Rusting Roof

[Pat]

In a previous thread we discussed rust on our cars. I noted that my roof, at the C-pillar, drivers side, has major rust and is spreading.

I've been saving up to get this fixed and when I took it to a reputable body shop they said, they would not tackle the job and that the rust has probably spread across the top the the roof where it meets the rear window. Something about drain lines.

Solution - replace the roof. The previous repair job did not last long, just a couple of months.

I could have another temporary fix until the roof is holed. Cost $400.00.
New roof, cost multi-thousands.

I will have to think about this some more.


http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/images/misc/progress.gif

[lji372]

In a previous thread we discussed rust on our cars. I noted that my roof, at the C-pillar, drivers side, has major rust and is spreading.

I've been saving up to get this fixed and when I took it to a reputable body shop they said, they would not tackle the job and that the rust has probabley spread across the top the the roof where it meets the rear window. Something about drain lines.

Solution - replace the roof. The previous repair job did not last long, just a couple of months.

I could have another temporary fix until the roof is holed. Cost $400.00.
New roof, cost multi-thousands.


http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/images/misc/progress.gif

:mad:....although you could end up with the second convertable marauder?:)

[L.Mark]

Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't sound that bad for a body shop to tackle. Unlike rust through in floor boards or quarter panels. Sounds like they just didn't want to do it because is wasn't enuff money, like insurance claim money. A new roof?????:eek: Isn't that like saying there's a chip on my rear bumper so I'll have to replace the rear end??? I've noticed in my neck of the woods alot of body shops are unwilling to do anything with "old" cars. 10-20 year old car no matter the condition. Is this the first step in trying to get rid of said cars...:confused:

[Spectragod]

Roof skin is relatively cheap, labor is not that rough either, shouldn't be more than $1500-2000 parts and labor.

[Vortech347]

My 03' had a rusted hole in it from the POS factory paint. It was just repainted from the dealer. Unless its REALLY substantial I wouldn't think it would require a new roof skin.

[ChiTownMaraud3r]

They should be able to repair it before primering and re-painting...unless there are holes in it. I would find another shop.

[ajdereicup]

Yeah it shouldn't be that bad to repair. The problem I'd think is matching the paint and blending it. Black can be a PITA

[Marauderjack]

First Silver car I've heard of with bad paint and rust??:eek:

Better look mine over real good!!:cool:

[ctrlraven]

First Silver car I've heard of with bad paint and rust??:eek:

Better look mine over real good!!:cool:

Right?

I've got one spot on the bottom of the driver rear door jam area on the body itself. I am just waiting to have some body work done and get it taken care at the same time.

[Bruce Wayne]

The roof on my car is totally shot, large holes all over the place, . I am very disappointed that Ford would let something like this go. When I took a tour of the plant , at our last time there, I observed the roof panels, and the spots on them, before paint, that were clearly defects. Shame! I don't have the cash to fix it right, If it even can be fixed, without spreading again, so I just touch the nasty spots up with touch up paint aaaargh!

[lji372]

Surely touch up paint won't help rust holes....

Any quality body shop should be able to fix this if its caught early.
Please keep us up to date on what the cost is if a new skin is needed

[Smalldogg/03mm]

I wish I would have taken pictures of mine, it was bad, but for 500 it's fix now.. That was the whole roof sand down to the metal and repainted...


Antoine

[babbage]

I wish I would have taken pictures of mine, it was bad, but for 500 it's fix now.. That was the whole roof sand down to the metal and repainted...


Antoine


Good price - I was quoted $800 for the same. I have a few spots on mine too..

[Pat]

Here is a picture. I had tape over it hence the streaks.

[SC Cheesehead]

Here is a picture. I had tape over it hence the streaks.


Dang, Pat, that's nasty!

[sailsmen]

Just put some more tape over and don't worry about it. You can't see it when you are driving it.

[shodude]

I wish I would have taken pictures of mine, it was bad, but for 500 it's fix now.. That was the whole roof sand down to the metal and repainted...


Antoine


This is what I had to do on mine as well. It wasn't too bad. Just paint cracks. but now I have issue on the trunk lid and rear qt panels behind the door glass.

