rust issues
 

been having issues with my drivers side door rubbing on the fender when i opened it. within the past week it has gotten much worse until finally the fender got caught behind the door, and i actually couldnt get the door open to get out. i realized that the bottom of the fender, or the screws used to mount it have rusted out, yay.

i decide to take care of the issue today. got all the little plastic screw things out of the side skirt, and attempt to remove it. after breaking the first few clips off of the side skirt, i get a little upset. it should easily slide off towards the front of the car, but even with a hammer trying to convince it, nothing moves. finally get it off with some more convincing, and see that the last 3 clips have to be slid towards the rear of the car, while the first 5-6 have to be slid forwards. there doesnt appear to be any way to remove this thing without breaking at least a few clips. another genious GM design. anyway enough of my ranting, heres a couple pics of the rust.

Attachment 7696

Attachment 7697

any ideas on how to reattach the fender fairly easily and inexpensively?

Por15

planned on using about a gallon of that stuff. probly just gonna use some sheetmetal screws to reattach it then cover the stuff in por15. none of it is visable, so i dont care what it looks like.

DAYUM! mine has rust in the rear 1/4, but i don't think anywhere else

You wont need that much.

Im using it right now on a project.

That stuff goes on VERY THIN. If you put it on to thick it WILL bubble up. Trust me on this... I found out now the hard way...

You may need 2 quarts tops. We bought a gallon and havent used a quart yet...

Make sure to buy marine clean and metal ready.

ya, ive used it before, and you dont really need a ton. other than this spot, and a tiny bit of bubble rust on the pass side rear 1/4, theres no rust at all. really hope i can take care of all of it before cold weather hits.

i used rust preventing paint, and filled with bodyfiller, and drilled a new drain hole..

ya, i think im gonna leave a couple of the bottom fasteners off the front part of the sideskirt. that way water should be able to drain a little bit better.

my rear 1/4's drain holes, above the side skirt, were full of dirt.. fail

ya, most of the little grooves, or channels or holes on the bottom half of the car are pretty well clogged. im gonna spend some afternoon cleaning it all out, and rustproofing everything before this winter. just ordered some por15, so as soon as thats in i can take care of it all.

good deal, i need to pull my skirts off, and see the damage, i know its MUCH worse than i see

if you havent taken them off before, its a pain. like i mentioned in the original post, 3 or so of the little clips have to be moved in one direction, and the rest have to be pushed the other way. there really doesnt seem to be a way to get it off with out breaking at least a few.

like i care....

you aren't supposed to slide the clips off, you are supposed to compress them with a special tool (I used a pair of scissors) and they pop right out. They were designed to prevent sliding.

i can see the fender is completely rotted out, so why would you save that?? i would take it off and toss it in the garbage can, not worth saving
2nd, it looks like the inner and outer rocker panle going into the a-pillar is rotted out too, so why bother?? the fender isnt going to attach its self to rust, your not going to get a sheet metal screw to hold anything on weak rotted out metal
ya might want to go to a shop and think about getting an estimate on repairing all the rust, and replacing the fender

sorry dude but por-15 isnt going to save that now

are you talking about the part of the white plastic clip that goes into the body? if so, how do you get to the part thats supposed to compress? it goes right into the body panel.

eh, the rust on mine is starting to shoe through a lil around the fender well, but i just paint over it with touch up paint haha. i'm scared to take off the side skirts, so i'm not since i'm only gonna have the car for another ~4 years.

well, a whole lot can rust in 4 years. my car was completely solid 3+ years ago when i bought it. after 3 new england winters tho, this is what happens.