When I had a chance to get my Legacy up in the air this weekend I noted all the rust on the underside. Should this concern me? 

 

1996 legacy 2.2

 

I was thinking of sanding down and applying POR-15 to these locations and keeping an eye on them. 

 

Thoughts? 

 

 

Front subframe below radiator (by far the worst of the rust):

 

Rear Frame surface rust forming:

 

 

 

Rear Subframe Rust forming:

 

Driver side Rear fender well had what looked like surface rust and I knocked it out to see how deep it went! haha. 

 

I also have a few more spots below the rear driver side door and below the front driver side door but they are much much smaller. 

Edited September 15, 20169 yr by vtwinjunkie

Wow, that is a lot of rust. Don't know that sanding down and applying POR-15 will help that much. Surprised at that much rust, when you live in VA, as I don't think of VA using that much salt on the roads. In the past, has this car lived in an area where salt was heavily used in winters to cause this much rust??

Wow, that is a lot of rust. Don't know that sanding down and applying POR-15 will help that much. Surprised at that much rust, when you live in VA, as I don't think of VA using that much salt on the roads. In the past, has this car lived in an area where salt was heavily used in winters to cause this much rust??

 

Yea. I appreciate the comments but you diddnt answer the question..too much?

 

 

The thing about VA (northern va in particular) is that we have alot of cities close together all of which in the vicinity of Washington DC....This translates to alot of people, which means alot of money to spend on road maintenance and cleanup. 

 

This in turn equals to the OVER USE of salt and road chemicals in winter time.....

 

The only other place this car has been is north carolina (Bought the car off my buddy so I know the entire history). 

Edited September 15, 20169 yr by vtwinjunkie

mine has alot more rust than that i think it would be fine for years to come even if left alone. i dont care too much about mine as it was a 300 dollar car 2 years ago and hasent needed any real work i plan to drive it till it falls apart.

Don't sand. Knock off the loose stuff. Get Waxoyl and get it everywhere underneath and inside.

 

Por15 is better on solid mildly rusted metal that you can encapsulate completely. Most of these locations you can't. Also, por15 is not best for painting onto non rusted metal, thus the do not sand.

Don't sand. Knock off the loose stuff. Get Waxoyl and get it everywhere underneath and inside.

 

Por15 is better on solid mildly rusted metal that you can encapsulate completely. Most of these locations you can't. Also, por15 is not best for painting onto non rusted metal, thus the do not sand.

How does one, Get waxol?

 

I check the website and they have many products. I assume you mean the corrosion inhibitor? It looks like you have to go to an application center listed?

I had a similar rust problem and was worried about the frame integrity.  NY State rust belt car.

 

Found this product online--  https://www.theruststore.com/Rust-Converter-Gallon-P40C10.aspx

 

Used a wire brush to remove some of the superficial rust and applied the product as per directions.

 

After drying, noticed a few areas that needed a second coat.

 

I'm happy with the result, and feel relieved that the rust is arrested.  I didn't feel the need to top coat with POR-15, but if you have the time that would be an awesome way to finish the job.

I've seen far worse. No worries on the structural integrity/safety for a while.

 

Some decent solutions have been mentioned to slow the spread. For me it's not fixed until you take an angle grinder and sanding disc and grind back down to bare metal. Then build it back up. I use rustoleum rust reformer and then heavy coats of rustoleum paint.

 

For the really bad parts a welder helps but it looks like you've got some years before getting there other than cosmetic stuff like that rear quarter panel.

The rust is not too bad.  On my old subarus, I have been spaying with a product that one poster said was used in Europe.  It is calld "fluid film."   It's lanolin based so it sinks into the rust and protects for a year or so.  I would use it on the non moving parts under  your car.  It's not for panels around the wheel wells.  It is sold by Riellys.

 

PS  I did have a 95 that I had to junk because frame tube rusted through in the back of the car.. 

The stuff I am referring to is Hammerite Waxoyl rustproofing for cars. I have used the clear formula for decades. The pressure can setup let's you get it applied in all those internal places you can't get at any other way. If you don't treat the inside the rust will just come back through from behind. The main website is a .co.UK url. The can artwork has Waxoyl in big upper case letters at the top, black except the x is red, on yellow background. Front view of a car about center of the art. Black below, like a road with small print details.

 

This stuff really works. Soaks into the cracks and gaps and stuff.

Is this a sedan or wagon? If it's a wagon you need to pull out your cargo area panels and check the strut towers. I've seen wagons a hell of a lot cleaner outside have blown out rear strut towers.

People in my neck of salt belt brush on used mother oil.

People in my neck of salt belt brush on used mother oil.

I think you mean motor oil??

From the Great Oracle Google: Rust is another name for iron oxide, which occurs when iron or an alloy that contains iron, like steel, is exposed to oxygen and moisture for a long period of time. Over time, the oxygen combines with the metal at an atomic level, forming a new compound called anoxide and weakening the bonds of the metal itself.

I've seen some pretty old cars with inferior metal sprayed with old motor oil and it seems to inhibit further oxidation. If the air can't reach the metal, no more rust.

Living in Wisconsin, I have seen, and owned, a lot worse looking cars. yours is not really that bad... yet

The oil trick works, but needs to be reapplied a lot more frequently.

Thanks guys. If you havent noticed, The source of all of my questions over the past few weeks is basically me trying to get a feel for if I should be thinking about selling this car or not. 

 

I purchased it at a good deal (thinking I wouldnt need to put much into it) in hopes of getting it running for my dad to use as a daily but including the purchase price I already have a thousand into it and it needs 2 new tires (2 were just replaced before I got it) to have all 4 matching perfectly, a timing belt/water pump/cam seal, a powersteering pump (noticed it leaking yesterday while under the car), a small oil leak at the valve cover and rear brakes will need to be done soon.

 

That being said, I have hundreds more to put into this just to get it running reliably and I just dont know if its worth it to me to do so. I cannot give my dad something that needs a bunch of work as he isnt mechanically inclined enough to keep up with it, and I have no desire to keep something that I couldnt sell it to make what I have into it if I needed to....It just doesnt make sense financially to me. 

 

I already have my 2016 wrx and my 2005 outback which I love more than anything and I cannot bear to part with one of them to keep this old thing...

 

I the thought of another subaru toy but I am torn on what to do!

 

What I do is find a car with a rust free / low rust body. Add some Waxoyl . repair anything else. High milage generally doesn't matter. I found a local dealer guy that buys high milage subarus fron the auctions and dies the typical stuff like headgaskets, and other mechanical wear issues. For newer models, like in the 2000s.

Rust almost always means more maintenance and issues sooner rather than later. Exhaust, caliper pins seizing are the main rust induced mechanical issues that can be easily assessed and addressed.

 

Move on is a good option. But I hate rust.

 

Sounds like you don't want to fork out the $ but Get a year out of it while you plan for version2?