[Pat]

Just put some more tape over and don't worry about it. You can't see it when you are driving it.

LOL, exactly, no more car shows, but I'm going to drive this car because it pleases me so much.

[1stMerc]

Pat, get some rust reformer on there before it gets worse. Will hold you till you decide what to do. Get it in the paint section at many auto parts stores. Rustoleum makes an easy to use spray.

[bill64]

Pat, get some rust reformer on there before it gets worse. Will hold you till you decide what to do. Get it in the paint section at many auto parts stores. Rustoleum makes an easy to use spray.
good advice! 8 years ago i bought my 94'f250 which had a big rust spot on the drivers door. i sand blasted the area (even had a couple pin holes) applied rust converter/primer right on the metal, then built up the area w/ filler, primed and painted. still holding up just fine:beer:

[Spectragod]

A option, and 1 considered when I had my LX Sport, get a used roof panel, it is just spot welded on. If you want a power moon roof, this would be the time to make it happen (as was the reason I looked into this initially).

It's not a bad job, R&I front and rear glass, R&I the headliner. remove filler trim @ the quarter and roof, drill spot welds. If it took a shop more than 24 body hours, I would be surprised. a used roof chunk is $200-500 depending on the yard and if it has a moon roof.

[Pat]

Thanks men for all the good info and recommendations. I am going to a particular shop in town that, by reputation in auto body circles, can do the repair without question.

I'll be on their doorstep tomorrow AM. I'll keep the thread updated.

Regards,

Pat

[BLACKMAGIC03]

Ospho....stops it

[Pat]

Hi Ho;

Silverback goes into surgery tomorrow morning. He will get a whole new roof. I'm very confident of these "surgeons".

I conferred with them last week and they assured me they are the best, they do this all the time and will guarantee my complete satisfaction for the rest of the car's life.

The auto-hospital is Bossier City Collision Center, headed by Butch Naar.

Talk about a small world, when I drove up to the office, he and several of his technicians, err... assisting surgeons, were talking with a customer and he pointed at me and gave a big thumbs up. Another man came up to me and said do you remember me, I said, "no". He said. "I rode with you down the drag strip in 05 when you were testing your nitrous and needed someone to listen for detonation". WOW.

They said we see your car all the time and are glad you brought it to us. (it's close to the Sheriff's substation where I volunteer)

What more can I say, Silverback is in good hands.

Should be ready in a couple of weeks.

The roof is off the car and the rust is extensive Entire drivers side sheet metal above the C-pillar is ate away. The fame at that point is also covered in rust, the body man believes he can save it.

The moon roof played no part in this. The bady man has no idea what happened, something at the factory.

He was impressed with the fact that I would go to such lengths to fix this car. Well, it's a Marauder.

Regards,

Pat

[Pat]

Here is bit of info on moon roof skin. There is no part # for the roof with the cut out. That has to be done by the body shop.

There are four rubber drain hoses from the moon roof assembly, one at each corner and they are routed to the side of the box roof frame. Doesn't look like they would clogged up. But one of mine was pinched closed when the factory installed them.

The body man had the car disassembled and the roof skin off in one day (or less).

My windshield was broken, rock damage, didn't even know it. But the insurance company said they would pay for that.

I hoping the roof frame can be repaired, it looked bad, the rust looked liked it was caked on, so I'm thinking it's residue from the rusted skin.

Regards,

Pat

[RubberCtyRauder]

Wow, Pat, I didn't expect to see that pic look like that. Here's to good things for the rest of the repair.:beer:

Silverback will be back in no time:burnout:

[1stMerc]

Here is bit of info on moon roof skin. There is no part # for the roof with the cut out. That has to be done by the body shop.

There are four rubber drain hoses from the moon roof assembly, one at each corner and they are routed to the side of the box roof frame. Doesn't look like they would clogged up. But one of mine was pinched closed when the factory installed them.

The body man had the car disassembled and the roof skin off in one day (or less).

My windshield was broken, rock damage, didn't even know it. But the insurance company said they would pay for that.

I hoping the roof frame can be repaired, it looked bad, the rust looked liked it was caked on, so I'm thinking it's residue from the rusted skin.

