Damn! Just found some rust behind the pedal assembly, Pleeeease- help me asses, it is stressing me out! Options

[levonfarra]

How bad does this look? I poked with screw driver, but nothing poked through.

Is this a commen rust area and is it diffecult to repair (and how do I repair it)?

Is this area originally not painted?

Please advise.

Thank you,

Levon

[Rand]

No worries. I would clean it out good, probably with a wire wheel, brush some Ospho on it (or other rust converter of the like), let it do it's job for 24 hours, and paint it with some Hammerite (or other tough paint).... Done deal.

[kfieler]

No worries. I would clean it out good, probably with a wire wheel, brush some Ospho on it (or other rust converter of the like), let it do it's job for 24 hours, and paint it with some Hammerite (or other tough paint).... Done deal.

Here is another example (my car). I was worried about the surface rust and appreciate the fact that 1). I don't have a serious problem and 2). thank you for the rust treatment tips!

Thanks!

- Keith

[swl]

I don't have a serious problem

Keith,
Definitely no problems that can be seen but if you are going to go in there with some POR or whatever you might want to a little more exploring. What is different on yours from Levons is that your rust is getting worse as it gets lower in the car suggesting the car has seen some dampness down low. You might want to see if any of the nearby floor tarry stuff can be scraped off. If it can scrape it off easily you will probably find a little surface rust there as well. If you can't get it to come off easily then you are good to go. Pull up some carpet and just check down near the floor and see if there is anything on any of the vertical surfaces down where they meet the floor. This is just one of those ounce of prevention things. Light rust under the carpet or tar can progress unseen. Best to stop it early.

[kfieler]

I don't have a serious problem

Keith,
Definitely no problems that can be seen but if you are going to go in there with some POR or whatever you might want to a little more exploring. What is different on yours from Levons is that your rust is getting worse as it gets lower in the car suggesting the car has seen some dampness down low. You might want to see if any of the nearby floor tarry stuff can be scraped off. If it can scrape it off easily you will probably find a little surface rust there as well. If you can't get it to come off easily then you are good to go. Pull up some carpet and just check down near the floor and see if there is anything on any of the vertical surfaces down where they meet the floor. This is just one of those ounce of prevention things. Light rust under the carpet or tar can progress unseen. Best to stop it early.

Hey, Steve... Thank you for your concerns and advice on my car!

I've had the carpet off of both floor pans looking for rust. The worst thing that I perceived was the rusty, left bolt that holds-down the accelerator pedal. The left portion of the pedal was partially "fused" to the floor (as seen in photo).

I am definitely going to take your advise and check the integrity of the "black tar stuff" and search even deeper for any problems.

I had planned on installing a new accelerator pedal and leaving it at that. Now I am led to believe that the pedal assembly has got to come-out... and if it comes out, it’s got to be rebuilt... and then the rust treatment... and then... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Geez... I've had this car for a month now and haven't even fired it up yet! Just when I thought I was getting closer to taking a spin...

Enough venting... thanks again for your advice and I'll do the job "right"!

- Keith