i think i may have a lead as to why my DS frame rail (front part) has a hole.
i got my 1990 s13 hatch last year, june 2006. frame rails were intact and mint, the mech who did my safety stabbed the rails with a prybar to make sure they’re still nice and strong -> which they were.
now at the time, the brake master cylinder wasnt leaking/ brake booster had no corroded paint. 5 months later (nov 2006)…brake fluid went low…noticed the corroded paint on the brake booster/bottom of DS strut tower/DS frame(front part). so i replaced both booster/cylinder with used ones…they held up thru the winter/spring.
right now, they leak about half the reservoir a month…and paint on the frame/strut tower is alll bubbly. with all that brake fluid lost, i checked where else it leaked onto…found out it flowed all the way to where the frame curves(front part). i looked under my car, saw some rust buildup…i pressed on it with my hand…and cried as it crumbled. i panicked, so i oversprayed the hole/surrounding area with that crappytire rubber asphalt undercoating.
today, i topped off the reservoir cuz it was half full. i can see that my frame/strut tower is suuper damp with brake fluid…i also looked under the car, reached out and touched my frame where the hole was…and my hand was damp with brake fluid.
the theory i have in my head is that…brake fluid ate the paint on the frame…brake fluid is hydroscopic? (absorbs water/moisture)…which leads to bare metal frame rusting? i’ve seen a pattern (at standard autowreckers) three 89 s13s with leaky master cylinder/corroded brake booster have fccked up frame rails/driver side strut tower/wheel well holes.
am i crazy or what?
i will try to get pics up, also…my passenger side has no holes/didnt get affected…yet?
He is simply giving what he thinks is the explanation to WHY they rust there. It’s not a complaint about how they happen to all rust at the same spot genius
i have some pics gonna be posted up soon, photobucket is uploading them at the moment.
in the mean time, heres some “before” pics of the underbody from the previous owner b4 i bought the car. http://nissan321.tripod.com/240sx/index.album?i=0
i also noticed the brake flare fitting (rear brake line) on the master cylinder is damp with brake fluid, i tried to tighten it up some more but its already at its max.
“after” pics will be up soon.
^^^^ the line closest to the front to the car is for the rear? could pulling the ebrake too hard cause brake fluid to flow back to the master cylinder and start leaking?
a few more ideas/theories came to my mind.
i currently have no heatshield on my stock exhaust manifold (bought the car like that). now…the temperature outside was like 30 degrees…after driving on the highway…came home…i opened up my hood to check the brake fluid level…the master cylinder/reservoir was really hot to the touch. the reservoir cap was also mushy…felt like it was gonna melt.
could this heat from exhaust manifold sorta melt/screw up the seals in the master cylinder?
these cars were never made to be winter driven in Canada with all the shit on the roads, none of it goes anywhere and the shitty rust proofing and quality of metal, also the shear design of the car doesn’t make for good flow of water off the rails, that makes it sit and eat trough, to sum it up, Japan -> thin shitty metal -> not made for Canadian winters -> shit on our roads -> BAD design = rusty frames
or so i believe.
also the brake fluid that’s spilt everywhere causes the paint to peel and boil up away from the bare metal, and as soon as you get a day with to much damp air they start to rust and then ur screwed.
time for a new MC and maybe a new rear fitting. also double check you dont have rusted lines like me. Ended up replacing the whole line, making new fitting oh and lets not forget changing a stripped bleeder screw. Toss out that ABS if you have it also It’s like 15-20 lbs.
ok…i dont think fastback240 read anything on my post.
last year, both my frame rails were mint and no sign of MC leakage.
its now 1 year since i had my car, and only the driver side rail is rusting…WHY??? because of brake fluid leakage.
this past winter didnt do anything to my passenger frame rail, i can post pics if you want to see.
what i’m pointing out is that s13s with driver side frame/wheel well rot could be caused by the common MC leakage. neone else want to share their opinions?
Dxero -> a new MC? one from nissan or would one from napa/crappytire be okay? if end up with the option of getting a new MC, im goin for a z32 MC as i have r32/z32 calipers ready to install (jus need rims that’ll clear). no ABS FTW
ehh…i got mines used from fastback. just had to clean it up and bench bleed. I’d trust NAPA or nissan more though. But since you’re going for a z32 MC, a rebuilt one would be cheaper. Not sure how much the new ones cost, I’d assume a lot.
It’s like 15-20 lbs.