Regards,

Pat

Pat is there a way to check whether these drain hose are draining properly? Heck can you even see them?

[Pat]

Waymon, the drain hoses are fairly large, 3/8 inch and they exit down the sides of the car running through the roof frame. They don't drain at the rear window. Open your moon roof and see if you can locate the exit points, one at each corner, then blow some air through them. Truthfully, I don't see any reason for blockages, but one of mine was crimped in the installation. Didn't cause any of my problems.

[fastblackmerc]

The drain hose are at the rear corners on the moon roof. They go between the headliner, down each "C" pillar and exit inside the rear wheel wells.

[1stMerc]

Thanks Pat. I'll take a gander tomorrow.

Tell Pat I said Hi.

[1stMerc]

Thanks fastblackmerc. We must have been typing at the same time and you were just a wee bit faster on the enter

[svtguy]

I too have a rusted to hell roof that I am currently getting estimates for. One place I went also said I need a new roof and would cost me 2,500. They said they could just repair it instead of replacing it but they could not warranty the job at all unless they replaced it. To repair it they would charge me 1,900 but no warranty and they warned me it could still leak at the moon roof.

This got me to thinking, maybe I can go with the replacing the roof option, but not one that has a moon roof. I'm not a big fan of moon roofs anyway and I wouldn't have to worry about leaks. And maybe it would be cheaper without a moon roof. I can't see any drawbacks but thats just me. I would want to keep the roof liner the same though. I think it would be cool to open the moon roof slide panel and there be no moon roof there :eek:

[L.Mark]

Where do you look to see if your roof is rusting? Or will it be visible? Just now see pics and Holy rusted metal Batman!!!

[Pat]

When you see it, paint bubbling up over an area of several square inches, it's too late. Like I mentioned in post #24 the moon roof was not an actor in my case. When I first noticed the bubbles, a couple of years ago, the rust had progressed to an area of a couple of square inches. I had the roof sanded, treated and repainted, $600.00. The rust reappeared within three months with a vengeance.

The cost is north of $2300.00 without sales tax. I recommend you go to a collision center, they do this on a more frequent basis due to accidents and such.

[L.Mark]

Maybe I missed something, but bubbling where??? Right now I have no bubbles, but what to be proactive when it happens.

[Pat]

L. Mark

From what I've read and my experience, the problem area seems to be on the drivers side, above rear door and C pillar.

[L.Mark]

Thanks! I'll keep my peepers peeled for any peeling....:D

[1stMerc]

Bubbling anywhere on a painted service means you have a rust issue, and it may be to late for normal routine. It requires immediate attention.

[svtguy]

just look at your roof and if you see this...you're screwed.

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/data/694/medium/marauder_contour_zoraya_long_g rove_004.JPG

I posted a couple more in my gallery. I took these to serve as a "before" shot. Next week, the car is going to a local shop to have the roof, hood and trunk lid replaced. As bad as this looks, it looks even worse in person.

[GreekGod]

My hood, roof, & deck lid are getting like this - not as bad, and I will paint it this summer. Might go with white or silver on the roof, and flat black on the raised part of the hood ... no moon-roof on mine ... Ford obviously had a problem during manufacture ...
just look at your roof and if you see this...you're screwed.

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/data/694/medium/marauder_contour_zoraya_long_g rove_004.JPG

I posted a couple more in my gallery. I took these to serve as a "before" shot. Next week, the car is going to a local shop to have the roof, hood and trunk lid replaced. As bad as this looks, it looks even worse in person.

[F2F]

In a previous thread we discussed rust on our cars. I noted that my roof, at the C-pillar, drivers side, has major rust and is spreading.

I've been saving up to get this fixed and when I took it to a reputable body shop they said, they would not tackle the job and that the rust has probably spread across the top the the roof where it meets the rear window. Something about drain lines.

Solution - replace the roof. The previous repair job did not last long, just a couple of months.

I could have another temporary fix until the roof is holed. Cost $400.00.
New roof, cost multi-thousands.





http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/images/misc/progress.gif


I have the same problem and I took it to three shops they all hit me in 3-4 hundered range. That guy is crazy or didnt want the job cause it was too ssmall.
I will have to think about this some more

[Spectragod]

just look at your roof and if you see this...you're screwed.

