E30 Zone

hi,i keep seeing e30's around with rust holes in the scuttle panel,very scary!! any idea why it happens? any tips on keping it at bay?!!

Tel

No idea's why but my local bm parts man told me this panel was a major problem while under warranty ie in the 1st 12 months

I dont reall think there is a way of preventing it. I'd take your windscreen out and have a look. There maybe some rust under there that you thought wasn't there.

As above.......

Remove windscreen and scuttle vents. Get rid of as much loose rust as possible and treat with a rust converter (leaves rust as an inert layer) and then Waxoyl (or similar the fcuk) out of it.

Have used fe-123 from http://www.rust.co.uk/ and it's excellent.

The reason that they rust is that there is a large amount of seam sealer applied which runs down the pillar and finishes just before the scuttle vent , moisture gets trapped there and it just becomes a rust trap If it's blistering on the outside it probably far worse inside.

Condensation is another cause.
Moisture/water in the area underneath the vents that gets trapped. And you know what happens when its hot inside and cold outside

Mainly down to not being properly waxed from factory

seemed to me to affect g&h plate cars more than e&f plates but thats only from the limited amount of cars i have seen and im not sure about the pre facelift cars.

how do other peoples cars fit this pattern?

Hi

Just repaired my hole on the 316i. Did the rear rust trap 12 months ago! Filling over the weld and trying to follow the contour was difficult but doesn't look too bad. Had the front wing off to be replaced at the same time. Now I need to learn to spray a whole panel.

Anyway .... the purpose of my post .... My main question is about this rust trap and MOT. Is it something that can cause a fail? And what happens when there's no metal between the hole for acessing the wiper motor and the end of the scuttle - is it time for the car to be scrapped or is there a fix?

Cheers

BMWBOYO

This rust point is caused by a very large blob of sealant which seals off the bottom of the screen pillars. It hardens and shrinks with age, and finaly unsticks itself from the place where the hole appears, leaving an exposed patch of bare untreated metal inside. Moisture is drawn up by capillary action and quickly rusts through.