Rusted piece

[s_wilwerding]

I was underneath the front of the car the other day, and noticed that a piece right behind the front bumper had a large hole rusted through it. I'm not sure what the piece is - it's cylindrical, about a foot and half long, and in the middle of the car right behind the front bumper. Were it in the back of a regular car, I would say it was a muffler (that's kind of what it looks like).

Anyone know what this is? If so, do you know where I could get a replacement?

Thanks.

[s_wilwerding]

Bump

[911boost]

can you post a picture? That might help you get a response.....

Bill

[s_wilwerding]

I was incorrect in calling it a rusted piece. It's the "bump" in the floor pan that runs along the width of the car right behind the bumper. Upon closer inspection, it seems as if battery acid has leaked all the way through and put a hole through the bottom of the pan.

Can this be fixed? Does it hurt the structural integrity of the body? What's to be done?

[s_wilwerding]

Bump

[Wayne 962]

Stop bumping, and post a picture!

-Wayne

[rstoll]

Yeah, roll that beautiful bean footage!

[s_wilwerding]

Sorry for the delay. Here are some pictures looking towards the back of the car from right behind the front bumper. What was a small hole became a large hole when I started poking around with a screwdriver and removing all the rusted metal.

I looked in the front compartment, and you could tell where battery acid had eaten through. So, I cleaned everything up and squirted almost an entire can of Rustoleum near the battery box. I also filled in the cracks with silicon so water couldn't enter the front compartment. Now I need to know what to do about the underside hole.

Thanks - I hope this will solicit some more opinions.

[Wayne 962]

This is part of the front floor piece in front of the gas tank.



We sell this piece in our catalog:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/911M/por_911M_chasis_main.htm

It's called 'gas tank support' and is a mere $50...

Here's another pic:



Hope this helps,

Wayne

[Wayne 962]

Or, it could be this one:





Actually, I think it's this one, not the other, but I can't tell without sticking my head under my 911.



-Wayne

[Paul Thomas]

Wayne is right as usual, it is the P200 part and i would say that this is a big yes to the structural intergritty question. If you can, get the December 2000 issue of European Car (Vol 31, No. 12). There is a really good article on the front pan replacement and how much of it you could do yourself.

Paul

[s_wilwerding]

I'll have to get under the car tomorrow and see which part it is, the gas tank support or the P200. Either way, it looks like I'm only out ~$200. I suppose getting those piece welded on costs a tremendous amount of money.

I'm glad the picture cleared everything up.

Thanks Wayne - if I replace the piece, I'll be buying it from you.

[Jim Sims]

This is not a trivial repair; you'll likely need both pieces. The front suspension bolts to part P200 (note the holes for the A-arm screws) so care will be required to retain the geometry. I seem to recall complaints that the threaded bosses or nuts in some of the reproduction pieces had poor retaining welds and required additional welding to secure them against the screw tightening torque. Maybe Pelican's parts are better quality. High quality fit up and welding is required to keep everything in position and retain structural integrity. Then good priming and painting to avoid future corrosion followed by an alignment after the front end is bolted back on. I estimate it'll cost at least a $1000 (unless there's more rust, then more $$) if you hire it out. Jim

[s_wilwerding]

I had mechanic take a look at it and he didn't think it would cause any structural problems. As I don't really have $1200 to spend on something like that right now, I think I'm just going to patch it with a piece of stainless. With a good coat of undercoating, it should match the rest of the piece pretty closely.

The mechanic said that since it was just that hole that was rusted and not anything else, it shouldn't cause any problems if patched correctly. Maybe if I still have the car in 5 years, I'll spend the money to correctly fix it, but as just a Sunday afternoon car, patching will be adequate for now.

Besides, once you start chasing rust on a 20 year-old car, you might never stop

[pjv911]

Use regular mild steel. Dont even attempt to use stainless steel for the patch. Also be sure to cut away all the weakened (thinned) metal that surrounds the hole , otherwise your patch will not last, as well as looking like crap.