More adventures in auto repair

This was an interesting learning project. I'd have never dreamed I could do something like this, but nevertheless here it is. The fact that I could do it at all is THANKS TO DAN, my "cousin-in-law" and friend who truly is Mr. Fix-It. He's my resource for these things because he's got the knowledge of how to repair just about anything that could ever need repairing. Sometimes I even learn a thing or two along the way. The only bad thing (from my perspective) is that he lives about eight states away, so his brain is rather remotely located and it's up to me (with my little to no experience) to comprehend and implement things when he attempts to impart some of that knowledge.

I sometimes do a little Googling just for my own benefit to be sure I'm understanding things as best I can, but 99% of this is due to Dan's guidance and encouragement and for that I am truly grateful. Anything that doesn't look right or was done perhaps just plain wrong is entirely my own fault.

So anyway here's the full story...
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A few weeks ago I was out running some errands and as I walked back to my car in a parking lot I happened to notice for the first time that not only had a significant portion of the body in front of the right rear wheel rusted, a chunk had in fact fallen completely out and left a gaping hole through which some inner insulation was hanging down...





When I got home I took the above pics and sent Dan one of my patented "Duh, what do I do now?" emails. I knew he'd know what to do, but the question was really going to be whether or not I would be able to do anything about it myself or if I should just go to a body shop and get it done right. (A little rust on my old "junker" doesn't bother me, but a gaping hole with guts hanging out does.) Dan gave me some good ideas on how I might be able to patch it for now with the assurance that the next time he's up my way he will take care of fixing it properly. That sounded great to me.

As always with such things, I had doubts about my abilities. I've never been one to dive into things without first reaching something of an "OK, I can at least try to do this" comfort level. The main thing to start with was to come up with a suitable material to cover the hole. I rummaged around in the basement, but found nothing of use lying around, so a trip to the local home repair megastore was in order. There I found a thin 8" x 18" sheet of aluminum. I also picked up some self-drilling screws. I figured that would be enough to get me started.

The next pic is of most of the supplies I needed: the aluminum sheet (well, what's left of it after I was done), shears to cut the aluminum, the self-drilling screws, a tube of clear caulk, a putty knife (to help a little filling in the caulk), and duct tape (which I've yet to put on over the patchwork). You'll also notice a dustpan with bits of loose rust and some silver paint pieces which were easy enough to break off from around the hole (making it even larger, of course)...



Here are two closer pics of the labels on the aluminum sheet and the screws...





I also borrowed a cordless drill from my neighbor across the street. I have a corded electric drill, but I'd be working in an awkward enough place as it was, I didn't want to be getting tangled in a long cord besides.

The next step was to satisfy myself that I'd even be able to drive the screws into the metal body. I started by drilling one of the screws fairly close to the rusty gaping hole. Figured that would give me a feel for what I was doing without messing up near a better section of body. Eventually all of that rust area will come out anyway, so what's a little screw hole in addition to the giant rust hole already there?

When that went OK, I removed the test screw and went on to cut the aluminum sheet. As already mentioned, I started with an 8" x 18" size. I knew from the start that that wasn't quite the size I really needed, but it was the best I could do from what the store had in stock. I first cut four inches off the end leaving me with an 8" x 14" main piece and the 4" x 8" smaller piece. Next I cut a 5" x 6" section from the corner of the big piece. This was necessary because the flat 3" wide strip that is underneath (running parallel to the road surface) had a longer stretch of rust than the more visible hole in the side of the body above it.

In the following pic you can kind of see the shape of the aluminum piece as cut because it is attached with only one forward screw at that point and thus hanging down a little...



It was much harder getting a screw in the other end of the aluminum because that was the lip of the fender well (in front of the rear wheel) and I guess that's more reinforced as it seemed like a double layer or a joint of two different pieces of the body. (Not really sure how to explain it or if that makes even a little sense, but that's the best I can do. Regardless of "why" the point is it was more difficult drilling there.) Nevertheless after some tough drilling, I managed to drive the screw. Having accomplished that I was then reasonably sure I'd actually be able to do this as I figured the other screw spots were much more accessible. I then actually removed the two screws and applied some of the caulk around the edges of the aluminum, then re-screwed it back on. (I didn't want to put the caulk on and then find out I couldn't get the screws in, possibly ending up with caulk smeared all over the place.)

The next step was a little difficult because I had to bend the aluminum up around the curvature of the body and then take the 4" x 8" piece and somehow hold both pieces in place well enough while I drilled a screw through both aluminum sheets and on into the body. (Again, this was because the 8" width of the original aluminum was not enough to cover the entire hole.) Getting the forward screw in to hold the two aluminum pieces in place was enough to make driving the rearward screw a lot easier. I also applied caulk to the rest of the aluminum before fastening it all. Finally I put three screws across the top of the 4" x 8" piece and then used a putty knife to make sure that any remaining potential openings were caulked as well as possible.

The result certainly isn't pretty, but I think (and hope) that it will be serviceable as the temporary patch it is intended to be...



I figure it's got to be better than having a giant hole. The last step will be to apply duct tape over the aluminum patch as an extra seal layer, but I’m waiting for the caulk to set first. I'll do the duct tape tomorrow or whenever.

I still won't use the car when it rains or if the roads are messy with snow, slush, or salt, but I can use my other vehicle on those days.

And again, my thanks and gratitude to Dan who is always willing to put up with my nuisance emergency calls!