[Thabto]

I've never noticed many Intrepids where the body started to rust. The body on mine is rust-free and it's a 99.

 

[micholob]

Go look closely at the lower lip of your doors, in and out. I bet it isn't rust-free afterall.

 

[Thabto]

I should probably rephrase it to "how rust resistant is the car in highly visible places?"

 

[micholob]

The lower lips of the doors, rocker panels and the rear wheel wells are prone to rust.

 

[ksa8907]

i've got more rust than is worth fixing, passenger door will have a hole in it probably within a year, rear of the gas cap (wrecked prior to purchase) is bubbling up. and the underside is starting to turn dark red rather than primer gray. '00 with 200k, saved at 132k

 

[beeblebrox82]

The lower lips of the doors, rocker panels and the rear wheel wells are prone to rust.

Good list.Sseems like the bottom for the decklid can be a problem too, and the very front edge of the hood. I don't think Treps are quick rusters, but there are definitely a few areas to keep an eye on.

 

[MeanMugga]

No rust for me Love living in Florida

 

[Franqstar]

hawaii is a bad place for any car..due too acid rain

 

[Franqstar]

it'll rust any metal within 5 minutes of not painted or covered or if its wet

 

['87IROCZOWNER69]

I just got some on the door lip that I already started treating....once its running again I'm going to try to bring it in class for some grinder action.

 

[Glmwpg]

Mine picked up rot at the bottoms of the doors and also the trunk lip on the passenger side - likely a drainage problem?? dunno

 

[crypt keeper]

No rust for me Love living in Florida

I brought plenty from Chicago if you need some PM me an offer lol.

 

[DjGreggieP]

I am only finding it on my lower door lips so far, a bit on some rear quarter panel damages but that should be repaired soon enough, and I am looking at taking my car in for a paint job relatively soon, as it has been in a few minor accidents. (Drunk guy kicked my fender bent it out of whack, rear bumper needed replacing since I bought it, someone backed into my front end with a hitch....)

 

[pt500]

Rust, your enemy.

The painted underside of the unibody itself is actually fairly rust resistant. You can prevent light surface rust from getting worse by spraying off the road salt and grime in the winter as soon as you can, especially under the car.

However, I've found that the suspension components are much more prone to rusting than the body itself, at least on the 1st Gen cars. The black coating on the stock suspension parts is not bonded well to the metal. It will flake off after many years.

If you catch the rust on the suspension parts or the underbody soon enough before the metal has been weakened or pitted, you can wire brush and clean the parts or panels, and then paint them with a rust-resistant paint or specialty chassis coating. If not, it is a good idea to replace them, and you get better handling too with new suspension bushings.

Eastwood dot com has specialty rust-resistant coatings (and surface rust removers) that you can use after removing all the loose rust and wire brushing as clean as possible. You can also use Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer and then paint with Rustoleum spray paint or their brush-on paint. Wash the parts or surfaces after wire brushing and before painting if you can let them dry for a few days. Mask off the rubber bushings, exhaust, and other parts before painting.

Beware that all of this is a nasty, very dirty job under the car (unless you remove the parts) and it requires taking the safety precautions outlined in the shop forum safety thread.

In Canada and the northern states, there may still be specialty rustproofing shops, but the underside of an older car likely has to be cleaned very well of the surface rust and possibly sealed with one of the specialty rust sealers before applying rustproofing.

 

[concordefreak]

There is a defect on the passengers side drain on the support rail that will accumulate water and rust out the floor, the floor my 98' went had to get the whole passenger side patched.

I should sue Chrysler for the extent of rust under my car (not one mechanic i know has seen a newer model car with its floor missing) so rust proof it ASAP, it will help but my 02' was showing signs of surface rust in the same spot, so I sanded it down and bondo'd it.

I'm sure I have a pic of my floor somewhere in these threads, if not I'll post one later.

 

[1squirrely1]

There is a defect on the passengers side drain on the support rail that will accumulate water and rust out the floor, the floor my 98' went had to get the whole passenger side patched.

I should sue Chrysler for the extent of rust under my car (not one mechanic i know has seen a newer model car with its floor missing) so rust proof it ASAP, it will help but my 02' was showing signs of surface rust in the same spot, so I sanded it down and bondo'd it.

I'm sure I have a pic of my floor somewhere in these threads, if not I'll post one later.

SORRY FOR REVIVING A VERY OLD THREAD!! But I'm very curious, was there any more information about this last mentioned rust spot? My car's rusting in almost every spot mentioned on this post and I want to know where to check for this last mentioned spot to see if my car is doing the same. Someone have pics where to look maybe? Again, sorry for reviving a really old thread :tumbleweed: