Shortly after I got my '04 Ram in January this year I noticed some surface bubbles/rust spots in the paint just over the right rear wheel on the fender. An area of about 5"x2" is all I could detect. I contacted my dealer and of course they said it was not covered under warranty because I was the "2nd Owner". The rust through warranty only applies to the original owner.

So I knew that this was something that needed to be taken care of without putting it off too long. I took it to a local body shop that does top shelf work and he quoted me $700.00 to fix it. He said they would cut out a large piece (about 3'x1') of the fender, weld in a new piece and go from there. Needless to say I left there in shock, but know that good body work is not cheap, so I figured I'd see how the money is before winter. Money is not easy right now so I decided I'd fix it myself as I've done minor body work before with very good success. Well today was the day to start filing and grinding to see how bad it was.

As the minutes turned into hours the rust was extensive as it had rusted through both the outer and inner fender, but this was an area of the fender that had been repaired by someone already as there was body filler and rippled metal. It obviously wasn't done right, hence the extent of the rust and damage. So, I broke out the 3" air rotary tool and started cutting off the damaged outer then inner fender panels. Now I've got to form a small piece of inner fender and weld it in then the same for the outer fender, then the grinding, bondo, primer, sanding, etc, etc, etc.

I've taken pictures from the start and I'm going to put it all together in a .pdf file to show what I found and did from start to finish. I'm no auto body person, but common sense has a lot to do with it and I think I'll do ok.

WISH ME LUCK!!!



Pup

Always remember the first rule of body work.....if you screw it up, just break out the grinder and start over! its easy if ya have enough time to re-do it 5 times!

Knowing you Steve... it'll come out perfect

Here's a few pics from today...

A couple more...

That sucks it looks like you have a good handle on it. Good thing you didnt wait any longer to do this.

I think I would have been calling Dodge and having a few words with them about the rust warranty not appling to the second owner. It really shouldnt matter if you are the fifth owner. the rust warranty is for a set number of miles or months right?

This is on an 04? Wow... soooo glad we do not have to deal with the road salt down here! Good luck!!

If you look real close at the last two pictures I posted, I think you'll agree with me that they show the reason for the rust forming in the first place.

You'll notice that the inner fender has several "folds" that have been pressed into the shape for strength. Inside these folds you'll notice oval holes that are wide open to the inside - to the open wheel-well which is constantly throwing up water into those holes. If you go out and check your own rear fenders, they may also be the same as my '04.

If you look at my graphic below, you'll see that I found a bead of caulk that was put between the inner and outer panels at the factory. They must have "assumed" that the water that gets in between the two panels through these holes would travel to the front and rear of the fender via gravity. What actually happened is that the water obviously "collects" inside these "pockets" and doesn't flow away, therefore perfect for forming rust - especially with the salted water we experience on our roads in the winter.

My intention is to grind the inside of these "pockets" clean and weld small pieces of metal to block up these holes so that no more water comes in, which should slow if not stop future rust forming. Of course once I get the inner fender repair welded in, I am going to sandblast all of the inside panel that I can reach and spray on Permatex Rust Treatment and let it dry overnight, then continue with my outer fender repair.

I'll keep updating this topic as I continue with my fix.



Pup

good job so far

any update

well your doing good so far

Quick update for now, I've fabricated the first piece (inner fender) and fixin' to mig weld it in place and go from there.

I borrowed a mig welder from a friend and I've never mig welded before, so I spent the last two days learning and practicing on my own, but unfortunately the first day and a half was a waste of time and very frustrating. He had no owners manual (Lincoln SP100) and I decided to go online, find it and print it out. Long story short, the voltage for the gun and ground were reversed so you can imagine why my welds did not turn out well at all. Once I figured that out for myself and reversed the polarity, suddenly I could mig weld!

I'll try and post more pics/update tonight.