Hi all...would really appreciate some expert advice on the rust on the wheel arches of my 2000 Fiesta 1.25 zetec....

This is the rear drivers side arch....this is the worst affected bit



This is the rear passenger side, which isnt as bad



How bad does it look to all you?....bad enough to fail MOT or anything?

It hasn't been driving different so I'm not sure anything else other than the body is affected, and its only the rear arches.

How easy will this be to fix? I don't have any experience with metal work so I would have to get it done at a garage (unless it can be done with some sort of paint on stuff...?) how much of a hit to the wallet am I looking at?

Cheers

Paddy

 

best and only way to stop it and prevent it coming back for a while would be to have the arches cut off and new ones welded in then repainted its a bodyshop job really

 

hmm, i feared as much....looks like i'll be shelling out then.

any idea how long it will take to come back? is there something I can apply to the new metal to prevent it rusting again?

 

As said above the best thing is to have it cut out and new piece welded in, otherwise you might repair it and then in 12months it might starting coming through again, so do it once and do it properly. And im talking about both sides.

When i had an escort gti i had both rear arches replaced/painted etc and also a small repair to my front bumper from hitting a bird and all of that cost about £400, so not bad really for the amount of work done

 

hmm, sounds reasonable enough to get it done properly. will that include rust proofing to the new metal do you think?

 

the rust proofing they will do is etch primer to the bare metal then primer then paint/lacquer, and underseal inside the arch, same as most places!!

 

fuck me that is bad for a 2000 car - my astra is a x reg 2000 model and no where near as bad as that - only got a couple of small spots

 

tell me about it....was fine until i came to germany! something in the water

 

that is why i won't be getting a ford for my first car lol.
will only be able 2 afford sumit of that price range so fuck that
anyway, has to be cut out etc etc like above mate

 

sorry to drag this up again

does anyone know how this will fare in an MOT? thanks

 

i think as long as there are no sharp edges it will be ok - i personally would not be paying 400 quid to get that repaired on a boggo fiesta.

 

Nor me, it's probably half of the car's value.

I reckon that'd pass an MOT, it doesn't look structural in any way, and these Fiestas rot like mad on the rear arches, my old Zetec S had to have the arches cut out and new ones welded in, previous owner paid for it though so I dunno how much it cost, was a good job once it had been done though.

 

if you aint bothered just leave em, when they get really bad just bog em up or gaffer tape them

depends if its worth fixing

 

make sure that they use etching primer on baremetal when it is fixed, if not it will fuck up in no time.

 

I would leave them mate, not worth getting professionally repaired and wont effect the driving, and unlikely to cause an issue on the mot.

You could give it a good clean down to get rid of the shit that builds up at the back of the arch lip to try and slow it down and this is usually caused by crud sitting on the arch and not being cleaned away reguarly.

 

sounds like good advice, thanks all

yeah the prices I've been quoted are £500-£600. It was in the garage for new brake shoes, and thats where I will take it for the MOT and they didnt mention anything to me about it, so I'm hopeful. I don't think its structural

Plan of action now is to drive it until it can no longer pass the MOT