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/data/694/medium/marauder_contour_zoraya_long_g rove_004.JPG

I posted a couple more in my gallery. I took these to serve as a "before" shot. Next week, the car is going to a local shop to have the roof, hood and trunk lid replaced. As bad as this looks, it looks even worse in person.

I would have had that stripped and painted way before it looked like that. Now the only way to fix it is to replace panels. :shake:

[svtguy]

Now the only way to fix it is to replace panels. :shake:

I already stated that the roof is being replaced. And honestly, what you would have done is really far from relevant. But thanks for the tip and the disapproving head shake.

[F2F]

I know that wasn't meant at my comment. But my post was wrong. I screwed up and responded on page one and then read the other pages. If you took it to multiple shops I'm sure it was past the point of my"crazy or lazy" comment. Positive is, thank you for the post cause u freaked me out and now mine goes in on Monday to repair my roof before.......

[Spectragod]

I already stated that the roof is being replaced. And honestly, what you would have done is really far from relevant. But thanks for the tip and the disapproving head shake.

Right, no relevance at all. What I was getting at is...... if you catch the peeling in the early stages, you won't have to replace the roof, leading to a large expenditure on body/paint work.

It was more of a warning for other who may be going down the same road and on the fence about fixing it right away.

Sorry if you thought I was being insensitive............

[Windsor58]

Dropped mine off this morning to strip and repaint the roof and trunk lid. It's been bubbling for a while now and I have been painting the spots with rust convertor to keep it in check until I could afford to have it repaired. Hopefully once they are in to it, they will be able to strip and repaint successfully. The shop thinks they can. Time will tell. They back the new paint for as long as I own the car, they said. Good luck to everyone else with this rash. Wish FoMoCo would have treated us better and stood behind this obvious manufacturing problem.

[svtguy]

I guess I misread, my apologies to you if I was out of line. You are right in the sense that this could serve as a cautionary tale to others. Like many things, if you don't take care of a problem early, it will only get worse. Fortunately, all is not lost though. As costly as it will be, at least it will get fixed and brought back to its former glory.

[Windsor58]

Ok. Now that I have thought about this for a while... Should I have the shop also drop the headliner to see if it has rust underneath?
I had assumed it was starting on top (none go through or any where close that I have found) and might be aggravated by the sun on the flat surfaces where the bubbles are.
What do you all recommend?
Thanks in advance.

[Spectragod]

Ok. Now that I have thought about this for a while... Should I have the shop also drop the headliner to see if it has rust underneath?
I had assumed it was starting on top (none go through or any where close that I have found) and might be aggravated by the sun on the flat surfaces where the bubbles are.
What do you all recommend?
Thanks in advance.

They could look, but I think in the OP's case, the rust started at the roof/quarter panel seam. To me, it looked as though water got between his seams and rusted.

[GreekGod]

OK now, let's stop all this hogwash. There are many alternatives to painting a roof or replacing it. Think outside the box!

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/data/500/medium/PimpCad.jpg

[1stMerc]

Ok. Now that I have thought about this for a while... Should I have the shop also drop the headliner to see if it has rust underneath?
I had assumed it was starting on top (none go through or any where close that I have found) and might be aggravated by the sun on the flat surfaces where the bubbles are.
What do you all recommend?
Thanks in advance.

I would. From my experience, panels that are exposed to the elements usually have the rust start on the opposite side before you even see it on the surface. Maybe different on the roof.

It wouldn't for them to take a look.

[L.Mark]

Wow!! All this blows me away. By the looks of the photo all I would have thought was hail or rock damage over the years. These are just bubbles from no damage?? So when it gets like that you have to replace the sheet metal?? Or just sand down to bare metal and paint? Or does that indicate you will have rust on the otherside of the panel also. I'm so used to looking at the bottoms of the fenders and quarters, would have NEVER thought some rust like this would be so bad. Other than a quick cosmetic fix. Makes me want to rip the vinly top off my 79 to check, which is why when I had it replaced I told them NO padding. Hate that this is happening.