Savage rust!

[ItsAllAboutTheE30]

Hello everyone.

Some of you may have seen my other posts over the last week talking about the water in the drivers side footwell. After taking the seats out and cutting some carpet back I found this complete mess :s. Wasn't impressed to say the least.

The pipe that can be seen in some of the pictures, is this a drain of some sort. and could it be what caused the leak to start with? Something must have started it off, as it has rusted from the inside out.









On that note, does anyone know any good welders in the Berkshire area?

Dave.

[ItsAllAboutTheE30]

The pipe I mentioned can been seen easiest in the 6th picture down.

[Simon13]

that looks like the sunroof drain pipe it should run down the other side to where it is! and drain out at the bottom of the wing. Where the hell is it going? just onto the carpet?

Without sounding rude that looks f**ked it's already been repaired there once hasn't it?

[B7]

I'd say it was accident damage related. Look at the 2nd pic down. A clear rusty line which loos to have been panel beaten running straight across and stopping behind the brake pedal. Then look at the swage lines in the floor pan. Worse behind the clutch pedal. Clear sign on action there too.

Accident damage which has not been repaired or reproofed properly is my thinking here.

[pacerpete]

That definately looks like the car has had a frontender and the wheel has been pushed back into the bulkhead. By the look of it a 'repair' was effected with a sledge hammer and some schultz !
Before getting it repaired it might be worth getting a wheel alignment check and having a good look around the rest of the car . These sort of bodges are seldom one offs and usually indicate lots of other interesting workmanship !

[ItsAllAboutTheE30]

Hmm not good news really. I was told by the previous owner that his mate reversed into him at 'slow speeds' and there was a bit of work done. Should have got a proper HPI check before buying I guess, oh well a mistake to learn from.

Could this explain the horrible vibrations experienced at motorway speeds. As soon as I hit 70+ I get bad vibrations in the steering wheel and the whole car shakes. I have had the wheel-balance done twice and the tracking, I'm told, is spot on.

I thought it was the sunroof drain, and yes it appears to be just going straight into the footwell at present, which im guessing is the reason for this mess. How would I go about sorting this out then? Obviously it needs to be done before the welding takes place. Also where do I go to get the wheel alignment checked?

Thanks for the help people. Si is there any chance I could pop down yours for some better advice? As you've probably gathered my knowledge isn't too great and you have a lot of experience on E30's.

P.S. how was Amsterdam?

Cheers
Dave.

[ItsAllAboutTheE30]

Further to this, can any of you recommend somewhere I can go to get a proper job done? I have been quoted £200 by a guy I went to see yesturday and he seemed to know what he was doing. However, for a job like this I don't mind paying a bit more to ensure it is done properly, and I don't know anyone that has had work done by the fella I went to see.

Dave.

[Simon13]

you can but i'm way tooooo busy at the moment!

[cliffybabe]

200 dont sound too bad for that sort of repair theres alot of work there

[pacerpete]

Before you do anything get a proper 4 wheel alignment and ascertain whether the car is straight or not. For the wheel to have been pushed back that far implies that almost certainly the chassis rail and or inner flitch are damaged and without adressing these problems the car will never drive straight

[sam325is]

Get a geometry test carried out BEFORE ANYTHING. worry about the tracking after

[B7]

200 quid to repair that lot? tear his arm off and get rid.........But not here on the zone thanks.

[Beavy_OZ]

200 sounds far too cheap, there's more than 5 hrs work in that...

I reshelled because of bad rust, are you able to do the same? What model is it?

[Simon]

The pipe is not a pipe. It's the battery lead...battery in the boot?

I'd say the rust has started from the poor accident repair as has been said. Plenty of creases in that picture.

Water is probably getting in from higher up somewhere.

[Jhonno]

Hmm not good news really. I was told by the previous owner that his mate reversed into him at 'slow speeds' and there was a bit of work done. Should have got a proper HPI check before buying I guess, oh well a mistake to learn from

Ive had the same.. An apparent light rear end knock turned out to be a full on CAT C... Luckily i got the car dirt cheap.. He'd also fitted the wrong fuel pump at some point (i never worked that out.. The next owner did )

[FlappySocks]

The pipe is not a pipe. It's the battery lead...battery in the boot?

Thats what I thought... but then I assumed i was looking at the wrong thing because it will terminate in the boot, not on the footwell floor.

[Simon]

Thats what I thought... but then I assumed i was looking at the wrong thing because it will terminate in the boot, not on the footwell floor.

Doesn't look like it terminates on the footwell floor to me...

[sam325is]

Get a geometry test carried out BEFORE ANYTHING. worry about the tracking after

this is the first step mate honestly...its poontless thinking should i do X or should i do Y. get the geometry test done and then you can consider your options.

[E30BeemerLad]

don't all E30's look like that?

[FlappySocks]

Not mine I painted the floor. Also put moisture sensors under the carpet, which will light an LED on the dash should it get wet under there. Talk about paranoia!

[Speedtouch]

Are there any cars that don't rust, because I'd like one.

[ItsAllAboutTheE30]

Thanks for your help lads. Simon if you look in the 6th picture down you can see the pipe I am talking about. I know the black one that runs the length of the car is for electrics, but there is a hole next to that where you can see the sunroof drain coming through.

What exactly is a geometry test, where would I get one carried out and how much does it cost? I just got another quote for £230, from a company that seems very good. They have been around for thirty years, were very, very helpful and are about a minutes drive from my house.

Dave.