Rust in boot?

[Lancsbob]

Been looking at a few adverts and they've said "no rust in boot" is this a place
thats vunerable to rust & how do i check it out. Do you need to go under the
car to find it or can it be spotted inside of boot. Is it something to be
worried about. Is there any other places to check for rust?

Cheers Bob

[Southernboy]

Rust in the boot is generally a result of a leak through the 3rd brake light. That is a fairly common area of concern. Living in the UK as you do, rust is common wherever water will get in. Most common on the on the sills running along the bottom below the doors. Inside the wheel arch trims is also common. So, generally where water is sprayed during the course of driving.

[Robert T]

Rust is not generally a big problem on Z3s, though as Barry suggests, the sills and rear panels can get some.

Rust in the boot is possibly referring to popped spot welds in the boot floor - the diff is mounted directly underneath and on some cars the welds have started to pull through allowing corrosion in - the rust is not the problem though, it is just an indicator that there are bigger problems underneath the car. In the worst cases, the boot floor has actually been torn apart. There are various fixes for this, which involve seam welding, strengthening pieces and even a dual eared diff. However, you are best avoiding any car that is showing signs in this area. As to how prevalent the problem is, I really don't know. It is by no means restricted to the bigger engined cars, and it is not something that affects every car either.

There are some pictures on here of what to look for. If I have time later, I will try to find them for you.

Cheers R.

[Lancsbob]

Thanks for that.
Is the boot floor a structural part of the diff mounting?

Bob

[Davejue1]

Oh yes! There's a run of spot welds in the boot floor. Check that none have popped as they hold the diff mounting in position. Quite an expensive repair if the fail. More common to go on the more powerful engines.

[Robert T]

Here's the picture I was thinking of, and a short video of what lies beneath. Thank you, pingu.

http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopi ... 76#p394276

Cheers R.

[Davejue1]

That's a cracking picture for people who don't know about this issue.