it alone.

 

Got to disagree with you here. There is rust starting to run up from the floor / flange area on the crossmember. That needs sorting properly, just wire brushing and treating will not sort that out. And considering your seat attachment relies on this structure to be sound, i think for the price of drilling out some spot welds to really see whats going on is the sensible way forward.

[muller295]

Yeah, I think I just should get it out to do it right, so that after the new paint it's good for many years to come. Does anybody have tips on how to drill out the spot welds?

[sonikk4]

Personally i use a 1/4" Cobalt drill bit to remove most of the weld then a decent flat bladed chisel or scraper.

 

You can buy spot weld drill bits which will do the job. I get the drills for free so they are my choice.

[muller295]

Started drilling out the spot welds today, thanks for the help!

[sonikk4]

No problem.

[mattmiglia]

For those that have used the Dynax cavity wax...how far does it go? If I wanted to spray in to both sills through vents how much roughly will I need?

[MatthewsDad]

It goes quite far if you spray at warmer ambient temperatures. One can enough for both sills. Worth doing a trial spray first to get a feel for the spread of product from the nozzle. It runs out of the vents once injected, so cover the floor to catch the drips. If you have any left over, try injecting via the the rear seat bins where you might find a grommet, or the lower seat belt mount in the B pillar too.

[Alice Dooper]

It goes quite far if you spray at warmer ambient temperatures. One can enough for both sills. Worth doing a trial spray first to get a feel for the spread of product from the nozzle. It runs out of the vents once injected, so cover the floor to catch the drips. If you have any left over, try injecting via the the rear seat bins where you might find a grommet, or the lower seat belt mount in the B pillar too.

2nd all that. Their cavity spray goes farther than you think. As a precaution, I warmed mine in a sink of hot water and warmed the cavity with a hairdryer (was a bit cautious of the hot air gun).

Their normal Dynax goes quite far too, only has the yellow waxoil look if you spray it on thicker.

[skywalker00]

Hi,
After removing some rot on the underside of my mini, there was a fist sized hole 'under' the crossbeam (not sure if thats the actual name, the circled thing on the 1st picture), and when I looked inside it, I saw some beginning rust. (2nd picture, rust on the 'floor' is mostly debris by the way). So now I kind of have access to it, I was wondering if there was something I could do to remove it and what to use to protect it afterwards.
Thanks in advance!

Ps For some reason the 2nd image is turned 90 degrees to left.

IMG_0051.jpgIMG_2190.JPG

Could you tell me how did you have access to see inide the crossmember? I would like to check mine. Thank you in advance