I heard (and saw a lot) of honda's infamous rust spot is usually somewhere above the rear wheel well... (mostly where the bumper meets the rear fender)

is there any way to prevent it?

Someone mentioned to me that there is a thin plastic trim in the rear wheel well that has to be taken out... anyone done this before?

 

huh, never heard of this per se, yet my old Civic has 3 rust spots in just that spot.. bastards

 

on my prelude, i took out the plastic trim that goes all around the rear wheel arches... removing them might help prevent water being trapped inside

as for my own experience, what I am doing is just get a clean cloth once a while and clean behind the wheel arches and perhaps spray a thin layer or primer paint inside or any rust proof there

 

you know, I notice this as well on the s2k... that rubber gasket piece that covers the rear wheel well... I had that on the Civic and others have told me to remove it. After 2 years of owning the Civic, when I removed that piece, a lot of dirt and other crap has fallen out.

I guess Honda's original intentions was to prevent debris from being kicked up from the tire and chip off the paint. However, they didn't take into account that some of their products was going to be exposed to salty roads and so these gaskets actually trap moisture (containing salts -- throughout winter use) and do damage rather than protect. Then again there were no paint chips on my Civic whatsoever even after I remove that gasket, so it seems kinda useless.

So for my s2k, I guess I'll remove that gasket soon and everytime I wash my car I'll just take an old stiff too brush and do a quick scrub to loosen any dirt / crap trapped in that wheel well...

 

Yup, that trim around the top of the wheel well did in my 88 Prelude as well. Holds all the salt and shit. I couldn't believe when I saw that they were still using the same method.

Pull that molding off so that water/salt etc can't be held in there! When you pull off the molding you will see it is where the body and wheel well sheets are brought together and spot welded.

Spray Rust Check, or your favorite rust inhibitor, into the joint where the two sheet meet.

 

That nasty Honda characteristic is the only spot of rust on my '90 CRX-Si. It has not rusted through, but the paint has bubbled. On the CRX-Si the rubber trim on the inside of the fender has been removed, but the rust has started at the joint between the plastic lower portion and the upper metal section where the screw holds them together.

I will have to look at the S, I never thought about having to deal with that, but it might be a good idea to think ahead, thanks!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mannn
[B]I heard (and saw a lot) of honda's infamous rust spot is usually somewhere above the rear wheel well... (mostly where the bumper meets the rear fender)

is there any way to prevent it?

 

Someone take a picture of this thing so everyone can see exactly the piece that needs to go.

You can be sure someone will rip out the wrong bit otherwise

 

i will see if i have time tonight...
better yet... TECH DAY!!!