Cummins Rear Fender Well Rust

[Aimee]

Just wonder if anyone else has had problems with rear fender well rust and if so how was it fixed. My husband has an 02 cmmins that has recently been painted and the fender well rust fixed, 2 months later the rust returned again! I have an 04 cummins and both rear fender wells have about 5 rust spots the size of quarters just right in the center of the fender. Talked to other cummins owners who have had the same problem and seems theres keeps reoccurring also. Read alot and they say the problem is from a double panel in the fender wells that is not properly sealed where it is put together and it allows moisture and salt to enter and just rots away. I hate to pay so much money to have this problem fixed and find it returned in only a short while. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 0 Comment(s)

[F350Cummins]

its typical dodge. You could order the fender well weld in piece. you cut the old one out and weld the new one in.

 0 Comment(s)

[2nd Gen Domination]

Thats bout the only way i know of to fix it

 0 Comment(s)

[Aimee]

Ok Thanks for the info, a local body shop suggested that as an option. However he said that a lot of times when you weld it changes the temper of the metal and the rust will usually happen somewhere else. Anyone had a fender well piece welded in? And if so what was the outcome?

 0 Comment(s)

[F350Cummins]

I have done cab corners and floor pans without issue. and by without issue I noted no rust when I sold the truck, all times was 2+ years 5 years was the longest. I will be doing floor pans in my cummins soon.

 0 Comment(s)

[jt_cummins]

Just wonder if anyone else has had problems with rear fender well rust and if so how was it fixed. My husband has an 02 cmmins that has recently been painted and the fender well rust fixed, 2 months later the rust returned again! I have an 04 cummins and both rear fender wells have about 5 rust spots the size of quarters just right in the center of the fender. Talked to other cummins owners who have had the same problem and seems theres keeps reoccurring also. Read alot and they say the problem is from a double panel in the fender wells that is not properly sealed where it is put together and it allows moisture and salt to enter and just rots away. I hate to pay so much money to have this problem fixed and find it returned in only a short while. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Dodge up until 2006 had this strip of material in between the inner and outer well that was supose to be water resistant but in the end, ended up acting like a sponge. The only true way to fix it is to cut out the bad metal and remove that material cause it actualy rusts from the inside out. So removing the surface rust and repainting is why the rust came back so soon. Its like cancer you have to get it all out! I had an 03 that had the same issue and you can get a patch kit that will allow you to remove the whole outer wheel well so you can get that material out of ther and then put the patch on.

 0 Comment(s)

[Polaraco]

Boy this sounds familiar. I've been doing classic Mopars for decades. In the late 50's they were so bad they sounded like a bowl of Rice Crispy s on the show room floor.

tree_in_a_dodge.jpg

What has to be done has already been said. There are no short cuts really. If you do open up the fenders, Eastwood makes a really good rust converter. You can spray that in there, Let it dry, spray some cheap paint in there, then rust proof the heck out of it with the wax type of material (Also at Eastwood.com.)

The new process is actually gluing panels together. Prepped correctly, it's as strong as welding. That's how they do the 1/4 panels on the modern cars. No welding required. I've seen it, I've done it, I've already bent a glue repair. (Well I didn't, the other guy did) Some of these old school guys will argue but they are ignorant of the process.

Lastly, when you get this all done over, get yourself a set of rear inner tubs. They're about 100 bucks from the dealer as a kit. Keeps the crap out of the joints and looks better.

 0 Comment(s)