453 Wheel Arch Liners
So any of you 463 owners who are smuggley thinking that they don't need to worry about all that pesky 460 rot, think again!
I'm going through my 463, waxolying etc. and decided to remove the wheel arch liners in order to gain better access. Mine is a 1991 and it's fair to say MB must have rationed under seal. There isn't any! There was, however, sufficient crud that had accumulated over the past 24 yrs to have caused some corrosion. Fortunately I've caught it in time and have treated it and then used this to over paint http://www.rust.co.uk/epoxy-mastic-rust-proofing-paint/c28117/
I'll then waxoly as well before I replace the liners.
Oh and all the brackets that hold the liners in place have self destructed (Gav is sorting some new ones).
So anyone with a 1990's 463 I suggest you take a look.
R
Same thing with my 1986 vintage 280ge model !
The front inner skins have slowly rusted away in the back corners from surface water spraying up the back over many years. I have got a metal working friend shaping some thin sheet and welding into the corners to seal her back up again.
I suspect a common issue on all vehicles (except those which feature plastic inner wheel arch skins, which to be honest makes purfect sense given what you and I are now facing !)
BUMMER !
Looks like we are all tarred with the same brush there n' all buddy !
I've had all the "why did you buy that old hunk of poo" "what's that" "did you know your so n' so don't work"
I think it's called "Jealousy" maybe ?
neil.
so if it has the plastic inner arch's which panel has suffered the rust ? (mine are metal inner skins W460 and the rust is up in the skins themselves. top back corners where the surface water sprays off the tyres)
Russ,
That's completely true. And i think that the 463 chassis paint is perhaps not as good as on the 460, judging by my 1996 model.
I just finished doing all the same work, including removing springs and repainting, I treated the underside with Dinitrol 3125. Waxoyl is good, but too thin and not as durable, and because it always stays a bit runny, it attracts a lot of dirt. Dinitrol dries to a harder wax coating.
The back of the rear wheel-arches are particularly vulnerable to accumulating dirt.
I also found some plastic caps to fit on the ends of the chassis cross-tubes, to keep dirt and corrosion out.
...Funny story. I took it to a local body shop for some paintwork a while ago and all the owner did was wonder around it muttering over and over what junk all merc's were
R
He was probably referring to the cars from around 1998 - 2008 which had suffered from cost-cutting and cheaper metal, which rusted away ( in combination with new water-based paints).
Yes he was, they keep him busy though
Russ, you have got off lightly, virtually everything has been replaced on the back end of mine, perhaps it's road salt to blame or made worse by the plastic liners. On the plus side main chassis still looks great. Would be interesting to have it coated in that stuff they advertise in LR mag, but not cheap
Russ,
That's completely true. And i think that the 463 chassis paint is perhaps not as good as on the 460, judging by my 1996 model.
I just finished doing all the same work, including removing springs and repainting, I treated the underside with Dinitrol 3125. Waxoyl is good, but too thin and not as durable, and because it always stays a bit runny, it attracts a lot of dirt. Dinitrol dries to a harder wax coating.
The back of the rear wheel-arches are particularly vulnerable to accumulating dirt.
I also found some plastic caps to fit on the ends of the chassis cross-tubes, to keep dirt and corrosion out.
Yes I see what you mean.I've used both. The advantage of waxoyI is that when you feel like it you can pressure wash it off though.
Yes its the back and top of the rear arches that have suffered.
Hopefully I've caught it in time and its good for another 20 plus years.
Silly question on my part from across the pond. Why do you have such rust problems there? Back home in Minnesota we have the problem with salt on the roads during winter months (9 months of the year) and the dirt roads kicking up rocks, so our vehicles are very rust prone. Not so here in Japan. Most anything you find here is mostly rust free or minimal at best if they kept their G in downtown Tokyo like mine was; a '99 with zero rust and only 30K miles on it. I'm lucky.
Gary
because people don't use there jet wash!!!
had my w460 since 1989 200,000 miles 100% rust free
you have to spend more time cleaning under the car than on top
have not replaced 1 panel or any bondo
adrian
Silly question on my part from across the pond. Why do you have such rust problems there?....
because of salt on the road, generally wet weather and mud which absorbs the water and salt and sometimes never dries out whilst in contact with the body. As Adrian mentioned a good, regular jetwash will help, but certain areas will remain hard to reach unless the wheel-arch liners are occasionally removed for access.
Incidentally, No.10 (4.8mm) x 3/4" (19mm) stainless-steel, pozi-drive screws with a flanged-head work very well as replacement screws for the wheel-arch liners and are easy to undo with a stubby screw-driver.
eg:
For attaching the wheel-arch extensions to the body and for attaching the small brackets to the wheel-arch extensions, small stainless hex-head screws can be used: in this case, 1" (25mm) or 1 1/4" with some M5 stainless washers
eg:
(I think the original screws are actually No8 size (4.2mm), but I found that No.10 size (4.8mm) works better.
Many thanks for those pointers Arnie. Your post has motivated me to order them so I can take a look behind the liners and see what's going on there.
Prevention better than cure !
Thanks Arnie, you've saved me the trouble of searching. I was literally trawling through screwfixs listings as you posted that. Fyi they don't have those types in stainless. So all ordered from your links.
R
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Hi Neil,
It has plastic liners (all 463's do) but they don't provide 100% protection. So anyone with a 463 shouldn't be complacent.
Funny story. I took it to a local body shop for some paintwork a while ago and all the owner did was wonder around it muttering over and over what junk all merc's were
R