hole in spare tire floor, what do?

[ace of spades]

planning ahead for a long road trip, I decided it would be a good idea to pull my spare and fill it with air since I haven't touched it in almost 8 years. when I lifted the hatch floor, I had a few inches of water sitting in the spare tire well. not cool. the locknut on the spare was so tight I couldn't budge it by hand so I grabbed a pair of pliers to break it loose. the first attempt, it broke it free but the entire piece came out and I could hear all the water draining under the car. I pulled the spare out and most of the outer rim edge is really rusted. oh, and I have a hole in the floor and roughly 1/2" of the surrounding metal is very soft and ready to break apart.

would this be an easy fix to have welded?

how would I or any other EP owner prevent this from happening?

pics:
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii142/blueEP3piece/IMG-20110414-00325.jpg

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii142/blueEP3piece/IMG-20110414-00322.jpg

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii142/blueEP3piece/IMG-20110414-00324.jpg

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii142/blueEP3piece/IMG-20110414-00326.jpg

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii142/blueEP3piece/IMG-20110414-00329.jpg

[usedep3]

should be a prety easy fix. get that shit dried out and clean up. then take it somewhere to get welded closed.

[talonXracer]

The spare tire tub floor needs to be replaced. You will discover that the corrosion has spread UNDER the asphalt sound deadener. There is ALOT more damage than what is visible!

Unless you have a sandblaster, welder and body work tools, I would have someone fix that for ya.


Been there done that http://www.ephatch.com/forum/showthread.php?55895-New-Interior-that-has-Snowballed-out-of-control!&highlight=lizardskin !!!!


I installed a small drain similar to what one sees in a dirtbike/ATV airbox, simply a length of clear tube with a plug extending below the tub floor. I will bet a dollar that the rear strut "O" rings are leaking, you will finds water deposits under the rear seat and within the center cross bar support. Lowered suspensions change the angle of the rear strut and they have a tendency to not sit flush.

[ace of spades]

:mcry:

[RHCP0801]

how did water get in there in the first place

[ace of spades]

not sure.

[ep3jd]

My hatch leaks sometimes. I had a lot of water in it 2 years ago and sucked it all out at the gas station. Never really accumulated anything again and its not rusty like that. Good luck brother

[RedSiBaron]

Damn that sucks! Jason, you should really look into finding the leak too, my guess is tail lights since id think you would see water staining on the interior if it were coming in elsewhere

[whatsvtec]

Our sunroof drains SUCK! I've got the same issue so all my rear carpet and trim is gone, need to keep an eye on it... no fix found yet
I'm liking talon's fix, it sounds like the most promising and long term route to go.

[RedSiBaron]

Forgot about the drains running back there

[talonXracer]

Dont forget those chassis air vents under the rear tail lights, they are cup shaped with a oneway flap in the center, I have seen those leak like a sieve before, add that in with the "o" rings, condensation, leaking hatch gasket, leaking sunroof drains and you can have a mess.

It should be easy to spot the location where the leak originated at, but you will need an inspection mirror and a good light to locate the tell tale signs of water seepage in the light coat of dirt/dust under the plastic panels.

[T_Virus]

ewwww...Hope it isn't too bad getting it cleaned.

[rjmq06]

TALK ABOUT F***K UP SPARE TIRE WELL

HERE'S MINE

http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/uu47/rjmq06/20110415_002.jpg

WELL I GOT REAR ENDED THE BUMPER IS FINE BUT THIS AND THE REBAR IS MESSED UP BUT I HAVENT REMOVED MY BUMPER EVER SINCE, IM JUST SCARED TO SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKED
AND ITS ACTUALLY ONE OF MY CLOSEST FRIEND AND IT HAPPENED A YEAR AGO AND TIL NOW HE DOESNT HAVE A PLAN TO GET IT FIX

[02TWSI]

damn, that sucks.

I have a tiny pen tip sized hole in my trunk area....but nothing like this ever happens to me.

[k3rry]

for some reason, my driver side carpet gets wet when it rains... i wonder where the water could be entering??

[talonXracer]

There are SEVERAL locations on the firewall that have rubber seals around the steering, brake and MC components as well as wiring grommets that can leak water during wet weather.

[USAF EP3]

This is interesting. I never once had issues with water damage or water leakage. This is good to look out for and thanks for everyone pointing out the location where leaks are possible.

I wonder if this is an all EP thing including the CTR's or just early model EP's.

[talonXracer]

Everything has a seal that passes thru the firewall, that has never changed in any model of Honda, some seals take the appearance of gaskets when the components are bolted down, a leak will be evident when looking at the attachment/pass through point. These are not a common failure point any more than any other model, they are just possible failure points.

[tunner2307]

Damm, I doesn't look good:( Good luck with it.

[Rekognize]

This happened to a friend's car. It's always a good idea to clean the spare tire well and check the spare tire pressure at least every oil change or tire rotation.

[Twisted-X]

At least they didn't us butyl rope like a lot of the 80's imports.

I also think it might be the tail light seals.

[mitchlikesbikes]

my hatch area is totally gutted. all that was in there when i bought the car was the carpet and a subwoofer haha. i haven't had any leaks but luckily if i ever do they won't chill under anything where i can't see them. i did a quick spray can bedliner coat for looks though so i'm pretty happy with it.

good luck on the fix though!

[whatsvtec]

Update on this: After tearing apart the hatch a bit more, it seems the majority is coming in around the rear strut mount. I ordered new seals for the rears and will be putting them on with the racelands next month. I'll update again to give solution analysis.

[ace of spades]

I think I might gut the rear panels and wait until a bad rain storm and drive around in it for a while. I did see some water under the driver's side rear side panel, I just need to narrow it down to which point of entry. More info to come...

[talonXracer]

Update on this: After tearing apart the hatch a bit more, it seems the majority is coming in around the rear strut mount. I ordered new seals for the rears and will be putting them on with the racelands next month. I'll update again to give solution analysis.


Is that not exactly where I said it would be entering?????


I will bet a dollar that the rear strut "O" rings are leaking, you will finds water deposits under the rear seat and within the center cross bar support. Lowered suspensions change the angle of the rear strut and they have a tendency to not sit flush.

(tip-add a bead of RTV around the flange/mounting pad of the rear strut around the outside of the "O" ring but not touching the "O"ring)

[whatsvtec]

Is that not exactly where I said it would be entering?????



(tip-add a bead of RTV around the flange/mounting pad of the rear strut around the outside of the "O" ring but not touching the "O"ring)

I heard you out :thumbu: Just taking the advice and following up, I'm excited to see how new seals fix it, the RTV sounds like a great solution as well.

[apexracing]

to the op, cut out the bad area and weld in a new piece, or cut out the entire spare tire well and weld a plate in its place. and get road side assist. Lets face it, if you drive a slammed ep that spare isnt going to do shit for you any ways...

[ep3jd]

to the op, cut out the bad area and weld in a new piece, or cut out the entire spare tire well and weld a plate in its place. and get road side assist. Lets face it, if you drive a slammed ep that spare isnt going to do shit for you any ways...


Yup, I can't even get a scissor jack under my car with my tire inflated, not sure how I'd do it if it was flat.


Well I could bring little pieces of 2x4 around to pull onto I guess