Fender rust !!!!

[cpc12]

I see a lot of dodge trucks with rust on the fender above the rear wheel.

I do not want this to happen and want to take preventative measures to ensure it does not happen.

I have examined the interior of the wheel well and see a few issues Im not sure how to deal with.

I would assume the rust begins with the several screws holding the plastic to the metal. These screws with built in washers are a perfect place for salt to sit and rot the metal.

this brings me to the second part. it seems that where the plastic and the metal meet is also a perfect place for salt to sit undisturbed.

questions :

- can I seal the metal to the plastic to create a seal between the metal and the plastic ? maybe using silicone

- i was considering using clear POR 15 to cover the screws that hold the plastic in.

- would it be better to remove the screw paint surface and screw threads with POR 15 and reinsert screw then paint over head of screw ? this seems like overkill but might be worth it.

- or just paint over the existing screwheads with POR 15. leaving any rust encapsulated behind the POR 15 ? this seems like a lazy approach..

Any input or stories are welcomed

thanks

 

[cpc12]

no one in here has dealt with rust ?
cmon peeps

 

[scotts2012ram]

I would check the front fender bottoms right in front of the doors. I live on gravel roads and i have alot of sand buildup there. My plan is to remove them then por 15 them. In your case i would remove them clean and por 15 them then put back together and seal them or put something there where it wont rub

 

[Hemi395]

The 3rd gens in particular rust above the rear wheel wells because sand/salt gets trapped up above the inner wheel well. There's a foam insulation up in there between the bedside panel and the wheel well that absorbs moisture. The best thing I have been told to do is to periodically stick a garden hose up there and hose out the sand/salt. You'll be surprised at how much comes out. Same thing with the rockers.

 

[Andrew09HEMI]

Ive got some on my 09 that came from PA starting on drivers side rear. I also plan on sanding, rusting proofing the rear axle and suspension bits and I plan on tackling the fender at the same time. Really best thing to do is clean, sand and protect any way you can, I did this on a couple Jeeps I owned when I lived up North. Also every time you wash the truck, spend equal time clean underneath and fender wells

 

[HemiRoar]

The previous owner on mine got it rustproofed every year and so do I, no rust anywhere, including under the truck. Only rusted out parts are the rear shocks which are being replaced under warranty as soon as the parts come in.

 

[Hemi395]

Also every time you wash the truck, spend equal time clean underneath and fender wells

This is key in the winter months if you live in an area where there's road salt. I spend more time spraying water on the undercarriage in the winter than I do up top. Its also a good idea to spray water into the frame as they tend to catch sand and salt being boxed.

Every spring when I'm sure theres no salt on the roads I put my truck up on ramps and rinse the entire undercarriage thoroughly paying special attention to the rockers, wheel wells, bottoms of the doors, and the bottoms of the fenders. I've done this on every vehicle ive owned and it seems to work well.

Also carwashes with undercarriage jets are good too if its too cold to wash it yourself.

 

[Blackout 6.4]

I see a lot of dodge trucks with rust on the fender above the rear wheel.

I do not want this to happen and want to take preventative measures to ensure it does not happen.

I have examined the interior of the wheel well and see a few issues Im not sure how to deal with.

I would assume the rust begins with the several screws holding the plastic to the metal. These screws with built in washers are a perfect place for salt to sit and rot the metal.

this brings me to the second part. it seems that where the plastic and the metal meet is also a perfect place for salt to sit undisturbed.

questions :

- can I seal the metal to the plastic to create a seal between the metal and the plastic ? maybe using silicone

- i was considering using clear POR 15 to cover the screws that hold the plastic in.

- would it be better to remove the screw paint surface and screw threads with POR 15 and reinsert screw then paint over head of screw ? this seems like overkill but might be worth it.

- or just paint over the existing screwheads with POR 15. leaving any rust encapsulated behind the POR 15 ? this seems like a lazy approach..

Any input or stories are welcomed

thanks

Ok, I will ask, what is POR 15?

Thanks,

 

[Hemi395]

Ok, I will ask, what is POR 15?

Thanks,

POR 15 is a very good, but expensive rust killing/preventative paint. What's nice about POR 15 is you can paint it right over rust as long as you remove the loose scale. I've used this on the backside of rear bumpers to prevent them from rusting through and it works very well. A couple of bad things about it is it needs to be kept out of sunlight (or topcoated), and its really hard to get off your hands.

