Hi all, thought a thread which shows areas to check for rust on Z32's might be helpful. So, to kick off... I was wondering how water was getting in above the roof lining towards the rear & causing the roof T section to rust from the inside-out. ...simple, the rubber cable lugs on both sides of the hatch opening which take cables from the hatch into the roof above the roof lining need to be pulled out & have silicon sealing them from allowing water to leak into the T roof section.... The rubber has no doubt shrunk a bit over the years & so every time your Z gets wet, water might be leaking in above the back of the roof lining. Might even be worth undoing the hatch hinge bolts & thowing some killrust under the hinge plate! Also check weld spots / joins - here's rust starting in the gap below the short targa roof mold between the targa panel & the rear hatch...
ill add that the targas can also form rust bubbles from inside, ive seen it most often on aus-specs, j specs seem better overall not sure why though..... in fact, you can see rust bubbles in the first pic in your targa top....
If rust on the targa panel edges is common, anyone know the cause? eg: water gets in through here or there. Obviously this POS I've got has the problem so if know one knows how it starts, I'll pull apart my bubbly targa panel to have a look!
I've seen numerous Z32s rusting at the bottom of the A pillar behind the top back edge of the front guards (A pillar rusting not the guards), this will not be found unless you go looking for it.
Probably because the targa channel drain dump tube is straight into the front guard, right below the A pillar... it was so stingy of Nissan not to continue the tube through the wheel arch or something to immediately get rid of the water - the tube just dumps water into the cavity of the guard creating condensation for days after rain or washing of the car...
Here's another one for ya. B pillar passenger side Aus Spec 1990 Also has bubbles around the hatch glass seals at the back and sides.
Water can leak through the bolts in the targa glass. There is a plastic washer/seal under the bolt head that can split.
yea when i bought my zed it was left out in the weather for some years such a sad sight to see but i saved it from the scrappy would u believe car had minor rust bubbles above the front windscreen (dodgy windscreen install) also both targas had rust bubbles and at the very bottom of the hatch glass where the water sits on the lil curvy bit and also the rear spoiler has a bad reputation of rusting at either end i believe there is some kind of support bracket somewhere in there and after a while it can move on and start rusting the hatch but even know very annoying its all very minor and would expect this of a car with a bit of age, i just repaired the rust and resealed everything and always try keep it dry after a heavy rain and keep an eye on it alls been well after 2 years.
any car that has the windscreen replaced is a candidate for rust there. when they cut the screen out often the knife will cut through the paint underneath then the rust starts. We see this all the time at work (we get windows cut out 2-3 times a week and see the end results about once a week). so point is if the screen is removed take a little time and seal any damage to the paint around the frame of the window. only problem here is if you send your car in for a screen replacement the window chaps wont do it for you, you have to get at the car while the screen is out and do the work yourself.
Nope still got her. Gouged out the loose rust. applied rust converter. Fibreglass repair the hole, and all good. (see below)
Am i doin it right? Was thinking of cutting most out and welding in off a wreck. Above the windscreen is shot too, filled with sikaflex for now to stop water getting in.
now I am worried, those pics above are spots I never considered in my Z, most other typically bad spots seem good in mine like under the wing (although they never sealed the extra holes for the veilside stuff which I really need to get on to). and the batterybox base seem in tidy condition.
The funny thing is where all the leaves and mud are collecting is in a1 condition. the cowl must of rubbed off the paint and allowed the support frame to rust. i hope...
the other alternative is those spots were not correctly treated underneath at the factory, The cause is often not so big an issue once it gets to this level unless it is a recurring problem in lots of cars,
another nobody has mentioned is under the stock series 1 spoiler, EXTREMELY common and often hidden from view until fairly significant rust exists.
Oh i should also add that the brackets that hold the headlights in have completely rusted away. I pulled them off by hand as they crumbled to pieces, all surrounding metal was fine.
Thanks for starting this thread CARZ All the rain in Brisbane, means this stuff needs to be checked. I have decided to buy one of those boroscope inspection cameras.
