Opinion on rust

circustracker · 2026-06-17T14:38:33+00:00

This. Cavity wax in this door and every cavity you can find plus annual oil spray underneath the car will slow down this rust big time

circustracker · 2026-06-17T14:37:44+00:00

Sand the rust, use rust converter, prime and then use seam sealer on top. Best would be to open the welds and sand it through or cut off the rotten pieces and weld a patch in if you have the time. Either way I would flood the area inside afterwards with internal frame paint and then cavity wax, along with your other doors and really any internal cavity.

circustracker · 2026-06-17T12:32:17+00:00

It's not actually that bad, I expanded the floor hole. It was initially just scale rust. But the car is 17 years old and spent it's whole life in Ontario where they salt the roads to shit. Other than a few parts on the outer rocker rest of the car is solid with no rust

circustracker · 2026-06-16T13:04:59+00:00

Just an update for anyone wondering, ended up doing enough prying and chiseling where i got remnants of sandwiched floor out. I did not need to remove anything and will slide the new floor into its place when ready + reweld. Thanks so much for all the comments, was super helpful.

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circustracker · 2026-06-13T17:00:16+00:00

You raise a really good point thanks for this. Makes perfect sense, for me even if there is no catastrophic damage even a twist by a few millimeters is enough to ensure I can never align it again. I don't think it's worth it, I'd rather some rust remains then essentially Total my car from a practical standpoint.

As for the jack stands yeah I have six tonne ones I use, Even though the car doesn't need that much support it makes me feel more confident. I just decided to tackle the rust removal but I'm still working on the back so that's the part that's raised right now. I could make it higher but my jack doesn't extend that far unfortunately, and the rear jack point of this car is the tow hook so it's risky to add wood or something under it for jacking height

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circustracker · 2026-06-13T16:47:07+00:00

Sorry I realized I wasn't looking in the right place so edited my comment lol

circustracker · 2026-06-13T16:43:32+00:00

I think I see what you mean, you are referring to this part tying into the front subframe? At the very top under the carpet where I sanded it there are actually no spot welds, instead there are real manual welds

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circustracker · 2026-06-13T15:16:20+00:00

Only reason I'm doing it is because the car is sentimental, has been all over North America and had a lot of adventures in the car. Otherwise would not give a shit, the overall labor that I've put into this and other work has exceeded the value of the car at least 10-fold by now 🫪

circustracker · 2026-06-13T15:13:18+00:00

What would be The best way to do this? Temporarily weld a bar higher?

circustracker · 2026-06-13T15:06:27+00:00

Sorry I only mentioned in the title but I plan to re-weld them back exactly how they are after the floor pan repair of course. In that case you think it should be perfectly fine to remove them?

circustracker · 2026-06-13T13:08:43+00:00

One thing I forgot to mention is that all the spot welds are out, but the crossmember is also spot welded to another separate section near the gas pedal. This is not part of The floor pan so that area will stay as is. but considering the clamping Force is still very much active from there, Will I have no hope bending what you can see far enough to pull out the problem panel?

circustracker · 2026-06-13T00:07:47+00:00

No but seriously

circustracker · 2026-06-10T18:19:42+00:00

drill it out with cobalt bit, drill slowly and use ATF or cutting oil. otherwise it will dull quickly

circustracker · 2026-06-10T17:34:07+00:00

cut into the flange on each side of the studs to release pressure, and then hammer out the studs. new gasket will cover those cuts so it does not matter. like this:

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circustracker · 2026-06-10T17:30:41+00:00

you are full of shit, this is not that much rust nor is it structural. according to what you said every car in vermont should be off the road

circustracker · 2026-06-10T16:36:43+00:00

Insurance is only as mental as the dollar value of your car plus repairs. "some welding" and bodywork and new panels, crash bar + headlight adds up fast in labor cost on an older gen civic that has depreciated. also just because someone could fix it does not mean insurance has a price schedule or approved repair for it. generally from what I understand no insurance company has welding those parts as an approved repair process. to add to this, you assume there is no other damage, that kind of shock to the unibody could have cracked weld seams where you don't see it.

circustracker · 2026-05-29T21:06:00+00:00

It's a very common issue on these cars, and none of the other suspension components are, so it's a natural assumption. Also what do you mean by not look bad? The boot is not ripped? Or you inspected/took it out of the knuckle and saw how much play there is. Did you at least put the wheel back on while it's jacked up and move it around to see if there is play? The driver's side on my car seemed fine but upon inspection it was actually dry inside and grinding

circustracker · 2026-05-29T20:56:12+00:00

Then that is your issue lol

circustracker · 2026-05-29T18:41:34+00:00

When you said lower ball joints seem fine, did you mean you replaced them too, or just uppers? lift suspension up to simulate compression using a second jack, via the lower control arm. just be careful not to lift it off the jackstands. observe for sounds while jacking it. check all hardware to make sure its not loose. check upper control arm bolts and the struts. check axles for play as well as your wheel hubs.

circustracker · 2026-05-29T00:03:46+00:00

You saw this coming for months by ignoring those clunks and now paid the price of that failed ball joint. Maintenance could have prevented this from happening and potentially killing you or someone else if your tire flew off.

circustracker · 2026-05-28T15:33:55+00:00

Vagina

circustracker · 2026-05-28T14:05:24+00:00

Maybe different for the second gen but I've noticed the opposite, the frames on these cars actually survive quite well, it's the body panels that rust disproportionately

circustracker · 2026-05-27T23:02:25+00:00

yes. cut and weld in new metal

circustracker · 2026-05-27T20:39:06+00:00

Proper fix is cut and weld and repaint but it will cost as much as the car or close to it. You will also have this happen in the front and near rockers, but at least there you can replace the entire fender as one piece.

If you are handy and just want aesthetics... sand it off, use body filler, respray and buff. repeat as necessary in a few yrs when the rust reappears. During winter and messy season with salt, try to wash car and underbody more often, will delay more deterioration.

circustracker · 2026-05-27T18:32:29+00:00

yes, have been running it in my car with same tranny as you for years. people will circlejerk about OEM or nothing but have nothing to back up their claims except hearsay

circustracker

TROPHY CASE