 

[cpc12]

Hemi

do you take off the plastic wheel well or just clean that ?

how do you clean where the foam insulation is, I would like to do this especially.

im not sure I want to break the factory bolts holding the plastic well to the fender. but not sure how else to clean.

thanks

 

[Andrew09HEMI]

I havent had to clean under this truck yet as Im in Charlotte, NC and they dont even own a salt truck!! Im originally from NY, also where the truck is from where I bought it used.. My other vehicles though I never removed the wheel well gaurds, but I also washed the underside 1-2 per week. Im **** about rust and cleanliness so it may seem like overkill to some but not me. I would spray the wheel wells, then go behind the wheel wells from the back of the bed and spray up in there. I know some DIY washes have a salt remover selection, if not use the soap selection and soak it good and rinse. And follow what HEMI395 said and every break of winter get underneath and do a thorough cleaning, once dry coat with protective coatings like POR15 or even the cheap spray stuff does something

 

[Hemi395]

Hemi

do you take off the plastic wheel well or just clean that ?

how do you clean where the foam insulation is, I would like to do this especially.

im not sure I want to break the factory bolts holding the plastic well to the fender. but not sure how else to clean.

thanks

Taking that off won't gain you access I don't believe. You have to get the hose up behind the rear wheel and feed it above the plastic liner. Its hard to describe I'll take a pic when I get home from work...

 

[intrepid4576]

why not just linex or rhino line the wheel well?

 

[Hemi395]

So here's the picture of inner wheel well looking up from behind the drivers rear wheel. The black part with the cross pattern on it in the lower part of the picture is the back side of the plastic wheel well liner. Right above that is the inner wheel well support. Where the arrow is you can see it is just spot welded to the rear fender and that is where sand/salt will sit and rot the wheel wells from the inside out. The idea is to get the hose up in there to rinse out that area thoroughly. This is also the area where the foam is placed in the 3rd gens. Looks like they left it out on the 4th gens. Also you can see there isnt much for corrosion protection anywhere in here.

 

[Andrew09HEMI]

Great shot HEMI!!! I never even looked up in there, looks like I found a good spot to start my cleaning.. I guess you could spray some type of coating upthere once youve cleaned and dried to give some type of protection

 

[Hemi395]

Great shot HEMI!!! I never even looked up in there, looks like I found a good spot to start my cleaning.. I guess you could spray some type of coating upthere once youve cleaned and dried to give some type of protection

Thanks! Yes anything you can get down in that spot weld seam would help. Just make absolutely sure that it is thoroughly cleaned out. Ideally you would want to do this when the truck is new. POR 15 would be ideal but I have no idea how you could get it way up in there especially at the very top of the wheel well. Most truck manufacturers have a version of this seam because just about every pickup truck out there developes rot in this spot eventually.

 

[Andy578]

Also carwashes with undercarriage jets are good too if its too cold to wash it yourself.

yeah those work great in the middle of winter. i like to go through once a month during winter but lately all the car washes around here have been making the undercarriage wash part of the higher packages($10+) so i've been doing it a lot less the last few years

 

[Jak259]

Yeah I thought it was more of a 3rd gen problem because if that whole foam deal. Happened to my 05. I haven't seen any 4th gens with that yet and hope not to!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cpc12]

is there a way to block up the hole to prevent salt from going up there.

So if I understand: you just spray water up in this hole and rinse out whatever you can.

Once this drys I can then apply POR 15 to all areas I can reach.\ I purchased some neat dabbers from POR15 they are 20 inches long with giant swabs on the end for getting to places like this.

I will attempt this process and follow up

thanks for the pic... its worth a 1000 words

 

[Hemi395]

is there a way to block up the hole to prevent salt from going up there.

So if I understand: you just spray water up in this hole and rinse out whatever you can.

Once this drys I can then apply POR 15 to all areas I can reach.\ I purchased some neat dabbers from POR15 they are 20 inches long with giant swabs on the end for getting to places like this.

I will attempt this process and follow up

thanks for the pic... its worth a 1000 words

No problem I knew I would never be able to explain that right without a pic. I was looking at how to seal that area up as well. The only way I saw to do that would be to block off everything from the rear wheel well to the bumper and from the rear wheel forward to the cab. The reason being in the winter salt spray goes everywhere in all directions especially while going down the road at 50mph. So it gets into all those lovely nooks and crannies that it can sit. Plus covering that much of the underside of the bed could create problems for any repairs that need to be done back there. Plus when you seal something like that up you have to make sure you seal it perfectly or you might create more of a problem than before.

The best case is what you mentioned about the POR 15. Clean that seam out good and POR 15 the sh*t out of that area. You might get better access to the area to take the plastic wheel well liner out as well. It still wont be fun to get POR 15 up in there but it will probably help. Also when you put the plastic wheel well liners back in, Antiseize compound the bolts that hold it in there when you're done. I've found this is great stuff for preventing rust on body holes. When I put my Mopar splash guards on I liberally coated all the bolts and bolt holes with antiseize compound. I found when the plastic guards were put on at the factory they chipped some of the paint away in the bolt holes.

If you do this let us know how it goes...